Letter to Beagle Editor:
A team member from Fight for Batemans Bay’s 50m Pool just missed the 12 noon deadline for registering to speak at this week’s Council meeting and therefore was unable to appear in Public Forum on agenda item GMR 17/039 – Financial Statements, and was denied by Mayor Innes to present.
Had we been able to speak to the meeting, this is what we would have said:......
On page 128 of the 136 page report, Special Schedule 7 – Report on Infrastructure Assets as at 30th June 2017, Council claims maintenance costs for the three (3) swimming Centres in the Shire total $229,000 and that the replacement costs for the three (3) centres is $5,134,000.
Our contention is that Council is misleading the Batemans Bay community with false information that a 50m capacity in the Mackay park Precinct re development is "unaffordable" because it will cost $6.5 million more than a 25m pool and $300,000 more in running costs when Council's Financial Statement 2016/17 clearly contradicts this information.
We have never accepted the unaffordability argument. Quote from Shire’s “Living in Eurobodalla: “A 50 metre pool would cost approximately $6 million more to construct & up to $300,000 per year more to operate”
Is it unreasonable for the questions to be asked:
Is Council neglecting the swimming complexes deliberately?
Or is Council’s preferred consultant for the Mackay Park Precinct Redevelopment, Otium, grossly overstating it’s claim that the ‘extra’ ongoing maintenance costs for a 50m pool to be included in the plans instead of a 25m pool would be approximately $300,000 per annum and to build a 50m pool would cost an extra $6.5m?
At a Community Meeting held on 17th November Minister Constance suggested that Council ‘review’ its costings and report back to him and the community.
When can we expect this review to take place?
Fight for Batemans Bay 50m Pool team
