Howdy dear availees everywhere...I realise that it's been another fortnight between posts but it's a sortta' self-protective strategy regarding the 20th anniversary of the 'official' St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up, just 'walk away' for a bit then come back and go again....I also noticed that we've started and/or posted several St Martins Reviews and never really got to complete any of them...so today we're goin' around that to do this and therefore keep moving forward whilst irretrievably mired in the St Martins Cover-up...and when we say the 'latest lies' it's more of a review of all the lies that Mt Gambier City Council has spewed onto the long-suffering Ratepayers of Mt Gambier...so let's start at the beginning...
For literally decades people have wanted an All Weather Pool for Mt Gambier, that is, for the outdoor Olympic sized pool to be 'covered'...that's all anybody really wanted...(and for decades nuthin' happened and the pool was shut half the year, and, being open to the elements, eg, the prevailing cold Southerly wind, was only really 'pleasant' on the few weeks of really hot weather-Ed)...and it would have been so simple and relatively so, so cheap...a hangar-style shed erected over it, then enclosed with roller doors and sliding glass doors that could be fully opened in 'pleasant' weather but closed when it's inclement...(and solar panels could provide much of the power and roof-top heating to be utilised during Winter, etc-Ed)...I did a rough basic costing of this a decade ago and it would have cost approx $400,000 to $500k for the materials, ie, a kit-form hangar and the roller/sliding doors...I didn't include the solar panels or heating...I did however also include enclosing the small wading pools immediately adjacent the main pool with similar 'kit sheds' and doors...(allowing a massive mark-up for labour, etc, this could have been easily achieved in only a coupla' months for well under, say, $4million-Ed)...so that's roughly $1m for materials, including solar panels, and allowing $3m purely for construction...(and that's all anybody really wanted-Ed)...but nuthin' ever happened...
For the record, my plan included similar hangar-style coverage of the adjacent netball and tennis courts...(and rule one, the vast amount of inclement weather comes from the South, so that's the side that needs to be protected-Ed)...then, in Winter, the Sun is very low in the Northern sky so having it open is important to minimise lighting costs...simple, particularly with the North/South tennis courts...fully enclose both sides and back of the Southern-most 3 courts, with high roof and roller-door sides, etc, opening out to the Northern 3 courts with only a roof over them...(well that'd also provide great sun shelter in the hotter months-Ed)...indeed it would, and provide year-round protection for the Southern-most 3 courts...(so if Mt Gambier ever gets it's International competition round back we can guarantee at least 3 courts to be always available-Ed)...exactly...and there's some design considerations about translucent panelling to allow maximum natural light, etc, with some artificial lighting to allow play on dark rainy days/evenings/etc...(basically, enclose and put lights over the 3 Southern courts, and continue that roof over the other 6 courts-Ed)...and apply similar principles to the netball courts, obviously with a much lower roof needed...I costed these projects at a combined price tag similar to the pool...so, for under $10m you could have had the entire precinct suitably weather-proofed...
Thirdly, but by no means least, there was some public interest in a proper Exhibition Hall style structure, preferably on the Show Grounds...(such as they have at the Adelaide Showgrounds-Ed)...exactly, Mt Gambier lacks such a facility...(and this FARC debacle sure ain't it-Ed)...no it's not...this small to mid-sized 'hall' does not cater for the sort of large exhibitions or music events that will attract these events to Mt Gambier...there could also have been proper renovation of the old exhibition hall currently on the Showgrounds...none of this is even vaguely possible now that Council has committed Mt Gambier Ratepayers to 50+ years of massive debt with the FARC...
Language Warning:...And yes folks, it really is that simple...(or at least it was-Ed)...indeed, it was that simple, but MGCC have completely fucked it right up, and just about as fucked-up as you could get without deliberately trying...(mate, MGCC couldn't fuck things up this thoroughly if they tried 'cos they are fundamentally incompetent-Ed)...unless of course fucking it up is the agenda...(how so?-Ed)...well, the bigger the project and the more delays and price increases, etc, etc, the more of Ratepayers money is there to be rorted/ripped-off...remember that approx $2m went 'missing' on the 100% over budget Main Corner and Library projects...(and of course there's those Councillors directly profitting from their association with this project-Ed)...yeah, for 'legal reasons' no names, but it's a fact...and also remember that Council bragged that "$21m will go to local contractors", which means that roughly $60m has been spent elsewhere and/or 'left' Mt Gambier...this unmitigated debasco is a license for certain people to literally help themselves to Ratepayer's money...
