Howdy y'all and welcome to the FARC Part II, which refers specifically to the 156 page Development Application document which I accessed from the State Commission Assessment Panel website...I've been promising a thorough review of all this stuff for let's get stuck in...
And as I struggle to try and keep myself informed about such matters, often much to the detriment of my own Mental Health, eg, watching Scotty From Marketting spew unrelenting deceits and endless mindless rhetoric at perpetually pointless press conferences...(gourd he loves the sound of his own voice-Ed)...yeah, not so keen on other's voices though...(particularly those voices asking questions he don't wanna' hear!-Ed)...exactly...so, 'cos I need to know, I've subjected myself to all 156 pages of MGCCs Application...(strewth!-Ed)...indeed, and it hasn't let me down...(no?-Ed)...nope, I only got as far as page 3, before the whole thing's gone to Heck in a Handbasket...if MGCC's litany of pro-FARC lies, deceits and manipulations across the last 2 years weren't enough cause for concern, page 3 is of itself a huge concern...(how so?-Ed)...where to begin? well, firstly, it doesn't appear to have been completed correctly...(mmm?-Ed)...there's numerous sections requiring specific information and they're mostly blank...(and we're off to a flying start-Ed)...it would be quickest just to include a copy, so here 'tis...
I note this is dated 12th July 2019 and ticks the box for Development Plan Consent (Planning Only) so I think this is an Interim Application not the actual Development Application, but as you can see, it's mostly blank, with no Owner/Builder identified, no materials or size specified, and costs the project at a flat $40million, not the very specific $39.1m that MGCC usually says...(and MGCC have already been 'Planning' this for yonks, eg, engaging architects, doing the Postal Vote via an external company, etc-Ed)...indeed...it also says No Receipt for the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) levy, which is 1/400th or .25% of a projects cost, or $100,000, and goes into an 'industry fund for training', etc...(what does that bit 'Do not include fit out costs' mean?-Ed)...well hopefully it refers to specific office fit-outs, eg, any equipment for the cafe or for the gym to be provided by the tenants...(yeah, but it could also include more basic items like carpets, chairs, even light fittings, etc-Ed)...potentially...(and what about all of the equipment associated with the pools-Ed)...I dunno'...(stewth mate! only 3 pages in, and all that!-Ed)...I know...(I sure as shreck hope that all of these issues, failings, and 'blanks' are somehow addressed, rectified, and filled-in somewhere in the remaining 153 pages-Ed)...you and me both, but having already had a quick scan through, I ain't holdin' my breath...(well that's just super-Ed)...well hold ya' condemnation until we've been through the whole thing, but keep it handy, 'cos gourd knows you're gunna' need it...the next few pages are Lands Title stuff...
***...please note that bit where I identified potential issues with the Do Not Include Fit Out Costs bit...this is now exactly the excuse that MGCC/Meddle are trotting-out to supposedly justify the massive cost increase, this and 'alterations and additions like carparking, etc'...***
Page
8...What appears to be the official FARC Development Application form is filled out by hand, and for Nature Of Proposed Development, the hand-scribbled detail is "To construct a community recreation centre"...and this form has
MGCC CEO Mr Andrew 'Peddle To The' Meddle supposedly lodging that
'Application' on the 25th November 2019 (Date of Application), but then at the bottom it's signed and dated 17th December 2019...I dunno' why there's this difference, but it looks very amateurish and last-minute slap-dash for such a major project...in fact, it's so dodgy, here's a copy...
...now perhaps I'm being overly critical, but I find it quite extraordinary that with the vast expense that MGCC has lavished on their pet project, on the extensive publicising/advertising, snazzy social media presentations and mail-outs, etc, and extensive costly public info sessions and renting a shop-front, etc, etc, and swathe-some architect's designs/drawings, etc, etc, etc, that for all the pomp and ceremony and glittering spectacular that has been involved thus far...(not least of all in this Application itself-Ed)...well quite, for all of that this looks like an amaturish nonsense...
Pages 9 - 64: Is a Traffic Impact Assessment about Existing Conditions, from current facilities, access/traffic issues, public transport, bike lanes, etc, and includes a 'report' about potential issues of access, traffic, carparking, delivery access, etc, using various tables about potential use of facilities to guesstimate their final data, etc...it includes 17-18 pages of Traffic Flow Data, pages
44-64 is 'Traffic Figures' that supposedly
support Council's ultimate position that everything is just gunna' be
fine...(fine?-Ed)...just fine...and anybody who's tried to get
outta' Margaret St at the Bay Rd end knows that it can be highly
problematic, but it's ultimately a minor issue...I'm not sure about any of these figures so there's no point trying to analyse this stuff, but it's apparently very extensive so I assume quite costly...these
'plans' (page 35) show that the FARC will be built immediately adjacent
to the sink hole in O'Halloran Tce, in fact, the proposed 'Southern
Carpark' is literally right next to it...(does this mean MGCC plans to try and fill-in' that sink hole, but just haven't told anyone?-Ed)...gourd knows mate...(wait, see our notes on Page 98, all will be explained-Ed)...cheers...
