More Housekeeping

Mount Gambier City Council - continues to shred rate-payers money on ludicrous, pointless projects like paving Commercial St. They have bought thousands of ugly grey pavers and a brand new machine to place them. How much and to whom did Council pay for the pavers and the laying machine?

How many hours of labour were/are being used doing this instead of all the other things they should be doing. Retailers have lost business as the works block off their driveways and carparks? I hope Council will be approachable on issues of compensation.

In these times of institutionalised state malfeasance and official political personal avarice and impropriety, local businesses are already suffering enough at the hands of a devastated local economy; losing a fortnights custom could be critical.

I petition Council to be pro-active and approach all those businesses affected regarding re-imbursement for loss of income due to the paving...I just can't be bothered trying to make some sort of clever quip about having 'streets paved with gold' because that is exactly what Council is doing, only it's rate-payer's money not gold.

     Lady Nelson Bus Shelter - Council engaged a consultant to tell them that a structure that they've already built that literally everybody else wanted in the city centre is useless in the prevailing weather conditions of 40 million years, and their solution is to spend more money on expensive glass panelling that will offer partial protection to a handful of passengers.....everyone..and, ahhhhhhhhhh..... 

Council allegedly needs a report to tell them that there will be "uncomfortable wind speeds".

Please read previous posts re City Council's Rail Lands Retail Agenda and how that has directed Council decisions like refusing the bus shelter at that site.

I call Council's behaviour on the Rail Lands and Bus Shelter issues "Old School Politics", namely, because it is an 'old trick' to hide other things behind a big school of Giant Red Herrings....ohhh, the Rail Lands are contaminated....ohhh, the Easement....ohhh, here's a $10million plan for Parkland...ohhh, but the contamination, the easement....ohhh, the Deed..etc.

Cr Merv White's recent effort on ABC Local Radio (from the Riverland-excellent show if you're reading) was an an absolute treat; "It's not Council's core business..." to do this shelter at all. Followed by thinly veiled denigration and general dismissal of the vast majority of people who were openly opposed to the Lady Nelson site.

What is Council's core business Merv? Is the Main Corner impropriety Council's core business?

Is using well over $10 milliion (headed for $15m) of ratepayers money building a Council owned function centre right on top of another Council owned function centre (the Old Town Hall- renovated at great expense) and then handing absolute control of all catering at that facility to Councillor Des Muttons son Lachlan (Sorrento's Cafe) free of charge and forcing events into that venue and spending more rate-payers money paying Mutton Jnr to feed those same self important vacuous public officials? Is that "Council's core business" Merv?

It is an absolute outrage that Council has done this; not just the abject nepotism and rampaging abuse of appropriate process, the corruption af approprite process, but most particularly the many things Council has flatly refused to do while pursuing the Main Corner/ Rail Lands Agenda...eg, the swimming centre and tennis courts- for crikey sake, we lose the International Tennis Tournament because Council cannot spend  $500,000 upgrading the courts, and Mayor Steve Perryman goes on ABC Radio saying 'oh, no biggy; didn't really bring in any money; nyah, don't really care' (a mildly exaggerated paraphrase) 

Now plans are to spend $30,000 on an exhibition (and I don't care what it is) and 'associated events', and then god knows how much (but She isn't telling me) on The "Fork and Cork" Mt Gambier Food and Wine Festival', and all centred around the 'Main Corner Precinct'.

This will cost rate-payers a fortune as Council pays for staff, security, etc, and most gallingly, pay a Councillor's son gazillions to cater umpteen 'free' and undoubtedly private functions for Councillors and their mates, etc, in a self-indulgent snouts in the trough upper-middle class frenzy of self-importance.

And the rest of us can stand in the pissing rain at a local bus shelter, if there is a shelter, to catch a local bus that only runs 9-5 weekdays (no weekends or public holidays) to get to a pool that is closed 7 months of the year...etc, etc.

Sod the class war, here is the reality of how Council conducts itself...And it's Liberal party aspirants, members or supporters like Greg Muller, Steve Perryman and Tony Pasin who have been running the show.

I completely reject the Editorial in The Border Watch Thursday April 11 2013, stating that this expensive exhibition, "...will help to justify the $9m spent on the building...". Nothing justifies the Main Corner annex  extension front door thingy ever being built, and it went past "$9m" long ago.

Fesivals and exhibitions are all well and groovy, but not at the absolute expense of fundamental public facilities and services, and unfortunately that is what Council has done, and continues to do.

And apparently former CEO Greg Muller is still employed by Council (at what cost?) in some sort of 'consultative' capacity; how fortunate for Mt Gambier. The Catholics get two popes and we get two CEOs...lucky us...yay...

Finally, why did Council mow down the trees at the Water Tower Lookout half way through the Christmas holidays and then just leave it there?. It looked/looks disgraceful; surely proper maintenance of Tourism and public facilities is Council's core business...I know...I'll just ask Merv.

This Arvo: TFTIM SAPol Superintendent Mark Fairney

and more housekeeping - milk, paedophiles, free trade, etc...