We freely admit to a growing sense of frustration every time Lipshutz states that GESAC is ‘progressing well’ and ‘on budget’. It’s laughable because the ‘budget’ has undoubtedly been blown out of the water countless times already. We also freely admit that the following is mere supposition. It has to be, given that this Council has steadfastly refused to provide real facts and figures on GESAC. We know so very little about the expenses, about the costs, about revenue losses. The bottom line in all of this is a mystery. However, we like mysteries and present the following figures – simply as a guide. We stand to be corrected and we’ve undoubtedly left out much simply because Council has left out much in its disclosures to the most important people – us – the ones who are paying all the bills.

Here’s what we do know:

  • Vic Roads demanded that ALL the costs for the installation of the traffic lights in East Boundary Rd., plus all the necessary re-routing be paid for by Council. We estimate on very old figures that traffic lights are in the vicinity of $150,000. Add to this roads, pavements, landscaping, etc. and it’s feasible to suggest another $300,000 to $400,000. We are also willing to bet, that this figures isn’t included under GESAC CONSTRUCTION. Rather it is more likely to be camouflaged under ‘roads, drains’ etc. We maintain however that if this council was fair dinkum, that the cost should be directly attributed and counted into the GESAC BUDGET.
  • $450,000  for car park extension
  • $391,000 for playground ‘relocation’
  • $1,820,000 on interest repayments for one year
  • $330,000 for outfitting a café
  • Speed humps galore along neighbouring streets. Estimated at $16,000 per speed hump which would equal close to another $50,000 – should also be included under GESAC construction
  • 50 additional staff. Let’s be conservative and say that most would be part time and hence around $20,000p.a. That’s another million at least!
  • $760,000 hire purchase agreement for 4 years – making it $190,000 per year
  • Cardio equipment at $277,000 for 4 years – thus approx. $70,000 per year
  • $100,000 ‘promotional materials’
  • $60,000 chemical costs
  • $47,000 printing and stationery
  • $72,000 ‘referee’ payments
  • $95,000 GESAC software
  • $1,653,000 furniture & fittings
  • $49,000 – Pool vacuum and two way radios

These are just some of the things that we do know from the proposed budget and recent events. What still has not surfaced are the following facts and figures:

  • How much will heating/cooling cost?
  • How much will cleaning cost?
  • How much will lawyers ultimately cost – especially if Hansen & Yuncken don’t play ball?
  • How much will general maintenance cost?
  • How much will water cost?
  • How much revenue has been lost due to delay in opening?
  • How much revenue has been lost if basketball courts are not fully utilised by Warriors? And for how long will this continue and will ratepayers fork out the bills?
  • How much will lighting cost?
  • How much did relocation of electric power station cost?
  • How much did consultants cost, not to mention staff time?
  • How much did relocation of historical society cost?
  • Will tenants sue for lost revenue? How much will this cost?
  • Will tenants’ rent really cover costs?
  • What’s the cost of insurance?

There are probably scores of other items that we’ve neglected to list. This is only a start! It’s definitely time that Council stopped calling this a $41.2 million dollar project. That sum is ONLY FOR CONSTRUCTION. It does not account for anything else! The total amount is astronomical. Now if this Council was a true believer in transparency, residents would have all of these figures at their finger tips. Councillors probably would as well – which we doubt they have!

The most crucial question though is: If projects had gone ahead on time (ie McKinnon grandstand/pavilion as previously noted on Neil Pilling’s blog) what would this do to cash flow and liquidity base? Maybe that’s our answer as to why so many things are so delayed? No wonder the Auditor General declared that Glen Eira is ‘high risk’.