***...Council has specifically identified 'carparking' as a reason for cost increases, but in this Application it is broken-down in infinite detail about how many spaces will be needed each day for swimmers, gym clients, etc, and in the evenings, eg, per basketball court, etc, etc...it is in every way an absolute lie to blame 'carparking' for any cost increase...***
Pages 65 - 89: Is an Environmental Noise Assessment...again it is very extensive and detailed with lotsa' spiffy graphs and tables and data, and therefore likely very expensive, and again I can't really comment on any of it's actual details because 1) I just dunno' about this stuff technically-wise, and 2) I just don't believe anything MGCC has to say...I note there is some limited but very specific 'Materials' info regarding the facade and doors/glazing as it relates to noise abatement..I note that this Report goes into some detail about 'Music Events', something covered only very briefly under the 'Traffic Flow/Carparking Report'...(but I would think that the massed crowd of a music event, lotsa' peeps there all at the same time, arriving then leaving at the same time, etc, that would be the numero uno main issue when it comes to car park availability and traffic management and noise issues, etc-Ed)...well sure, and this report does cover some potential carpark noise and loading noise issues...it does however conclude that the Facade Costs could be less than that identified because there won't necessarily be the need for that much 'sound-proofing' because there won't be many music events and therefore any disturbance would be minor...(but surely maximum usage of the facility would by necessity include as many 'musical events' as possible?-Ed)...well you'd think so wouldn't ya', but we don't know 'cos MGCC ain't actually got a Business Plan for this...
Pages 90 - 104: Is a Stormwater Management Plan that covers existing catchment and discharge systems and potential systems, and again is quite extensive/expensive...again I can't argue the specific figures, but I note that it states that the discharge into the sink hole will only marginally increase, and the report includes an Erosion and Sediment Control Plan, but all the graphs and tables aside, I have the following concerns...
Page
98: Shows that sinkhole being used as the depository for the storm-water
off the roof of the FARC building...(what? but that's almost guaranteed
to cause massive and even catastrophic erosion!-Ed)...well if by
catastrophic erosion you mean that dumping huge volumes of water into
the sinkhole is almost certainly going to cause further subsidence and
is highly likely to cause collapse of any cave system immediately
below...(that's exactly what I mean, and anyone with even a basic knowledge of Karst Systems knows this-Ed)...a
Karst System being "a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble
rocks like limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterised by
underground drainage systems and sinkholes and caves."...(exactly, the
exact topography of most of the South East, including every square foot
of the City of Mt Gambier!-Ed)...hard to believe that they (MGCC) don't
know this...and they know that Englebrecht and Umpherston Caves are
examples of exactly that sort of collapse...it's one thing to have all that rainfall soaking in across a large mostly grassed area, but to collect it all on an extensive roof and pour it into a natural sinkhole, that's potentially disastrous...I believe that the report has either failed to realise this, or worse, has deliberately understated or dismissed this issue so as to allow the project to continue...
Pages 105 - 116: Is MGCC's very detailed (therefore costly?) architect's plans for over-all site development and some specific design plans, etc...
Go
to page 105 and read the fine print from architects DesignInc Adelaide
who deny any and all responsibility for any problems...(but didn't
MGCC CEO Andrew 'Peddle To The' Meddle straight-out blame the architects
for the outright lies that Council had told to the Girl Guides?-Ed)...indeed
he and they did...when the Guides were suddenly informed in
September/October 2019 that they were going to be evicted because their
beautiful old building was gunna' have to be demolished...(and didn't the Guides themselves build that some 60 years ago?-Ed)...apparently,
and now it's gettin' knocked-down to make way for the FARC, and they're gunna' get stuffed into a tin shed out at Hastings Cunningham Reserve...(and didn't this very
sudden notification came after the Guides had repeatedly asked MGCC,
including Mayor Lynette, and were repeatedly told that they were golden, no need to move?-Ed)...yep, then it all went to crap, and it was The Peddler himself who stated that it was all the
architects fault...
***Page 117 - 147 is the very involved 'Supporting documentation' which is mostly jargonistic blue-sky aspirational babbling, but I'll discuss it in the next post...***
Page 148: Now I did put this in the last post, but it absolutely bears repeating 'cos it outright contradicts MGCC's repeated denials that there will be any Rate Increases to help pay for this, and I quote,
"a strong sense of social responsibility for ongoing operational costs which will necessarily
flow through as rate increases to the community..."
