HORSHAM Rural City Council debated and passed the concept plan for the City Oval and Sawyer Park Precinct.
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The Community Reference Group, CRG, met and voted on the plan, and included further recommendations.
The officers report recommended the following items to be voted on by council.
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These recommendations included:
1. Note the outcomes and community sentiment captured by the City Oval and Sawyer Park Community Engagement.
2. Receive and note the prioritisation and precinct development, as proposed by the Community Reference Group.
3. Endorse the Concept Plan for City Oval and Sawyer Park Precinct.
4. Seek funding opportunities from the State and Federal Governments to achieve all of the components of the Concept Plan, as presented to the community and supported by the Community Reference Group
During the council meeting, councillors debated the financial implications of the plan, which had been dropped from $34 million to $17 million.
Councillor Di Bell wanted to know why this change had been made and the implications.
"Councillors have only had one decent briefing," she said about the finances of the project.
"We need to be making decisions in a responsible manner."
Fellow councillor, Cr Ian Ross said he supported the project but also had financial concerns.
"We have not discussed our borrowing policy," he said.
Cr Ross also said not everyone was on the same page and the move was "premature."
In a response to those concerns, Director for Corporate Services Graeme Harrison said the decision during the meeting was not in relation to financial commitments.
"It's a commitment to endorsing the concept plan," he said.
"We're not committing to those dollars at this point at time."
These concerns were also addressed by the director of communities and places, Kevin O'Brien.
"We got costings from a sub-contractor," he said.
"Costings came back, where $17 million was based on more realistic costings."
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Mr O'Brien said the initial costings were more based on Melbourne or even Sydney areas, this one was more inline for costings for this area.
An amendment was made to the original report to include a fifth recommendation, which was moved by Cr Bell.
"That any funding allocations for this project come back to council to discuss the co-funding financial implications before submitting."
This was passed.
Cr Ross also moved for an amendment.
"To receive and note the prioritisation and precinct development, as proposed by Community Reference Group and remain flexible if needs to change or new information become available."
The recommendations along with the amendments were carried, Cr Bell voted against.
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