Gympie council reveals new agreement with Mary Valley Rattler
A split between the Gympie council and the Rattler heritage train is finally on the cards, and while the details remain murky it is being touted as being key to the attraction’s survival.
Gympie
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A long touted split between Gympie Regional Council and the Mary Valley Rattler is finally on the cusp of happening, although not without some last minute tweaks to the plan.
Councillors gave almost unanimous support to accepting a revised agreement with the heritage train one month after initially spruiking a plan to decouple itself from its controversial $18.1m venture.
In February the council endorsed a deal which was expected to include waiving repayment of almost $1m in debt owed to the council, the transfer of several assets and providing another $1.6m in funding spread across four years.
At a Wednesday special meeting councillors voted 8-1 for chief executive Robert Jennings to sign agreements “consistent with the amendments requested by the Rattler Railway Company”.
The Rattler Railway Company would also relinquish the rail corridor between Amamoor and Imbil, with the council to negotiate a lease on the line with the state government.
The council has discussed turning the disused and decrepit line into a rail trail.
Councillor Bruce Devereaux was the only one to vote against accepting the amended deal.
The deal still needs final approval from the Rattler’s board.
At a press conference following the meeting, Mayor Glen Hartwig said it was an “historic” day for the two organisations.
The specifics of the deal remain a mystery, with Mr Hartwig saying “the terms of the agreement were discussed in closed council session and at this point I’m not able to announce those publicly”.
Acknowledging the “contentiousness” of the project for the council, Mr Hartwig said the desire to collaborate with the Rattler meant a step forward with “options they wouldn’t have had under the current funding agreement that was signed by the former council”.
“It is absolutely necessary for the survival of the Rattler. Having the Rattler under the umbrella of Gympie Regional Council has always been a stumbling block for other sources of funding,” he said.
The new terms would mean the Rattler can look for other sources of funding rather than being “inhibited” by the council.
The council was also excited about how the relationship presented new opportunities to develop the Mary Valley Rail Trail further.
“There’s interest in the Mary Valley to partner with the Rattler and develop a Rail Trail that provides opportunities for the Rattler and also the residents and visitors to the Mary Valley,” Mr Hartwig said.
“Ratepayer funds to the Rattler can now be replaced with an agreement that has a timeline on it, that has an end to the amount of money and opens up the opportunity for other sorts of external funding that we would have never had the chance of getting,” he said.
The Rattler is focusing on bringing tourism, heritage, and reviving services to the region, such as the Silver Bullet.
In the meantime, it is looking for new opportunities and partnership.
“We‘re exactly where we would have hoped to be at this time,” general manager Linda Barry said.
“We want to work with the region and with community groups and with locals to really help more people spend money in this region.”
The Rattler is open to “all sorts of funding opportunities wherever they lie — philanthropy, third parties, there‘s lots of opportunities and what this agreement allows us to do.
“There are so many people interested in keeping heritage rail alive in this community,” she said.
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