Council delays plans to sell O’Connell Street building

Plans to put a building in the city’s centre up for auction have been delayed following a community outcry

Mayor Glen Hartwig and councillors have jammed the brakes on plans to sell an O’Connell Street building owned by the council amid a swath of unanswered questions.

Gympie Regional Council has slammed the brakes on a controversial decision to sell an O’Connell Street property amid concerns it did not have a complete picture of what the building was being used for, and who was using it.

The council’s staff report said the building was “surplus to council’s needs” and recommended it be put up for auction, a suggestion that was met with an outcry from corners of the community saying it needed to be kept as a community space.

The council bought the property in 2008 from the Queensland government for $225,000.

A condition of the sale was it only be used for early childhood and education services, the report said, and a 10-year covenant was registered on the building.

For that decade the building was occupied by Gympie and District Community Centreplace.

In June 2018, a new five-year lease to the Anglican Church was backed by the council but the deal fell over and was withdrawn in September last year.

The building was bought from the State Government in 2008.

The Anglican Church has been using the building from month to month.

Former Gympie council arts ambassador Cindy Vogels and the Gympie Local Level Alliance each issued pleas on social media for the council to keep the building.

“For the past 12 years, 2 O’Connell Street has been a venue for parenting support programs, playgroups, child health checks, counselling, allied health services, information and resources, and group work,” the plea said.

“It is imperative that this building be retained for community purposes, and that existing supports for children and families in our community are not lost.”

Mayor Glen Hartwig ultimately moved that any decision on whether to sell the building be delayed until a future council meeting owing to unanswered questions about its use.

Former council arts ambassador Cindy Vogels was among those calling for the council to reconsider plans to sell the building.

“As councillors have gone through the report they have emailed staff with a significant number of questions in relation to the occupation of that building,” Mr Hartwig said after Wednesday’s meeting.

“We have a concern that we’re not actually sure who occupies that building; there’s concerns around the lack of a lease, and also whether or not there are people utilising that ratepayer owned facility for a commercial purpose.

“Councillors want a clarification on those issues before we make a decision on what we should do with it.”

Mr Hartwig said the council needed to ensure it was not undercutting landlords with empty shops by providing a space for a business to run.

“There are a number of issues like that around the region that we will have to deal with over time, but it’s not fair or appropriate that a ratepayer should subsidise an individual’s or a company’s corporate operations.”