GENERALLY, ratepayers will be relieved that council will buy the building they were planning to lease.
However, it is no secret that there has been considerable controversy and comment from residents and ratepayers about the cost and locality of the new council premises, the building of which has been under the auspices of the State Government (represented initially by Vic Urban, but since changed to become Places Victoria) who, as we know, hold this and other large tracts of land in the Officer district and are exempt from paying rates.
Initial advice was that VicUrban/Places Victoria did not fund buildings but somehow construction of a building got underway, Council funded a planning fit-out of the building but were said to be not responsible for major landscaping works of the surrounding site. Here there is a gap in the history of the project as it now appears that Places Victoria were planning to sell the building as early as April of this year and the question of who has been paying the builder is not yet clear.
When the previous council first decided larger premises were required, expressions of interest were invited and advice was that 17 had been received. No information was available concerning the various poroposals or their location, due to customary commercial in confidence protocols, and when in due course the VicUrban contract was announced as by far the best available, it was not possible for ratepayers to access information about the identity of or compare the alternative proposals, again due to the shroud of commercial in confidence.
We are now advised that the financial outcome is favourable for all concerned, particularly the ratepayers of the shire. However, because there has been such ongoing controversy about the relocation of council’s headquarters, it is essential to have maximum transparency about this whole project from start to finish in order to address the concerns of ratepayers and residents who have a right to know whether council has acted in their best interests in all aspects of this project.
Gloria O’Connor,
Cardinia Ratepayers and Residents Association Inc.
