Council allows its own Project Team to continue

After considerable discussion, Council has agreed to let its own Project Team finish its task.  At its meeting on 23 August, it voted 8/3 in favour of Officer Recommendation #8.2.2.  This was as follows:-

That with respect to the Interim Report of the Denmark Aquatic Centre Project Team, Council; 1. Receive the Coffey Commercial Advisory report titled “Feasibility Study for a Sustainable Indoor Heated Aquatic Facility in Denmark”. 2. Receive the Interim Report of the Project Team. 3. Authorise the CEO to request the Director of Finance & Administration to; a) Comment on and assess the financial models, scenarios, assumptions and projections of the Coffey Report and Project Team Interim Report with respect to the proposed Aquatic Centre and its implications on Council‟s future Budgets and Long Term Financial Planning, with this assessment to be provided back to the Project Team by no later than 30 November 2011 and; b) Convene no later than 31 October 2011, a risk analysis seminar for the Project Team, Councillors and the Senior Staff of Council relating to the Aquatic Centre decision making framework through the Local Government Insurance Service (Council‟s Insurer) noting this is at no cost to Council. 4. Request the Project Team to report to Council by no later than 28 February 2012 on; a) Its assessment of the Financial Analysis prepared by the Council‟s Director of Finance & Administration and; b) The risk analysis prepared pursuant to part 3 and; c) Its ability or likely timing to make recommendation(s) to Council on how to proceed with the outstanding issues they note as requiring further study denoted as “G3-01” to “G3-06” and; d) Comment on its progress towards recommending „a decision to implement, amend, postpone, stage development or abandon the proposal‟ for the Aquatic Centre. 5. That Council consider including in the 2011/12 Budget the sum of $3,000 to fund an intrastate study tour of relevant aquatic facilities in Western Australia for interested and available members of the Project Team and the Director of Finance & Administration, and open to others Councillors, with this tour scheduled to be undertaken in approximately October 2011 to assist inform the attendees in their findings and financial analysis.

 Those voting in favour clearly recognised that since Council had appointed the Project Team specifically to examine the feasibility of the Denmark Aquatic Centre, and it had been declared a work still in progress, it would make no sense to terminate the study before it could make its Final Report to Council.  Completion was simply a matter of due process.

Those voting against seemed to have entirely missed the point.  They presented no arguments relevant to the Officer Recommendation – claiming only that the pool would be unaffordable, but failing to explain how they knew this in advance. 

I don't have a crystal ball - so I am more cautious.  To decide whether or not something is affordable I must first know its cost.  Only then can I decide whether or not I can afford it and whether I am willing to pay.  In this particular case, the Project Team is not yet confident that it can provide reliable estimates of either revenues or likely expenditures.

Cyril Edwards.