TWiSK can reveal that at least $1.6M was spent by the Council up until 31 March on the failed Marina project that started in 2018.
According to the Council, this figure includes community engagement, development of the site brief, planning scheme amendment, site investigations, soil contamination assessment, leasing, and specialist advice.
TWiSK fears that this figure underestimates the true cost of the project given that it has been active since 2017/2018. It would be a ‘miracle’ for a project like this to have racked up only $1.6M in costs.
For example, TWiSK understands that the Marina received substantial discounts on their lease in the first four years to allow them to build capacity. Sources indicate that $750K per annum was cut to $134K per annum for the first four years, resulting in a true cost of $2.46 M.
And we shudder to think of the staffing costs over the decade of gestation.
The Council looks forward, not backward
Mayor Crawford told TWiSK that she was emphatic that a review was not required.
“As is normal procedure, officers will review the process, including the previous lease, ahead of the new procurement getting underway to award a long-term lease. An independent review is not required. Councillors were well-briefed by officers throughout this process, including on the various options available, met directly with the proponents, and made an informed decision on the proposed terms of the interim lease which officers have implemented. Our focus is now on ensuring continuity of operations while we embark on a new long-term lease.”
Work completed to date is valuable
The Mayor emphasised that the valuable work already completed will be used in the next stage of seeking to establish a new long-term lease.
“While our Council is disappointed with this setback, we are not immune to the difficult economic conditions which have impacted many developers since COVID-19 struck,” she said.
The Mayor asserted that the Council remained committed to achieving the site vision of ‘a special place on the foreshore for everyone that welcomes a diversity of sustainable uses anchored by a working marina’.
“In the meantime, our contingency plan ensures the marina can remain operational for everyone to enjoy, with our Council receiving about $1.8 million in rent over the 3.5-year ‘interim’ lease which started on 1 April.”
Editorial comment: A reboot without review is a formula for repeating history
Let’s face it; most of us have done it. We’ve said something is going to be great when pitching the idea and then pretended it wasn’t such a big deal when it fails.
But this was a big deal, and therefore a big fail.
This was sold as a project that ‘defines a council’. It had extensive and elaborate input from a 24-member community panel fuelled by bus loads of consultants and supported by countless officer hours. It straddled three councils and a half dozen mayors.
It also created a decade long stalled development zone on highly prized real estate. It delivered a tiny fraction of what it promised.
A reboot would face many of the same obstacles.
If anything deserves an independent review, it is this project.
