Howdy dear availees across the globe...as is my want, I'm gunna' completely contradict myself by explaining why I think the Hastings Cunningham Reserve precinct will not be sold...(no you're not, this whole post is gunna' be one long, snide, facetiously manipulative explanation as to why what you genuinely believe Mt Gambier City Council is gunna' do, that is, sell-off the entire precinct for housing development, why that would be a disaster-Ed)...ah Ed, you know me too well...I'm gunna' acknowledge all of the relevant facts that make the HCR sale highly unlikely and event nonsensical, and use all that to highlight why it's gunna' be such a disaster should it proceed...and as per usual I have sought to thoroughly research these 'facts' and what is merely my opinion is clearly identified as such...
And as with so many of the things we cover here on TMGI, I genuinely hope we're horribly wrong about this whole issue, 'cos I'd rather we were wrong than this is actually happening...having said that...
What better place to start than with an admission that I was wrong and right about the Pump (bike) track...(oh gourd, 'ere we go-Ed)...yes, here we go, 'cos I stated that MGCC has failed to complete the Pump track expansion they started early 2022 (late 2021?)...as it transpires, the bit I was referring to specifically as being only part-finished may be just a planned observation level...(aha! so you were wrong!-Ed)...but as part of an actual expansion/extension of the track area, work that was also planned/promised some time ago but has not been done...(ah-Ed)...yes, "ah", so the exact bit I was identifying as 'unfinished extension' is possibly both things, done and yet not...(okay, so the earthworks for the grassy knoll bit, that might be right, but the larger and much more expensive bitumenised track extension section(s?), that hasn't been done?-Ed)...correct...and in my researching this issue I've discovered 2 things I didn't know...(do tell-Ed)...well...
The track is considered world class and certainly one of the best in Australia, and would likely have cost $1m or even slightly more to construct...(well it has hosted the Australian qualifier for the whatevs international competition-Ed)...yes it has...(twice even-Ed)...indeed, and that's the second thing. it was essentially a quid pro quo between MGCC and the builders/organisers...(how so?-Ed)...well, Mt Gambier was promised 2 championship qualifiers if they invested in a track...(so who organised that? the builder or Council?-Ed)...that I don't know, but the fact is we've had our 2 gos and it will now likely not return to Mt Gambier for quite some time...(which is how long exactly?-Ed)...well I don't know, but as explained to me, there's heaps of other tracks around so it's likely to be at least a decade, probably longer, and by that stage, maybe never...(well hopefully it won't be that long-Ed)...indeed, but as it concerns us for the HCR Sale issue, it's an excellent facility, and approx $1m investment that would be lost, and then another $1m+ obviously to reinstate it elsewhere...(so if that Pump track's worth $1m, what would the much larger BMX track cost to reproduce on another site?-Ed)...well that was gunna' be my second facetious point about why the HCR Sale isn't going to happen...
I don't know exact figures, but anyone who's seen it knows the BMX track is at least 6-8 times bigger in area than the Pump track, with much higher and vastly more extensive earthworks, etc...(and the Pump track has no infrastructure attached, not nuthin', so when y'all include the BMXers' starter gate area, shelters, and clubrooms, etc yeah?-Ed)...exactly, with all that taken into account, it is not unreasonable to calculate that it would easily cost $10m to reproduce the BMX track elsewhere...(and that's not including the cost of the loss of the current track-Ed)...well sure, so as a total it's a $20m exercise to scrap then move that track...and that's why Council won't sell it...
Just for the record, and whilst I don't believe it is (will be) the case, I have thought about and therefore want to acknowledge the possibility that MGCC could sell-off the bulk of Hasting Cunningham Reserve but retain the 2 bike tracks...(not least of all for the reasons we've covered above-Ed)...indeed...now I don't know if it's even possible to divide-up the HCR in that manner, but I do note that the easement between Millard Rd (Western entrance to HCR) and Webb St (Eastern end of HCR and access to soccer club carpark), is possibly a gazetted road, ie, it can be used (is already zoned?) as a road...this was stated to me quite some time ago, and whilst I cannot find direct evidence, there are other gazetted roads in Mt Gambier, eg, the 'track' between the Blue Lake and Bay Rd...(that's effectively an extension of Grant Ave?-Ed)...yeah, exactly...and if so, then there's an albeit unlikely possibility that the bike tracks might form a 'residential block' or can somehow be sectioned-off, whatevs...the South Australian government site I used has a 'Google map' that doesn't even have the Pump track on it, but it does clearly show the Millard-Webb easement...here's the link to that map...
