The following screen dump comes from the minutes of Wednesday’s council meeting. We are literally gobsmacked at the costings listed.

Several things need investigation:

  • Why has the projected construction cost gone from a budget figure of $53M to $62M? Why weren’t figures provided earlier about total costs? Given that the final figure also excludes GST, ratepayers are therefore looking at a forecast cost of just under $84M!!!!!! What is the rationale for a 25+% increase overall? Will residents now have gold plated taps?!!!!!!!! Has the design changed? Even accepting the rise in construction costs, we find this increase unjustified, unexplained, and unacceptable. We are not aware of any public documentation to justify this increase.
  • In terms of the published resolution (‘carried’) there are other questions that need to be answered. Why does ‘carried’ signify? Does this mean that some or at least one councillor was against publishing this resolution? Or does it mean that whoever voted against the resolution was also against the cost increase?
  • The Local Government Act now stipulates that ALL resolutions include information as to who voted for or against. This has not been done here! Is this simply another example of the failure of council to be totally transparent and accountable? When we are talking the mega millions listed here, residents should be informed fully about what is going on and the rationale behind all such decisions

PPS: Council has put out the following Media Release.

Published on 10 February 2023

We have been successful in securing $15 million of funding through the Australian Government as part of our advocacy efforts and we will continue to advocate to the Victorian Government as the project continues. 

Carnegie Memorial Swimming Pool underway

Construction is now underway on the new Carnegie Memorial Swimming Pool.

Council has awarded ADCO Group Pty Ltd the contract ($62 million) to deliver the project with a revised total project cost of $75 million.

The new year-round aquatic and leisure facility will be one of the most environmentally friendly and sustainable centres in the world. It will be designed and constructed to a Six Star Green Star rating with climate resilience, low energy operations and maximum water efficiency, and will include:

  • indoor and outdoor pools;
  • an outdoor diving pool;
  • learn-to-swim programs, a therapeutic warmwater pool and numerous allied health services;
  • a café, barbecue, and shaded seating areas;
  • allied health treatment rooms;
  • program rooms for classes such as yoga and Pilates; and
  • retention of design references to the past such as the post-war style signage, the red brick and retaining the eastern hill.

Glen Eira Mayor Cr Jim Magee said we have been committed to delivering this much-needed facility to the Glen Eira community since 2019.

“We are excited to finally be moving ahead with this intergenerational project but there will be continued challenges that we face in relation to the increased cost of materials and labour that we will need to balance with all projects moving forward.”

To read more about the project, view the concept designs for the centre and to keep up-to-date with timelines and major milestones, please visit the Carnegie Memorial Swimming Pool redevelopment webpage.

FAQs

Why is the project starting now?

Due to a Victorian Heritage Register nomination from a member of the community and the subsequent review undertaken by Heritage Victoria, the project was delayed by 12 months.

Why is the project cost higher than the contract value?

The $62 million contract value is the value of the construction contract. Other costs go into delivering projects of this scale, such as a contingency budget, authority fees, consultant fees and capitalisation costs. The total project budget is $75 million.

COMMENT:

Sadly the above Media Release does nothing except repeat the notice in the minutes, plus adding plenty of more spin. Itfails to explain the reasons behind this decision, nor the lack of governance in providing residents with the complete information as to:

  • The full voting record
  • The exact nature of the various price increases and their justification
  • Nor has any tender documentation for this project been placed in the public domain – as has been the case with various other expensive tenders. We do not know for example: how many applicants there were; how many of these applications were compliant; what were the selection criteria;
  • Finally we repeat that even with major funding from government, residents will still be up for at least $70M. We will watch carefully to see which departments will have their budgets cut right back and which projects will be abandoned and/or delayed.