By Bass Coast Shire Council Mayor, Cr Michael Whelan
We all agree that the former site of Wonthaggi Secondary College is a great opportunity to create something of real value to the community for the future and Council is open to partnering with the state government, so we would be happy to start these discussions.
The corner of McBride Avenue and Watt Street is a prime location that is too important to be wasted. I share the community’s passion, and indeed frustration, to create something special on the site, sooner rather than later.
Records show the idea of a cultural hub came about a decade ago in the context of the discussion with the state government about the Desalination Plant. The then Premier Steve Bracks had made a commitment that it would pay rates but when Council finally saw the contract, it showed AquaSure had contracted with the government that any government taxes and charges just get passed straight onto the government, and the government is then claiming it doesn’t pay rates.
In 2010, then Shire CEO Alan Bawden told Bass Coast Post: “Any other private business pays rates. It’s on private land, it’s privately owned, privately operated and they’re selling all their product to the state government. It passes all my tests to make it rateable but we’ve got to this point where we couldn’t agree.”
“We could go down a very complicated legal path and challenge all that. We weren’t willing to take it to court because they had a lot more money than we did. Then we started talking about a contribution to a legacy project.” At that time the estimated cost was around $35 to $40 million.
“That’s where the cultural precinct project started, over the question of rateability. Both the previous government and the current government knew they had to do something. They knew this community had been short-changed.”
It is notable that if Council had received the rate base it was entitled over the decade since the Desalination Plant was built, it could easily have built the cultural infrastructure on the site.
But that was over a decade ago before the buildings had been allowed to deteriorate to a point where they are not useable. They are well beyond a quick clean and a lick of paint as some have suggested. To demolish the buildings alone and restore the site to grass would cost approximately $1.5 million. Restoration of the existing buildings would cost many millions of dollars.
I want to emphasise that the site belongs to the state government and is still managed by the Department of Education. The Council does not own this land and while the government has offered to make Council responsible for it as a Committee of Management, it would remain Crown Land and therefore constrained in what it can be used for.
There are lots of worthy ideas being discussed, with some possible opportunities including a gallery, performing arts centre, library, sports field, courts and social housing. It would be tempting to rush to redevelop the site or quickly spruce it up as I have heard recently, but we can’t.
Next important reason is that we need to know what the true state of the derelict building is because that will dictate what can be done with it – and what it would cost.
I understand why in the current tough economic climate the state government may want to pass on those costs to the ratepayers of Bass Coast for this neglected building, but that clearly would not be the right and responsible thing to do.
No one wants to hear different levels of government fighting over money. Council just wants facts. This is why earlier this year Council commenced detailed pre-feasibility studies which include exhaustive examinations of the property’s condition, including building and structural integrity, heritage, and safety.
The studies will identify short, medium and long-term costs, plus risks associated with taking on the site, to ensure a full understanding of the costs involved in managing the site are understood.
We hope to have the results back to Council soon, to be shared with the community, and next steps carefully considered. We also look forward to engaging with the community and seeking their input on what the site’s potential could be.
This includes our local MP, Jordan Crugnale who will be critical in working with Council to convince her government colleagues to do the right thing by the people of Bass Coast.