https://location.sa.gov.au/viewer/?map=hybrid&x=138.68544&y=-34.94746&z=13&uids=136
The soccer club is another obvious reason that MGCC will not sell-off the HCR...(didn't that club, Apollo isn't it, yeah, didn't they just invest in several new light towers and do a major pitch renovation?-Ed)...yep, they did, but the towers themselves would be relatively cheap to move, it'd be the combined cost of installing, then removing, then re-installing elsewhere, I reckon the club'd find that a bit irksome...again, whilst unlikely, it is possible that the Soccer club could also be annexed from any sale, 'cos the Millard-Webb easement is currently carpark area and could be easily turned to actual road...(but then it would seem unlikely, indeed, it's problematic as to why Council evicted the tennis club immediately adjacent South of that carpark yet would not sell the Soccer club area?-Ed)...sure...and I have no idea what it would cost to relocate the Soccer club, re-establish a suitable pitch, etc, but it would have to run to several $$million...(and the cost of the tennis courts/club?-Ed)...yeah, again, I dunno', but along with the 2 bike tracks, the tennis club and 8 courts, albeit currently vacant, there's several reasons there as to why the whole area is not going to be sold-off...it would have to cost $20m-$30m to relocate just those 4 things...
Then there's all the community group sheds/clubhouses currently located in the South-West corner...the dog trainers, the car club, Lions, wood-turning group I think's there...(the men's shed?-Ed)...I reckon they were there but have moved to bigger premises...(the 'Scottish' bagpipe people, I've heard them there-Ed)...yeah, them and several others I don't immediately recall...(and several of those groups, eg the dog and car clubs use large areas of the parkland for their meetings and events-Ed)...as do the bike tracks utilise large sections of the open space to accommodate patrons/visitors for their events, the open grass areas are perfect for their requirements...so there's several more reasons why Council won't sell the HCR...there's the cost of relocating these clubs and also providing them suitable external space...(do you know if any of these clubs have had their leases cancelled recently or been put on monthly lease renewals like the clubs at Reidy Park?-Ed)...no I don't know that Ed, but I will endeavour to find out...I will also note the adjacent small playground and substantial BBQ shelter structure, that I believe was donated and constructed by the Lions club...
Of all the infrastructure at HCR, the mostly excellent twin dog parks would likely be the least expensive to relocate...these originally excellent facilities have been largely neglected by Council for years, as discussed at a Council meeting back in April 2022...apart from basic maintenance, eg, lawn mowing and the occasional tree removal, very little happens there...(well they did randomly jam those solar light posts in, was it early last year?-Ed)...yes, they did do that, but as for the multiple maintenance/infrastructure issues people have actually raised with them, eg, a functioning rain/shade shelter, improved sealed entrance and paths for disability access, loose gravel hurting dogs feet, etc, none of that has been addressed...I'll also note the number of people who come to HCR to take their kids to the bike tracks and at the same time their doggo/s to the dog park...(haha, getting all the li'l blighters exhausted in one fell swoop-Ed)...indeed, it's great having these facilities adjacent...(similarly, it's great having the tracks and dog park adjacent/accessible via the Rail Trail-Ed)...absolutely, tons of people come into HCR, for whatevs purpose, via the Rail Trail...
So there's the 5 main things/reasons why MGCC won't sell-off Hasting Cunningham Reserve, namely, the 2 bike tracks, the soccer club (and tennis club), the community clubrooms, the dog parks, and the associated open park area that many of the clubs and/or patrons use...(and of course MGCC would have to find somewhere to re-locate them all to, whilst providing that open ground aspect as well-Ed)...exactly...with even a cursory examination, it would be ludicrous for MGCC to sell-off HCR...
And I haven't included previous, but I will now, the prolific native birdlife in the Reserve, as supported by the dozens of large trees, many of them flowering native gums or similar...Crimson and Eastern Rosellas, Spotted Pardalotes, White-Naped Honey Eaters, New Holland Honey Eaters, Kookaburras, Wattlebirds, Crows/Ravens, Native Pigeons and Doves, Silver eyes, Blue Wrens, Willy Wagtails, Grey Fantails, and several other small species like Garygone...also species like Magpies, Galahs, Corellas, Cockatoos, etc, that live/nest in the trees and feed extensively on the open grassland...it would be expensive to relocate the human infrastructure, but it's impossible to just immediately recreate a mature park/grassland area...I doubt whether any of this comes into MGCCs' calculations or even consideration, but for me personally, this 'natural environment' aspect is significant...
Now I'm just gunna' quickly reiterate why I believe that MGCC does have Hastings Cunningham Reserve in it's sights...MGCC have incurred a massive debt with their gross mishandling of the Wulanda Hub Project, effectively if not actually/officially bankrupting the City, and therefore Ratepayers...costs as identified in their own Budgets show the Hub to have totalled a minimum $80m, likely closer to $85m...that's not opinion, that is the exact numbers as identified by MGCC in MGCC Budget documents...(and it's widely alleged to have hit $100m-Ed)...indeed, but sticking to the Councils' own figures across it's last 4 Budgets, $80m-$85m...unfortunately Council and local media continue to knowingly deceive Ratepayers by stating "$62m" as the final cost...so, given MGCC received $25m in State and Federal funding, and the actual cost is minimum $80m, the related debt load stands at around $55m, likely higher...
