Your wrap-up of Moonee Valley Council Meeting | 27 May, 2025
Missed this month’s Moonee Valley City Council Meeting?
Below is a summary of items debated and endorsed.
Remember: you can attend Council Meetings in-person or tune into the livestream via the MVCC website. The video recording remains available at the conclusion of the meeting, as do Agendas and Minutes from past meetings.
Presentations
Moonee Valley councillors offered several congratulations and commendations to activities being held recently in the community.
The Mayor acknowledged the election of a new member for Maribrynong, Jo Briskey, as well as the launch of the All Children are Different program that improves awareness of neuro-diversity.
Councillors also recognised Montgomery Park kindergarten and the Steele Creek community planting day, which was supported by Melbourne Water, where native seedlings planted and “30 years of Friends of Steele Creek” was celebrated.
The pop-up projection event, which was held as part of Valley Sounds, in Valley Lakes was applauded for being well-received by the community, and several volunteers attended the council’s National Volunteer Week event and were thanked for their service,
Commemorations for National Reconciliation Week were marked by a Sorry Day event, Bridging Now to Next, and next week, a panel discussion on reconciliation will be held at the Clocktower Centre.
Finally, cheers rang out for the Rotary Club of Essendon, which is celebrating its 90th birthday.
Reports from Delegates
Council’s delegate to the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), Councillor Rose Iser, reported that an amended version of Moonee Valley City Council’s motion targeting online abuse and misinformation had passed with strong support from across the sector. Cr Iser noted it was part of a broader international trend of uncivil conduct happening as part of political debate.
Construction of a three-storey apartment building in Fletcher Street, Essendon
Plans to build a three-storey building and basement car parking have been amended with the number of apartments being reduced from 31 to 26, with the basement carpark changed to provide 56 car spaces, instead of 61, plus 26 bicycle spaces. The site, which has an area of 2,727 square metres, and is currently a residential aged care facility.
Biannual Grants 2024/25 (Round 2)
Council has endorsed a recommendation from its Community Grants Advisory Committee to support 19 applications with funding as part of its Biannual Grants program. A total of $143,963 will now be shared to provide a host of activities including community events and celebrations, visual art workshops and educational programs. Applications for the grants opened on 2 February 2025 and closed on 2 March 2025. In all, 34 applications were received.
Submission to Parliamentary Inquiry into Community Consultation Practices
Moonee Valley City Council will make a Submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Community Consultation Practices, which is looking at current standards, representation and opportunities for improvement. Council welcomed the opportunity to provide feedback on community consultation practices taking place across Victoria. Ensuring that residents of Victoria have a voice in matters that impact them is considered by council to be a key to a thriving community.
FJ Davies Reserve Landscape Concept Plan
Council has adopted the FJ Davies Reserve Landscape Concept Plan 2025 to guide the long-term planning and future upgrades of the reserve in Keilor East over the next 10 years.
The plan provides for improving the quality of open space through amenity, greater opportunity for social interaction and increased access to diverse activities. Given the life of the project, the draft Concept Plan was presented to the community in July 2024 to check if the design still aligned with what the community hoped to see in the space.
Feedback on the draft Concept Plan was sought from local residents, traders, community groups, and other relevant stakeholders to inform the final Concept Plan. Given the positive response, no major changes to the Concept Plan have been made.
Updated Governance Rules and Election Period Policy
Moonee Valley City Council’s Governance Rules have been amended to include new provisions to limit the use of Notices of Motion, improve the conflict-of-interest disclosure process, and implement legislative reform concerning governance and integrity. Community consultation found overall support for the majority of changes to the governance rules.
Delays to traffic signalisation works on Military Road and Clarendon Street
A variation to the contract for works at the intersection at Military Road and Clarendon Street in Avondale Heights has been endorsed by Council. The variation will ensure that the contractor can undertake the remainder of the signalisation works and deliver the project within the expected delivery timeframe. Change to scope was due to requests from the Department of Transport and Planning.
3 Kingston Avenue, Ascot Vale
Council as the determining referral authority, under the Public Acquisition Overlay of the Moonee Valley Scheme Overlay, has no objection to the Planning Permit Application MV/63/2023/A (Application) affecting 3 Kingston Avenue, Ascot Vale and will provide a copy of the resolution to the responsible authority (also Council) when considering this planning application.
Q3 Reports
Council has noted three year-to-date program progress reports – the delivery of the Council Plan and Health Plan 2021-25 (the Plan), Capital Works Report, and the Financial Performance Report and Declaration of Council Expenses.
Council Plan and Health Plan 2021-25 (the Plan) reported 29 initiatives on track to deliver project milestones, representing 97% of the work.
One initiative was impacted by external factors – that being, the Victorian Government planning reforms have affected the choice of a preferred site for a community hub in Niddrie. Another, the preparation of a Housing Strategy, was at risk of not being delivered due to delays in the provision of the new housing capacity assessment platform by the Victorian Government.
In all, 30 priority actions remain for delivery by end of June.
The progress update on the delivery of the 2024/25 Capital Works Program noted that the Annual Capital Budget 2024/25, including carry forwards from 2023/24, is $60,203,002, with Year-to-Date Expenditure being $30,777,851.
The financial performance report (1 July 2024 to 31 March 2025) was tabled, noting the allocation of 23/24 rates funding surplus of $3.5 million to Community Carbon Emission Reduction Reserve, IT Reserve, Infrastructure Reserve and reduction of 23/24 borrowing. There was also a report on Council Expenses, which accounts for expenses incurred by Councillors in the performance of their role.