So here's the latest 'release' from MGCC via interviews on the ever compliant and complicit ABC South East Radio, and this from their Facebook page 20th June 2022, and my attached 'Comment'...apols that I can't get the included damn photos to copy/paste so's I've included the link just below...please open that and then you'll be able to access and enlarge the photos to see what we're talking about...***
ABC South East SA - Posts | Facebook
- Nick FletcherCost has already exceeded $80million, not the "$57m" Council keeps stating. Don't believe that? Just check Council's own past 4 Budgets on their website and do your own math. When questioned about the $39.1m price tag that they originally presented, and the associated vote to accept it, Council falsely states that 1) was never a final total cost, and 2) actually about voting to accept the $25m state and federal grants. Council was on ABC Radio 5 months ago stating outright that "the outdoor pool is completed", and it clearly isn't. Six months ago Council was stating that a tender/contract about who would operate the centre was nearly finalised, but nothing since. This article doesn't show the indoor pools at all, why not? Council on ABC right now blaming COVID, rain, port closures in China, literally everyone and everything, but still not giving a completion date. Council has been deliberately deceitful when initially promoting this project, have been repeatedly deceitful about the huge cost blowout, and continue to deceive Ratepayers about multiple aspects of the project. This massive expenditure and associated $50m+ Council 'borrowing' and running costs, maintenance, etc, will hang over Ratepayers and directly negatively affect Council's ability to provide basic services for many decades to come. Ratepayers have been left holding the bill for this. Today Council appeared to confirm there is still no 'operating contract' and no 'entry cost structure' finalised. How expensive will this be and how many will be able to afford it? Council has spent $80m+ and Mt Gambier has neither an indoor 50m pool, the one thing everyone wanted, so no winter competitions, etc, nor a proper dedicated 'convention/music centre'.
***...So first things first, I don't know when these photos were taken, but it is reasonable to assume that given the article is a 'latest update', then these are fairly recent...(but hang on a second, didn't Council say that the 50m outdoor pool was "completed"?-Ed)...indeed they did Ed, again via the ABC SER...(well it doesn't look like it in that photo-Ed)...well no it doesn't...(and that was said like 5 or 6 months ago?-Ed)...yeah, I'd say 5 months ago when either Barbara Cernovskis or Sarah Philpott were on the ABC stating outright that it was "completed", and as is my want, I went past there and had a look, been doin' that about once a month, and it was only part-lined and surrounded by piles of rubble and dirt...and it was still being worked on only about 3 weeks ago...(and how do you know that?-Ed)...'cos I went past again and there were 5-6 workers in it working on it...(fair dues-Ed)...neither do I see any sort of shade structure erected, and the surrounds are (were?) still piles of dirt...(and there's no splashdeck/surrounds either-Ed)...that's what I'm saying, it's a long way from "completed", which makes that statement from Council an abject lie, and just one of the many they've spewed-forth on this project...(strewth! and what's with the cartoon images in these 'photos?-Ed)...well I reckon they're 'artist's impressions' of the finished product, but basically they just serve to highlight how far from completion those bits are...
For example, what you can't quite see in these cropped photos is that the slide thingy is sitting about a foot off the floor on 'reo-bar stilts'...(hey yeah, if you look at those individual photos on the ABC's Facebook page link we've provided, those expanded photos show the footings about 12inches (30cm) off the floor, but why?-Ed)...well I don't know for sure, but that looks to me like they haven't poured the floor slab yet, or at least the pool bit that goes under that structure...(and doesn't that include underfloor heating, which doesn't appear to be set out in this photo either?-Ed)...well that was the original plan/story, a 'heated splash-pan area', but I couldn't say for certain...(but that slide, that single small slide, that is clearly set well off the 'floor', and there's some piping/plumbing sticking up as well, so it does look like there's something to go under/around it-Ed)...indeed, it looks like it's set-up for a floor/pour to come up to where it's currently 'floating'...
