Minutes Directors Meeting of Surf Life Saving Central Coast (Inc.) Held at Avoca Beach SLSC Tuesday 13 December 2016. The meeting opened at 5.50pm 1. ATTENDANCE Stuart Harvey Peter James Brett Beswick Jane Davis Aaron Camp David Unger Chris Parker President Director of Special Projects Director of Lifesaving Director of Education Director of Member Services Director of Surf Sports Chief Executive Officer 2. DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST The Chairman requested the Directors to disclose any items of personal interest in matters that are going to be considered at the meeting. No interest was disclosed. 3. CONFIRMATION OF PREVIOUS MINUTES The minutes from previous meeting held Tuesday 8 November 2016 were endorsed as a true and accurate record of the meeting. Moved: Director of Lifesaving. Seconded: Director of Special Projects. 4. BUSINESS ARISING Please refer to the attached action sheet (Attachment 12.1). September 8.2 Position description for new Club Development Officer Position Complete. October 9.2 - Council Issues In progress. October 10.6 Complete. Unfortunately the hire vehicles are not allowed to be used on the beach. NOTED
5. ENDORSEMENT OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The attached November financial statements were consideration and endorsement by the Board. Moved: Director of Education. Seconded: Director of Lifesaving 6. CORRESPONDENCE The incoming and outgoing correspondence were tabled and endorsed at the meeting. Moved: Director of Member Services. Seconded: Director of Education 7. Endorsement of Portfolio Board Minutes and Recommendations The attached meeting reports and recommendations within were tabled for consideration: Board of Education meeting held 28/11/16 Board of Member Services meeting held 29/11/16 Board of Surf Sports meeting held 30/11/16 Board of Lifesaving meeting held 1/12/16 That the above Sub-Committee minutes and recommendations within such minutes were endorsed by the Board. 8. WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY The Directors were asked to raise any hazards identified in the workplace and recommend strategies to eliminate/ reduce the identified risk to prevent future harm or damage. No Hazards were identified. NOTED 9. AGENDA ITEMS/ ISSUES OF STRATEGIC NATURE/ APPROVAL/ ENDORSEMENT 9.1 Council Negotiations The President provided an update on Council dealings and negotiations which have been very challenging since the amalgamation. He said that the postponing of the cheque and equipment presentation came unexpected three working days prior to the event date. We demanded an urgent meeting with Council immediately after we were advised. At this meeting we were advised that the cheque presentation had been postponned due to Council staff not gaining the appropriate internal sign-off from Senior Management for this to proceed and this needed actioning prior to the funds being distributed. We were told we would be contacted within two days of the meeting with the outcome of this and
new date assuming all was above board. Following this meeting we have had ongoing phone calls with Council but to date are yet to receive confirmation. We have been promised Council will have this sorted prior to Thursday nights Branch Council meeting. Separate to this Council are working on a proposed funding model for Surf Clubs into the future in which we do not accept in principle, despite some areas of their model that may be positive for surf clubs. We have advised Council that we won t be discussing this item until we have sorted the cheque presentation. The CEO said he had met with several State Members and has a meeting with David Harris on Monday to update him on our issues. The State members are ready to support us however due to having some more positive conversations with Council over the past week our first preference is to resolve this ourselves and therefore have asked the State Members to hold off from raising this with Council until later in the week (if an outcome is not reached). The Director of Special Projects said he believed there are positive elements to the model Council are proposing which could benefit the clubs long-term, but the cancellation of the funding presentation that has been in place with both previous Councils long-term is unacceptable. We need to be firmer on the cancelled funding for surf clubs and not willing to move forward with discussions on any other items until they have rescheduled this. I see us as having no option but to formally write to the Administrator advising him that we are unhappy with the way we have been treated by the new amalgamated Council and have no option but to write to the NSW Premier and go to the public to advise how poorly we have been treated since the amalgamation and that lives could be lost over this. The existing arrangements with the clubs have been set up by both previous Councils so all the issues they have raised with noncompliance and commercial operations is irrelevant. We should therefore not agree to anything in principle at the moment. If Council get back to us tomorrow with a negative answer on the cheque presentation we need to organise an urgent meeting with Council before the Branch Council meeting. 9.2 Manager of UAV Rescue Services The recommendation in section 5. of the November BOLS minutes was tabled for consideration. NOTED 1. That the new position of Manager of UAV Rescue Services is created on the Board of Lifesaving as per the attached position description. 2. That James Irwin of Umina SLSC is appointed in this role. 9.3 DJI Mutual Non Disclosure Agreement The attached agreement from DJI who is the world s leading drone manufacturer based in China was tabled for consideration. DJI have reached out to SLSCC and are prepared to supply free drone equipment in exchange for operational feedback. Further opportunities may arise after a 12 month trial. The attached agreement is to be endorsed and signed prior to DJI releasing the product.
