The election of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, schedule of Ordinary Council Meetings for 2026, and Bushfire Place of Last Resort commissioning were on the agenda at last night's Ordinary Council Meeting.
At the meeting, Council:
> Set the term of office for the Mayor for one (1) year.
> Elected Cr Gareth Graham as the Mayor of Alpine Shire Council.
> Established an office of Deputy Mayor; and
> Aligned the term of office of the Deputy Mayor to the term of office of the Mayor.
> Elected Cr Sarah Nicholas as the Deputy Mayor of Alpine Shire Council.
> Noted three Capital Project Contracts approved under delegation by the CEO:
> Riverside Park upgrade to McPhersons Earthmoving for $90,256.50 (excluding GST);
> Dinner Plain tennis court resurface to Total Sports and Floor for $80,072.12 (excluding GST); and
> Asphalt overlay 2025/26 to Pavecon for $120,942.65 (excluding GST).
> Endorsed the schedule of Ordinary Council Meetings to be held in 2026;
> Published the notice of Council's 2026 ordinary meeting schedule on its website;
> Noted that notice of any change required to the 2026 ordinary meeting schedule (date or location) be given at least (6) days prior to the earlier of the originally scheduled or revised date; and
> Noted that meetings held outside of the Council Chambers in Bright may be recorded and not livestreamed and the recordings will be made available on its website the day after the meeting.
> Appointed Councillors as Council's delegate on the following groups and committees:
> Municipal Association of Victoria | Mayor Cr Gareth Graham and Deputy Mayor Cr Sarah Nicholas;
> Hume Region Local Government Network | Mayor Cr Gareth Graham;
> CEO Employment and Remuneration Committee | Mayor Cr Gareth Graham, Deputy Mayor Cr Sarah Nicholas, and Cr John Andersen;
> Rural Councils Victoria | Mayor Cr Gareth Graham;
> Taungurung Land and Waters Council Local Government Forum | Mayor Cr Gareth Graham;
> Alpine Shire Council Audit and Risk Committee | Cr Dave Byrne and Cr Peter Smith;
> Alpine Children's Services Inc. | Cr John Andersen;
> Goulburn Murray Climate Alliance | Mayor Cr Gareth Graham and Cr John Andersen;
> Alpine Resilience Partnership | Cr Jean-Pierre Ronco and Cr Noah Tanzen; and
> North-East Local Government Waste and Recovery Forum | Mayor Cr Gareth Graham.
> Noted the following recommendations for allocation of the Supporting the Porepunkah Community and Alpine Region support package from the Victorian Government to support community activities and events across Alpine Shire broadly as follows:
> Increasing economic resilience | $60,000;
> Increasing local tourism | $20,000; and
> Supporting local business economy | $20,000.
> Deferred 9.2.2 Lease of Crown Allotment 2011 and 2019 (Township of Bright) at the Bright Riverside Holiday Park to a future Ordinary Council Meeting.
> Endorsed the commissioning of one Bushfire Place of Last Resort at Tavare Park, Harrietville.
> Allocated financial sponsorship to the successful applicant of the Dinner Plain Event Funding Round 2: Dinner Plain Sled Dog Sprint for $5,000, noting that, due to the timing of the event, the $5,000 funding will be provided in two payments over the end of the financial year; and
> Delegated authority to the CEO to distribute residual or unspent funds.
> Received the summary of informal meetings of Councillors for October/November 2025.
> In accordance with the provisions of s66(2)(a) of the Local Government Act 2020, considered a confidential report defined by s3 of the Local Government 2020, as:
(a) Council business information, being information that would prejudice the Council's position in commercial negotiations if prematurely released; and
(g)(ii) Private commercial information, being information provided by a business, commercial or financial undertaking that, if released, would unreasonably expose the business, commercial or financial undertaking to disadvantage.
To read the agenda and attachments, visit: https://www.alpineshire.vic.gov.au/about-us/our-council/council-meetings/council-meetings-2025
The meeting recording can be viewed on Council's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAHP3o6P82k