As I understand it, Council has been unsuccessful in gaining their desired control/ownership of land along the rail easement, with a view to on-selling that land... and this leaves them very few options when it comes to raising funds, and certainly funds that will make any sort of impression on the mountainous debt related to the Hub...
Again, I know the previous Liberal government was furious with MGCC about this massive blow-out and debt, and I believe that the current Malinauskas Labor government are fully aware, and indeed, that it's what motivated Malinauskas to suddenly throw the 'Amalgamation' dead-cat onto the metaphoric table...(whaaaa?-Ed)...I believe that Labor knows that MGCC bankruptcy is looming or even imminent or even already happened, so, desperate to not have to bail-out a bankrupt Council, Labor were trying to spread the debt load across 2 Councils...(and now that's failed?-Ed)...Labor will immediately rubber-stamp any and all applications/re-zonings/permits/whatevs that MGCC require to pursue whatevs agenda to raise funds...
As reported in The Border Watch on Friday 27th January 2023, MGCC is having a "confidential meeting" on 7th March 2023, where-in "public housing and Hastings Cunningham Reserve" are on the agenda...(I didn't know Council could declare a meeting "confidential" ahead of that actual meeting itself, I though they had to convene a meeting first, start that meeting, then immediately take a vote to conduct that meeting "in confidence"?-Ed)...well that was my understanding too Ed, but since when did Mt Gambier City Council let appropriate conduct and/or procedure compromise their agendas/plans?...
And MGCC has a well-defined penchant indeed addiction to gross deceit of Ratepayers, from deliberate omissions, up through weasel-worded pseudo-statements, right out to bare-faced lies...(and the whole Wulanda Hub debasco is a perfect case in point-Ed)...absolutely it is Ed, right from it's inception, right through the planning and development stages, construction, and especially now it's open albeit not actually completed...(and again, not our opinion, absolute fact proven by Council's own documents and statements-Ed)...exactly Ed, and the mind-numbing cost blow-out is front and centre of that...MGCC garnered community support/approval with saturation promotion and promises of a $39.1m indoor complex with all the bells and whistles, multiple heated pools, gym, cafe, etc, etc...MGCC then submitted a Planning Application Approval which quoted the project at "$40m not including fixtures and fittings"...(so that's $40m for just the box, but the actual contents, eg, pools, cafe, gym, etc, that's all extras?-Ed)...correct...
When I tried to stop this 'Planning Approval' with a written submission to the Planning Commission, they stated they weren't interested in whether or not MGCC were lying to Ratepayers, the PCs' sole concern was that the paperwork was correctly filled-out and submitted...(and when confronted with this deceit, MGCC has repeatedly publicly denied ever promising a completed project at $39.1-Ed)...yes Ed, yes they have, repeatedly and vigorously denied they ever promised a 'total project' at $39.1m...and that is the biggest lie in it's most basic form...MGCC have deceitfully promised a completed project at $39.1m, knowing it wasn't going to happen, and then have repeatedly lied about it since...and it's only one of a series of lies regarding just the Hub Project...(well what about all the lies MGCC told to justify evicting the world-renown Aquifer Tours and Cafe out of their premises up at the Blue Lake?-Ed)...indeed Ed, another example of MGCC engaging in a litany of lies to justify their appalling conduct...MGCC doesn't give a fat dead rats' festered clacker about the damage they've done to Mt Gambiers' Tourism profile and reputation, just so long as they could screw-over the Aquifer Tour proprietors...
At the very least I am pleased that my efforts this week have turned people's attention to both issues, the impending 'possible' sale of HCR, and the financial disaster that is MGCCs' handling of the Hub project...as is often the way in such a small town, just this morning someone was quoting my own Facebook posts to me...they were shocked to learn that I was the 'author'...it was a welcome but unnecessary reminder that 'rumours' can spread rapidly, especially 'bad rumours'...and that's why I consider very carefully what I believe to be statements of fact, eg, MGCC is looking at selling-off HCR, and how that relates to the many months of associated rumours that have preceded it...
I'm gunna' finish here, but rest assured that there's plenty more to come on this 'ere blog about MGCC and their appalling conduct, be it the Aquifer Tours, the Wulanda Hub, whatevs is happening at Hastings Cunningham Reserve, etc, etc, etc...when it comes to railing and ranting about Institutionalised Corruption, as we are so want to do here at TMGI, well, Mt Gambier City Council is the gift that just keeps on giving...
Tomorrow: Post Four Of My ICAC Testimony
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
No comments:
Post a Comment