The Director of Member Services asked how this affects our relationship with Little Ripper? The Director of Lifesaving said it does not affect Little Rippers relationship as Little Ripper are encouraging of Branches using other drones including DJI models. I have already spoken to Little Ripper to ensure they are comfortable with this. The President said we need to talk to SLSNSW to confirm they are comfortable with the Little Ripper relationship prior to signing. The Director of Special projects asked if we are we covered by the organisations insurance to use this equipment? The CEO said that he has had verbal agreement from the CEO that we are covered by SLSNSW s Public Liability Insurance but will get this in writing. The President said that 5 years is too rich. We need to ensure only a 12 month term. It was also agreed that the document should be ran past the SLSCC honorary solicitor to ensure there is no risk prior to signing. The Directors agreed in principle to enter into an agreement with DJI after these checks and balances have been made and congratulated the Director of Lifesaving on his dealings with DJI to date. Action: 1. That legal advice on the non-disclosure agreement is received prior to signing. 2. That written approval to use this equipment along with confirmation we are insured is gained by SLSNSW prior to signing. 10. DIRECTORS /CEO REPORTS NOTED ITEM NO: 10.1 FROM: Stuart Harvey SUBJECT: Presidents Report Congratulations to Slim Peebles of Avoca and Garry Andrew of Copa who were awarded Life Membership of SLSNSW at their recent AGM. Well done to the patrolling lifesavers and lifesaving operations so far this season. Our clubs are doing a phenomenal job and should be congratulated. Separate to the major Council issues we have other major Council related and commercial licencing issues which are causing the clubs a lot of pain and put us at risk for the future. These issues need to be sorted and more support needs to be provided to support the clubs in these areas. The Directors discussed ways in which the Branch can further support the clubs in this areas, however agreed the priority in the short term was sorting the cheque presentation.
SLSNSW State Council Meeting Update: - The items we put up didn t get up but were listened to and further discussions have been had on funding to employ the SLSCC Club Development Officer rather than employ the Metro Club Quality Officer. The Country Branches are struggling with no administration staff and are in desperate need of assistance. - We were updated on the fraud issues and the plan with the new staff structure and review of remuneration along with the Governance Review. Major change is on the way but will take time to work through. That the Board accepts and endorses the Presidents Report. ITEM NO: 10.2 FROM: Peter James SUBJECT: Director of Special Projects The CEO and I are meeting with Fortunity on Thursday to go over the collective issues found from the audit, prepare for President Tea and Club Conference and development of the standard chart of accounts. That the Board accepts and endorses the Director of Special Projects report. ITEM NO: 10.3 FROM: Brett Beswick SUBJECT: Director of Lifesaving Report 1. ATV usage / Cleaning: Very positive response by CCC Southern region to 50 hr service on the Kabota s. Small Plant has thanked all for the effort to maintain these vital patrol vehicles. Refer the attached link https://splice.gopro.com/v?id=ejb7wwe6g 2. CCC Southern region online video re:cleaning ATV s. Ensure all club PC s have access 3. Duty Officer Update. Special thanks to those DO s who have contributed so far this season. Special mention to Glenn Clarke who has already clocked up many hours on top of his own club duties, thanks Glenn and all DO s. Will no doubt be very busy over Xmas. Looking to place 2 new DO s on the roster on probation for 3 months before seeking full DO status. Like to call for nominations prior to Xmas with BOLS and SLSCC Board signoff in New year. 4. Drone / UAV Operations: Initial 6 operators have undergone intensive training which has taken longer than first anticipated but we hope to have 4 operators signed off before Australia Day now. Has been frustrating dealing with Little Ripper, simply not prepared and been on again off again with training. Still have intensive 3 day theory component modules to complete. Practical flying and one module completed. Other companies offer this as on-line learning but Little Ripper not established as yet. I put forward a Nomination of James Irwin for UAV Manager of Operations. James not only has proven a capable operator, but is enthusiastic and has the time to dedicate to the role. See Job
