The Northern Rivers Times Edition 134

$11.1 MILLION HOLE IN POOL FUND PLAN

By TIM HOWARD

The funding strategy for the $24 million Grafton swimming pool project is in tatters after a NSW Government department has refused permission to redirect $11.1 million of grant funding.

The Clarence Valley Council’s funding strategy to build a new pool complex for Grafton, relied on transferring $11.1 million from the Bushfre Local Economic Recovery grant fund allocated for the demolition and construction of the Treelands Drive Community Centre.

But this week the council revealed the Department of Regional NSW would not allow the funds to be switched to the pool project.

Clarence Valley Mayor Ian Tiley was disappointed with the decision, because it appeared to have support from the government, through the local member, Chris Gulaptis.

“The words used were the transfer would not be allowed because it was the result of an ‘open, competitive process’,” Cr Tiley said.

Cr Tiley described the decision as disappointing and at odds with what the council had been led to expect when it applied to have the grant funds transferred to the pool project.

“We were given every indication it might be successful and with the support of the local member, Chris Gulaptis, we moved ahead on that basis to seek the transfer of the funds,” he said.

The council included $11.1 million from the BLER fund in the pool funding strategy it approved at its

Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis, Cr Jeff Smith, GDSC Swimming Club president Stephen Donnelly, pool user groups representative Allan Marsh, Clarence Valley Council general manager Laura Black, Nationals candidate for Clarence Richie Williamson and Cr Peter Johnstone outside Grafton Pool for the announcement of $1.5 million of State Government money to help rebuild the pool. Meanwhile a government department had knocked back a proposal to redirect a $11.1 million grant to the pool project.

November meeting. And its confdence remained high as the latest edition of its quarterly publication, Clarence Magazine, out in January, included the pool funding strategy with the $11.1 million transfer.

But in the November business paper under key issues it said: “Preliminary discussion with the Department of Regional NSW Bushfre Local Economic Recovery fund grant administration section has identifed an opportunity to lodge a formal request for the transfer of funds ($11,107,882) currently allocated to the Treelands Drive Community Centre project to the Regional Aquatic Centre. It should be noted that the BLER funds are required to be fully utilised by June 2024.”

There has been no indication when this application was made when the council could expect to know for certain of the outcome.

The decision

disappointed Mr Gulaptis, who on Friday was outside the Grafton Pool handing out $1.5 million in funding for the pool project.

Mr Gulaptis said he was aware at the time the grant transfer had been knocked back, but there was no mention of the news then.

“I believe I found out the department had knocked back the proposal about the same time as council,” he said.

He blamed “bureaucrats” and the furore around “pork barrelling”, where MPs direct government spending to their electorates to boost their electoral chances, as the reasons for the decision.

“This was a bureaucratic decision where a government department, that does not understand the needs of the community just follows the guidelines,” he said.

“We (politicians) are at arms length from the process,” he said. “If I had the say-so the money would be

transferred for the pool, it’s obvious that’s what the community wants.

“But if an MP starts directing funds to their electorates, hey, that’s pork barrelling.”

Mr Gulaptis said socalled pork barrelling was the only way regional areas could get funding for much needed projects.

“Regional areas don’t get $300 million sports stadiums as line items in the budget,” he said. “Instead we told there are competitive grant schemes going out for tender.

“These are assessed and if we’re not good enough, we miss out.”

The Mayor said the council had some tough decisions to make at its February 28 meeting, where both the pool funding and Treelands Dr projects would come up.

He said the pool remained the council’s number one priority and it had allocated about $6 million to it.

This included $3.8 million from council

funds, $882,000 from the sale of the Visitor Information Centre, and $1.4 million from the Stronger Communities Fund.

He said the $1.5 million grant announced last week would go toward demolishing the current pool structures.

“We are going to need to borrow considerably more than we hoped to,” Cr Tiley said.

But he was not confdent the pool would be ready by June 2024, as he had been at the end of last year.

“Things have changed, the goal posts have moved,” he said.

He said he had already been in contact with the local candidates for the upcoming State election to see what the major parties could come up with.

But he said the council must not allow the BLER funding to lapse even thought it put council in a diffcult position.

“We are going to have to revisit the decision not to demolish the current Treelands Dr centre,” he said.

“While that’s diffcult, I don’t believe that’s as big an issue in the community.”

Cr Tiley confrmed the council would stick to its decision not to sell the Wooli St Hall.

“The one bit of good news we have received is an extension until June 2025 to spend the BLER grant funds,” he said.

The about face has disappointed the Yamba Community Action Network, who organised public meetings opposing the proposal to demolish and build a new Treelands Drive centre.

“Yamba CAN is very disappointed,” said the group’s secretary, Lynne

Cairns. It’s a complete turn-around. Why did it take so long?

“This matter was done and dusted. Council openly advertised it as such and now we go back to the drawing board.”

She said it appeared the council was forced to do something it and the community did not want.

“Will council now approve something that the Yamba community do not want (demolish TDCC and build Option A) and force council to borrow for something that is needed (Grafton Aquatic Centre)?” she said.

“Yamba residents don’t want a Taj Mahal community centre when inadequate stormwater drainage has not been addressed.

“Residents homes were fooded. Residents are still suffering and are anxious whenever we get heavy rainfall.”

Mrs Cairns said the Option B (no demolition and develop the current library) which council resolved to accept at its November meeting was still Yamba CAN’s preference.

“In council’s business paper 22 November 2022 Option B is calculated to cost $8m and ‘is a conceptual design only and cannot be delivered by June 2024’,” she said.

“The $8m could greatly increase: obtaining detailed designs ensuring community’s suggestions are met, building cost blow outs, etc.

“The BLER funding has been extended to June 2025 so Option B is achievable.

“We hope council gets its priorities right and approves Option B.”