EXPRESS Tense The
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Locally owned and proudly independent
talks over office
By Ryan Groube
A
Wolfe Brothers rock Mareeba Wolfe Brothers guitarist Brodie Rainbird cuts loose at the Far North Queensland Country Music Festival at Kerribee Park on Saturday night. Details page seven. Photo by Peter Roy.
Lot 203 4052m2 $125,000
faction within the Tablelands council is pushing to fast track the sale of office space in Atherton in a bid to get Mareeba Shire ratepayers to foot the bill. The Tablelands Regional Council (TRC) is at an advanced stage of confidential negotiations to buy land and an unoccupied building at 51 Mabel Street – next door to the Atherton council chambers. If the sale goes through before the end of the year, transfer committee member and TRC chief executive Ian Church will come under pressure to have the cost included as a de-amalgamation expense. The argument will be made that the existing council chambers in Atherton have insufficient space to house additional staff as a result of de-amalgamation. Informal discussions about the potential to include the sale price, which has not been finalised and cannot be disclosed due to commercial in confidence, have already taken place. Mareeba Shire Council transfer manager Rod Ferguson, who forms the transfer committee with Mr Church, confirmed there had been a push from the TRC to have the building included as a cost of de-amalgamation.
House & Land Package
Granite 167 $315,000
3 Bed, 2 Bath Alfresco Area Proposed for Lot 209- 3416m2 Tropic Coast Homes BSA 1089966
“There is no formal request on the table but the matter is being looked at and has been on and off the table for the past three months – ever since the building was identified as being available,” he said. “It certainly won’t be brought there [to a transfer committee meeting] by me but if it comes via Ian Church then I have no option but to give consideration to it.” If the transfer committee cannot agree on the legitimacy of the sale as a de-amalgamation expense the matter will be forwarded to Local Government Minister David Crisafulli who will make a final ruling. In a late and confidential agenda item at the September 5 TRC meeting, council carried a motion agreeing “to the negotiated outcome between Council Officers and Frank Kochi Real Estate and endorse the purchase of Lot 1 RP735966 [51 Mabel Street], Atherton”. The motion received six votes in favour. Councillors Gaye Taylor and Shaaron Linwood recorded their votes against the motion while Cr Jenny Jensen abstained. Cr Taylor said she had repeatedly sought, and received, assurances that the sale of the building would not be included as a de-amalgamation expense. “Every single time this came up cont. P3
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