Description attached. BOLS endorsed James Irwin, seek final approval by SLSCC board. 5. After Hours incident: Remind clubs of the importance of being rescue ready. Great response by Umina and Ocean beach clubs on Sun 20 th with vessel incident in broken bay. Both clubs launched IRB s and responded promptly and were praised by NSW Police for their quick response. Well done to all involved. Also a very good response by Toowoon bay medical incident with swimmer stung by a Sting ray. 6. Sale of IRB s -: reminder all IRB s to be removed from Surfguard and most importantly have all SLS text removed and SR numbers from hulls. 7. Patrol strength over Xmas break. Please be mindful of the increased patronage over the Xmas holidays. If your patrol is struggling for numbers, please contact the on-call duty officer who will help with RWC support, or neighbouring club support. 8. SLSNSW DOL John Restuccia requested increase on water presence of IRB and RWC over Xmas holidays. SLSNSW very conscious of recent shark activity and want craft on water on regular basis belief engine noise will keep away any possible threats. 9. Beaches have been fairly quiet without too many major issues. Has been the odd S&R request via 13SURF for missing yachtsman and fisherman, as well as kayaker. Seems to be a greater push from NSW POLICE and MAC to use SLS resources due to issues Marine Rescue have at the moment with crews and vessels. Financial impact to our clubs and Branch with already some Jetski damage from rescuing fishermen 4ks out off Avoca. That the Board accepts and endorses the Director of Lifesaving report. ITEM NO: 10.4 FROM: Jane Davis SUBJECT: Director of Education Report We had great feedback on the Training Officers Course which was well attended by our members and well delivered by our local facilitators. Thanks must also be passed onto Sam for her assistance provided to SLSNSW. I am very happy to see the number of new Training Officers finalising their practical and admin requirements and being formally endorsed. That the Board accepts and endorses the Director of Educations report. ITEM NO: 10.5 FROM: Aaron Camp SUBJECT: Director of Member Services Report Introduction: 1. 15-17s leadership program 2. GAP year Program 3. 13-14s development program 4. Avoca sharks and Disability awareness 5. Merry Christmas
Issues: 1. Itinerary for the 15-17s program has been finalized. Participants will travel to the far North coast via bus over the weekend of the 7-10 th Jan. Program includes visit to the Ballina Jetboat, Lismore Lifesaver Helicopter base, a visit from a shark expert to discuss the shark incidents and new nets, plus patrol on a local beach. Thanks to James Irwin from Umina for offering to drive the group. 2. The GAP year program was held with great success. The day ran very smoothly with the participants given an insight into the opportunities available to them through surf in a relaxed fun environment. Feedback from the participants was very positive with most suggesting the need to expand the program to more days throughout the season. Thanks to the presenters Nic Owen SLSNSW as well as Gabby Tinson, Rachel Field, Jade Heber and Jason smith. 3. 13-14s program is completed again with great success. The facilitation team need to be commended for running the program in my absence and efficiently dealing with some challenging circumstances. Thanks to the jet ski operators (Dave Sneddon and Mark Davis), as well as special guest speaker Rachel King, and camp overseer Simon Cusack). Feedback as usual was overwhelmingly positive. 4. Reports from the Avoca sharks Disability inclusion nippers program have been tremendous. The impact has been huge and the interest growing. The board of member services have asked for a presentation to be made at the next BOMS meeting with clubs in conjunction with a disability awareness presentation delivered by an external source. 5. Merry Christmas and safe and happy New Year to all SLSCC members and families. That the Board accepts and endorses the Director of Member Services report. ITEM NO: 10.6 FROM: David Unger SUBJECT: Director of Surf Sports Report Congratulations to the Interbranch Team and thank you to the Management and Coaches. The team finished 3 rd again with some fantastic individual results. Well done and thank you to the Lakes for hosting. The East Coast Surf Festival is tracking along with a meeting to be held prior to Christmas and advertising to be sent to the membership. Congratulations to The Streets Boat Series Organising Committee for not only delivering a professional Streets Series but also for their success with the Combined Boat Series Carnival last weekend which attracted 86 crews. The Trans-Tasman Tri Series team depart for New Zealand in January. I wish them the best of luck. I have asked by many people why SLSCC isn t holding a Christmas Party this season and while I know the answers for this, I think we should consider holding the end of season thank you to the members event we have previously spoken about. That the Board accepts and endorses the Director of Surf Sports report.
