{"id":183578,"date":"2017-07-10T16:23:36","date_gmt":"2017-07-10T06:23:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=183578"},"modified":"2020-09-10T11:21:12","modified_gmt":"2020-09-10T01:21:12","slug":"council-to-discuss-carpark-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2017\/07\/10\/council-to-discuss-carpark-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"Council To Discuss Car Park Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An artist’s concept of the completed Blackbutt Memorial Hall … in this early drawing the car park was grassed, not bitumen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell (Photo: SBRC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

July 10, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blackbutt Memorial Hall’s car park will be under the spotlight at next Wednesday’s South Burnett Regional Council meeting.<\/p>\n

Plans to build a bitumen car park beside the hall with associated infrastructure, including drainage and lighting, were thrown into doubt last week when Council failed in a bid to secure a State Government grant towards the project.<\/p>\n

Council had previously announced it intended to spend an estimated $500,000 on upgrades after the hall was relocated, including a sealed car park, footpaths, street lighting and landscaping.<\/p>\n

The hall’s connections to basic services such as water, sewerage and power were included in this plan.<\/p>\n

Money would also be spent creating an entrance roadway and installing stormwater drains.<\/p>\n

Council lodged an application with the State Government’s Building Our Regions (BOR) grants program for a 50 per cent contribution towards the project.<\/p>\n

But it was not listed when successful Round 3 grants were announced last week.<\/p>\n

“I understand the interest the relocation of Blackbutt Hall has in the community,” Mayor Campbell said.<\/p>\n

“I have asked for a full report to be tabled at next week’s Council meeting to allow Council to make a decision on the best way to fund this project so we can get started on it as soon as possible.”<\/p>\n

The Mayor said his own view was that the Council should proceed with the carpark and other infrastructure as originally planned.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He said Council had already set aside $250,000 for it in this year’s Budget, and it would be foolish to defer the balance until next year.<\/p>\n

“We spend about $14 million a year on capital works,” the Mayor said.<\/p>\n

“The extra money we need to carry out this project can be found in our own depreciation fund.”<\/p>\n

Commenting on Facebook, Cr Gavin “Spud” Jones said he was determined to see the hall complex upgraded as originally planned.<\/p>\n

He was disappointed the State Government had failed to match the Council’s own contribution on a 50-50 basis, but believed the investment by Council was sound.<\/p>\n

“Trust me, this work will be completed within the next couple of months,” Cr Jones said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In February, Cr Jones laid out a timeline for the project at a public meeting held at the Blackbutt Golf Club, saying he believed the hall would become \u201can integral part\u201d of the Blackbutt community in its new location.<\/p>\n

The timeline has been largely met, with an official handover from Blackbutt’s supermarket developer to the Council expected later this month.<\/p>\n

Once the hall is back under Council control, work on the external infrastructure can begin.<\/p>\n

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