(And hey, given that they're the much-hyped centre-piece of this 'ere monstrosity, where's the photos of the indoor heated 25m pool and other pool/s?-Ed)...fabulous question Ed, and one that several people have asked, including in the 'Comments' bit of that article...(and the answer is?-Ed)...I dunno mate, but I'd hazard a guess that they're nowhere near ready and hence Council chose to deliberately exclude them...(oh yay, so that's what? further delays and further costs?-Ed)...at this point, neither is unlikely and even probable...(yay-Ed)...
I also refer dear availees back to the points I've made in my 'Comment', particularly the factual aspects of my various claims...it's a fact that MGCC has identified $80m+ cost in their 4 recent Budgets...(as we covered in a recent previous post, 4th Jan 2022, What Will The FARC Really Cost Mt Gambier Ratepayers?-Ed)...as indeed we did, that was about the 3 previous Budgets, not the 2022/23 year, but the math stands...it's also a fact that MGCC furiously promoted a "$39.1m" project, but then tried to backtrack away from that with lies about the 'vote' being only about accepting the $25m in grants...(bollocks! Council specifically and repeatedly promoted a $39.1m project!-Ed)...yes, that's what I said...(oh right, yeah-Ed)...and the rest is self-evident...there never was and still isn't any actual business plan, operational plan, access cost structure/plan, etc, etc...it's all been done on the good ol' Build It And They Will Come ethos...(and apparently at whatevs cost-Ed)...exactly...nor have I been able to find any explanation of the projected ongoing operational costs, that is, what is it gunna' cost Ratepayers yearly to actually run the facility?...and it's just a fundamental nonsense to say that Rates will not be increased to help pay for this...(well Liberal Member for Barker Tony Pasin, he whom kicked-off this perpetual cluster stuff-up, he himself said right at the beginning that Rates could easily be raised to cover these costs-Ed)...yes he did...
And the upshot of all of this latest deceit/propaganda from Council is that they still don't have a completion date...(well they're stating that Council "hopes to provide an update on the opening timeframe...in the coming weeks."...so that's as clear as mud...as of 20th June 2022 MGCC doesn't even have a ballpark date they can offer-Ed)...well quite, it's about as unspecific an answer as you can conjure, and when Barbara Cernovskis was specifically asked, she wouldn't commit to it being open 'this summer', but when gently pushed, somewhat relented, but it was still a very non-committal answer...(and 'this Summer' potentially means sometime in January even February 2023, some 7 or 8 months away-Ed)...and depending on what 'schedule' you're referring to, the FARC is already roughly 2 years behind schedule...
Just a quick reminder that Council is also still repaying approx $2m of monies borrowed to pay for the Library project, a $12m+ project that received approx $5m in funding and was completed over a decade ago...(so how long is it gunna' take MGCC to repay $50m+ borrowed for the FARC?-Ed)...well that's the point I was making about how the FARC cost blowout completely compromises any future Council's opportunity to have future infrastructure plans and/or even provide basic services...(for decades to come, future Councils and Ratepayers will pay a heavy price for this immediate previous and current Council's incompetence-Ed)...yes, we all will...and I'd also note that, for those who try to accuse me of just being a naysayer, a knocker, a whinger, above I have provided a very thorough, well considered and budgeted alternative way in which far more could have been achieved for far less...
Tomorrow: 20 Years Of The St Martins Child Abuse Cover-up
I've been pretty much avoiding it for fairly obvious reasons, but that ain't gunna change anything, so here 'tis...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
A few months ago Council separated the waste charge from "rates" on the Rate Notice. I was particularly interested in this as it appeared in in reality served no practical purpose. My concern that this was some sort of game to fulfill the 'We will not increase rates above 4.9% to increase revenue to fund the Wulunda Centre" promise but it was dismissed. Now if you look at the August Information/briefing notice my concerns seem to be about this maneuver as a 'smoke and mirror' exercise seem to be given extra weight. It looks to me as though the Council is trying to increase revenue by increasing a fee they removed from the "Rates". Be interested in your thoughts
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