Council votes to spend $75k on Slouch Hat Museum plan

Decision reached to contribute funds to cover the costs of a preliminary design package and business case.

Gladstone Region Mayor Matt Burnett speaks at the GAPDL Meet the Candidates event.

Gladstone Regional Council has pledged $75,000 towards the initial development process of a Slouch Hat Museum within Anzac Park on Tank St.

During council's general meeting yesterday morning, a decision was reached to contribute the funds to cover the costs of a preliminary design package and business case.

Council voted to contribute the funds in a joint venture arrangement with the Gladstone Bowls Club's Graham McVean.

A letter of support will be provided to Mr McVean and the Gladstone Bowls Club within a month to assist in seeking funding from state and federal coffers.

Mayor Matt Burnett said the Slouch Hat Museum was first proposed a number of years ago and the concept had already been through the Strategic Opportunities Committee.

"The council today, in majority, voted to allocate funds in the upcoming budget to partner with Graham McVean, who owns the copyright," he said.

"The next step is for Graham to seek external funding from the Queensland and Federal government once a business case has been prepared by the council.

"I cannot imagine the Queensland Government objecting, and I know the state member supports it, to building a Slouch Hat Museum, which is a dedicated memorial to our Anzacs."

Mr Burnett would not commit to a timeline for the initiation of the project, citing issues at a governance level that need to be sorted first.

"I want to get on with the job and make it happen as fast as possible, but you have to call tenders or go through a detailed design first and then we call our business case tenders later in the year," he said.

"Maybe October at the earliest, it is a bit of a different world we live in at this time, so I don't see anything being presented back to council before late this year or early next year."

Councillor Chris Trevor said local government had wins and losses with community development projects, but the Slouch Hat Museum was well worth the gamble.

"If we are to grant this money, the $75,000, we are essentially taking a punt on our future, the future of the bowls club and of the Returned Services League," he said.

"We could, potentially by supporting this project, turn $75,000 into a $10m-$15m investment for the community.

"It will support our bowls club, it will support our RSL club and it will support our community."

Councillor Natalia Muszkat raised her concerns about funding the community project, citing a lack of competition for the business case.

"One of my concerns is that if this council decided to contribute the $75,000, it will be going directly to the person who's already been engaged in the project," she said.

"There will not be any processing, which they will be looking for the best person to do a business case or provide unbiased advice to the return on investments or the economic benefits to the region."

Council voted 8-1 in favour of granting the necessary funding.