GRANT District Council will boost its neighbouring council’s coffers by $350,000 for the proposed $39.1m Mount Gambier Community and Recreation Hub.
This follows a $1m request from Mount Gambier City Council in late December for the project, which is the largest civic infrastructure blueprint ever planned for the region.
The funding commitment follows a landslide vote in favour of the project by City Council residents and a record $25m flowing from the federal and state governments.
At Grant council’s meeting this week, elected members pledged $350,000 spread over two consecutive years.
The issue was thrashed out behind closed doors by elected members in a workshop ahead of this week’s meeting.
One major sweetener was the fact City Council will give $500,000 for the airport redevelopment.
Mount Gambier deputy mayor Sonya Mezinec said yesterday council was buoyed by Grant’s decision and would “gratefully accept” the offer.
She said district council’s contribution demonstrated the proposed facility would be a regional hub.
“A lot of Grant council’s residents will benefit from the facility,” Cr Mezinec said.
She said the contribution would also lessen City Council’s capital funding it had to find for the project.
Speaking to The Border Watch yesterday, Grant District Mayor Richard Sage said elected members canvassed how much the council could afford in allocating funds to the project.
Conceding the amount was well below the request by City Council, he said his council had a number of infrastructure projects in the pipeline that must take priority.
These include the Mount Gambier Airport redevelopment and the need to continually improve the Glenburnie Saleyards.
In particular, Mr Sage said council needed to focus on ensuring “due diligence” in terms of its budget and future plans.
He revealed the boundary adjustment – which relinquished land to the city – had hurt council financially.
“While this did affect our bottom-line and we have bounced back, the financial impact of the Regional Express Community Fare deal was unknown,” Mr Sage said.
This historic agreement has resulted in a reduction in the passenger head tax collected by the council, which own and operate the Mount Gambier Airport.
Mr Sage said council needed to consider the flow-on effects of projects it had in the pipeline in terms of its fiscal management.
The civic leader said elected members understood the importance of the recreational hub to the region in terms of delivering an indoor aquatic centre.
“This will be a regional hub, it will not just be for city residents – it will be stand-alone user-pay facility,” Mr Sage said.
Before the motion was carried, Cr Julie Reis said the council must also make it clear it would not make any ongoing contributions to the running costs of the facility.
Deputy mayor Gill Clayfield also expressed the need for council to write to their city counterparts explaining the reasons behind the decision.
Grant council chief executive officer David Singe said the City Council had made public comments the project was likely to proceed.
“The City Council has made statements that it has the ability to cover the remaining $5m through their own processes and they are also saying it will change nothing to their rates,” Mr Singe said.
Mount Gambier City Council is expected to hold a special meeting tonight regarding the landmark project.
