The Beagle Editor On the 27th of March 2018 Mayor Innis showed how little she cares about due process and the views of many in community.
Using her mayoral powers, she rammed through her position on the aquatic centre. In her Mayoral minute she was able to bring forward with unnecessary haste a motion which resulted in the killing of any further debate by council on community’s concern about the most suitable size of swimming pool and auditorium size for the Eurobodalla. When the original feasibility study for an Aquatic Centre was proposed and the Sunset Committee was formed I would suggest most of the community felt that any involvement by them would be as bystanders looking on. During this time Optium’s options 1 and 2 were focussed on and found to be wanting. In one instance the report seemed to be skewed towards a 25 metre pool and obviously was very negative towards a 50 metre pool. When you read the report on the positives and negatives on the 2 pools and for those who may have some experience in compiling such reports you would immediately see the flaws. For example, when you wish to compare between these 2 pools you would have expected a list of pros and cons for each pool. In this report there was none of that and I came to the obvious conclusion this report was skewed to come out in favour of a 25 metre pool. Why? I think to get that answer questions need to be asked of Councillor Innes and Council. In the meantime, let’s look at both pools and their pros and cons. The 25 metre pool obviously would be cheaper. Pros: It would provide a scope of use such as learning to swim, small scale competition, leisure activity, take up less room, suitable for leisurely activities. Cons: On its own it serves a limited purpose for serious competition swimming and would require serious competitors to go elsewhere, as they do now. The cost has already blown out due to supplying 10 lap lanes. The 50 metre pool would obviously be more expensive although I am more than suspicious of the costs put forward by council, mainly because of the cherry picking of costs within their reports. Pros. A 50 metre pool has greater flexibility in its use in that it can both accommodate recreational use and competition use up to Olympic standard. This would have the effect of drawing back those who must go to train at Ulladulla, mainly because of the lack of all year use at Batemans Bay, and would increase the numbers using the pool all year resulting in an increase in revenue. Schools would prefer this size pool. Cons. Cost would be greater than a 25 metre pool to both build and maintain. But here’s the thing, councillor Innes has said the size of the 25 metre pool would be increased to 10 lanes. Really? At what cost? I can see the cost gap narrowing between both pools already. The cost of maintaining the 50 metre pool should have been compared with the cost of maintaining the existing pool, not against the cost of the 25 metre pool. This would have been a more accurate indicator of any extra cost. This very point I make, and others in my commentary show how flawed the Optium Report is. Finally, Mayor Innes, you may have shut down the debate in council but definitely not in the community. My congratulations to Councillor McGinlay, at least he had the temerity to speak out. The other councillors? Well, what can you say? Donald Macdonald
Where is democracy in Eurobodalla Shire Council?
