FINAL plans for the Mount Gambier Community and Recreation Hub may not be released until next year with council unable to provide a concrete timeline or guaranteed cost for the project.
The public has not seen the final concept designs, despite Mount Gambier City Council indicating in August they were “a month away” from going to tender.
A similar response was received when The Border Watch questioned chief executive officer Andrew Meddle on Tuesday in relation to the release of the plans.
“Detailed design and specifications are currently being finalised to be released in line with the select tender in the coming weeks,” he said.
“There will be a media opportunity in line with the release of the tender and I will provide details as soon as I can.”
Council will select from six major construction companies to build the $39.1m Mount Gambier Community Recreation Hub after expressions of interest for the project closed in September.
However, there have been no guarantees the final cost of the project will be within the $39.1m flagged by council earlier this year.
“Once the detailed design and specifications have been released the cost will be determined by the competitive tender process,” he said.
The Federal Government has committed $15m towards the project and a further $10m will be provided by the State Government with the remaining costs to be borne by council.
“The cost will essentially be determined by the market as part of the tender process,” Mr Meddle said.
“At this stage we cannot determine what that will be.”
Council has convened for a number of special meetings and in-confidence discussions in recent weeks and things are said to be “moving forward”.
Barring any major hurdles, Mr Meddle has previously stated the community would start to see construction take place early next year.
“We are looking at the council doing some site preparation works either late this year or early next year, which will give the head contractor a clean slate to start work in early 2020,” he said.
“I think that’s when the community will start to get more excited, when they can see the heavy plant on-site and see the transformation starting to come out of the ground.”