ITEM NO: 10.7 FROM: Chris Parker SUBJECT: CEO Report Introduction Good luck to all the members of the fifteen surf clubs as we enter the peak season. We ve had a good start to the season with rescues and drownings well down on average and in many ways lifesaving services are better prepared than ever with the drone service hopefully in operation during the peak period and portable PA systems ready to for use by the 15 surf clubs. Council Relations We continue to be faced with challenges from the new Council since amalgamating. We are still pushing for the club cheque presentations to occur ASAP with the latest advice from Council indicating that it will not happen in 2016/17 while they review their surf club funding model. As we have formal agreements in place with the ex. Wyong Shire Council and also have long standing arrangements with the ex. Gosford Council, this is not acceptable and I have brought this to Councils attention to reconsider. We will also be asking the local State Members to intervene and will request that they assist in organising an urgent meeting with the Administrator and CEO which unfortunately has proven difficult without their influence. On Tuesday 29 November we had a meeting with senior Council officers. Since then Council has presented SLSCC with a draft MOU outlining their strategic intent for a new funding/ management model for surf clubs along with Councils proposed steps for review which will be a very drawn out and onerous process if SLSCC and the 15 surf clubs choose to cooperate, however there are potential opportunities to be considered along with potential risks. Community Education We have had a very smooth season for Surf Fun Day programs with numbers continuing to grow and exceptional feedback received. It s great to once again see so many students learning important surf safety messages they will remember for life. We will be delivering eight summer surf School programs again this summer at Umina, Toowoon Bay SLSC s. We will not be holding programs at Terrigal this season due to beach erosion. We will also be holding eight Rip Awareness Demonstration Events throughout the Coast s busy beaches with Graham Johnston and Lynn Quick delivering the programs in partnership with surf clubs. Media advertisements are locked in on Sea FM and 2GO radio along with NBN Television. Ducks for Bucks The Ducks will be dropped at 3.30pm this year on Australia Day. Newcastle Permanent will again be sponsoring this event and selling tickets from their Branches. After an increase in clubs using this as an additional fundraising opportunity, Clubs also have the option to sell them and tickets are now available for pick up from the SLSCC office. The Trans-Tasman Tri Series team will also be using this as a fundraiser. Commercials advertising this event will be played on NBN Television, Sea FM and 2GO. CC Mariners Surf Life Saving Game The Central Coast Mariners have once again devoted a home game for Surf Life Saving to recognise the fantastic work Surf Lifesavers contribute towards the local community on Sunday 18 December 2016. The players will be wearing a red and yellow SLS strip (the same as last season), members from six of our local surf clubs will participate in the half time relay, Soldiers were the lucky club drawn out of the hat for the bucket drive fundraiser and there will be other Surf Life Saving activations such as safety advertisements on the big screen.
As part of our agreement with the Mariners we have once again negotiated a corporate box for our VIP stakeholders to watch the game. A light meal and drinks are included. The event comes with excellent PR opportunities starting with an article in the Central Coast express on Wednesday. NSW Government Grant We have submitted a grant extension and variance submission for the remaining unspent funds which has been accepted. The remaining items to be purchased/ implemented to finalise this grant now include; Additional drone with infra-red technology, 3 x video overviews which are being developed by Tree House Creative and a new projector set up and replacement table and chairs for the training room. The majority of portable PA systems have now been received with the rest being finalised this week. They will be rolled out to clubs prior to the weekend after being used for media on Wednesday. Club Captains were inducted on how to use the new PA systems at the BOLS meeting last week. Sponsorship I have met with most sponsors or attended sponsor Christmas Parties over the past month and have meetings scheduled with the remaining. During the past 12 months we have had to re-sign all sponsors aside from Unilever who had two years remaining on their agreement. We have signed all existing sponsors for three year terms aside from Central Coast Radio who operate on an annual basis and NBN and CC Holden who are now up for renegotiation with the process started with each. Unfortunately the resigning of existing sponsors, grant implementation and Council issues has meant not enough time has been spent potential naming right sponsor. This will be a major focus when returning from the Christmas break. We will be holding a Media Launch with CCLC for the RWC s at the Terrigal Junior Carnival in January. We will be holding the Sponsors Recognition Evening in March. Office Closure The SLSCC Branch Office will be closed and the office staff will be on compulsory annual leave from Thursday 22 December 2016 until Wednesday 4 January 2017. 11. OTHER URGENT ISSUES/ GENERAL BUSINESS 11.1 Director of Surf Sports - Merry Christmas to all. 12. ATTACHMENTS 12.1 Action Plan As per the below September 8.2 Club Development Officer October Develop Position Description CEO Completed 9.2 Council Issues Refer to Oct Minutes CEO, DSP, President In progress November 10.6 Surf Sports Ute Investigate Hire Options CEO Completed