...now we also previously canvassed the possibility/likelihood that MGCC, and particularly former CEO Mark 'Mighty Marky Mark McShenanigans' McShane were carefully weasel-wording their way around the difference between borrowing most if not all of the $15million that's Council's/Ratepayer's share of the 'Construction Costs', as opposed to the unspecified and unbudgetted 'Operational Costs', but I'm almost certain that that's exactly what they're doing...
***...and I take no joy in being so cynical only to be proven so exactly correct, MGCC has very carefully and deliberately misrepresented/weasel-worded their way around this Rates increase issue, including avoiding Council's own admission here that it will run at a loss...and MGCC borrowing is of course now a minimum $33m...***
Page 150 : "Where events suggested may be in competition with the income earning capacities of an existing club, they have not been included in the table below."...(so how does that relate to the multiple local businesses that will be negatively impacted by this development, eg, other cafes and gyms, other function facilities or music venue operators, all that lot?-Ed)...not sure Ed, but I also note that many of the Proposed Indoor Activities that Council identifies could already be accommodated in any of the several large facilities already available in Mt Gambier, eg, the enormous Ice House (basketball stadium), the huge Activ8 sports hall on Penola Rd, the large hall on the Showgrounds...(and what about the huge empty former Bunnings building on Millicent Rd?-Ed)...yep, that's another one...
The Application concludes with a very brief paragraph about the Postal Vote, albeit with very specific numbers...(numbers that seem to be somewhat inflated compared to what MGCC has been saying publicly-Ed)...yeah, a bit, but the ultimate results are similar, that is, if 45.1% did return their vote and 71.6% voted 'Yes' as per this Application, it's not that different to other 40%/70% figures used elsewhere...either way it means that 30% of returned votes were 'No', and given that more than half didn't even return their vote, less than 1/3 of eligible residents actually voted yes...(and given the saturation advertising/promoting of this, a 'No Return' is arguably a default 'No Vote'-Ed)...absolutely it is...MGCC has relentlessly rammed this project down Ratepayer's throats with a huge advertising campaign and public meetings and going to schools and info sessions/booths, including renting a Commercial St shop front, etc, etc...even if you reject this 'No Return' premise, and accept these maximum figures from Council, it's still only a 31-32% 'Yes'...
(And hasn't Council also
promised nearly $2m to 'deepen and re-vamp the outdoor pool', but as a
separate project/cost to the $40m FARC?-Ed)...yep, and that is very briefly mentioned on page 24 ...(and another $1.8m for re-vamping the adjacent tennis courts, which MGCC let fall into such disrepair that we lost the international-level women's tennis championship back a decade ago-Ed)...correct on both counts...
***...and the pool stuff has been mentioned as part of the reported $18m/$25m blow-out, but I don't recall seeing/hearing anything about the courts, they seem to have dropped off the agenda/menu...***
Tomorrow: The Corrections Stuff
COVID19, Nearly As Bad As Nick Fletcher:...to make light of a terrible situation with a semi-joke about a far less but still concerning situation, couldn't help a part-smile when the ABC South East Radio just announced that due to COVID19 they've closed their doors and no-one's allowed in except by appointment...
***...please ignore that last bit, eg, I've already posted about the Corrections/Court stuff...so that concludes my fairly thorough if somewhat delayed review of the Development Plan Consent Application...the clear points I take from it are as described, namely, 1) the deceit and manipulations of the repeatedly stated/advertised $39.1m and how that relates to the No Fit Out Costs stuff...and 2) the acknowledgement that Rates will increase just to cover 'Operating Costs'...and now of course the price has now massively blown-out to a minimum $57m...(and didn't The Advertiser report that they'd seen the 'secret documents' showing a $25m increase, therefore meaning a total of $64m minimum?-Ed)...indeed they did, and loathe as I am to believe any of the stooges involved, I haven't seen/heard MGCC specifically refute this very public claim...(and no denial is usually a very good indicator of factual accuracy-Ed)...yes, yes it is...
And just yesterday, Wednesday 7th October 2020, Handy Andy Peddlemeister has done the bolt after only 18 months...(and I see he's claiming that it's to spend more time with his family who still reside in Murray Bridge, but that he reportedly already has another job-Ed)...suss as all get out, and months ago it was alleged to me that he was a 3-day per week part-time CEO who still lived in Murray Bridge, which now is apparently confirmed...(and hasn't another of our faves, Judy Nagy, who had a previously non-existent $200,000pa job specifically created for her by her MGCC mates after she was dumped by UniSA, has she also left?-Ed)...apparently, and social media is awash with comments about "rats" and "sinking ships"...well I'm an "aqueduct" man myself, as previously stated, but I'm all onboard with the "rats" stuff...
So that's all for today, but tomorrow we're gunna' rip right into The Peddler's bolter and MGCC's rorting and incompetence, in a little post I'm going to enjoy calling, Meddle Muddle And The Train Wreck Rec Hub Hubbub...(that's almost slightly amusing-Ed)...if it weren't so hugely concerning...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
No comments:
Post a Comment