Mystery million dollar sport spend near Gympie

Among projects funded in council budget is a $350k upgrade to a deadly stretch of Eel Creek Rd

The proposed council budget includes $1 million for the acquisition of land for future sports fields, but details of this project are under wraps.

TALK of a tight budget has not stopped a few big ticket items from making the list of proposed works - although not without a helping hand.

A $3.5 million spend on the region's future Monkland waste transfer station, $1.4 million for upgrades to the Civic Centre and $1 million for tourism initiatives are some of the big spends on the council's radar for 2020-21.

There is also $1 million listed to buy land for future sporting fields.

This would help fix the squeeze being felt by sporting codes around the city, who have been forced to juggle growth with limited field access.

Gympie council has unrolled a capital works program that includes $3.5 million for a new waste transfer station at Monkland, and $1.4 million to upgrade the Civic Centre.

Council CEO Shane Gray declined to talk about the specifics of the plan, which he said was still commercially confidential.

He said some of the projects would not be able to happen without outside help.

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"We are fortunate the (State and Federal) governments came to the party with the COVID funding and the Works for Queensland," Mr Gray said.

"That's probably given us the funds to do some work that we couldn't have done without it."

CEO Shane Gray says the state of the council’s financials mean some of these works would not have been possible without help from other governments.

This funding will provide more than a third of the cost for the Monkland transfer station, the replacement of Albert Park's discuss and hammer throw cage and replacement of spectator seating (for a combine sum of $100,000), and $807,000 for the replacement of water mains across the region.

Another $165,000 is headed to Gympie's hockey complex to install irrigation in the lower fields.

The budget also includes more than $17 million for capital works on the region's roads, paths and bridges.

This includes $455,000 for widening of Rocks Rd at Pie Creek, $335,000 for sealing of Andersen St and Henry St and Brooloo, and $350,000 to widen the section of Eel Creek Rd stretching between Lawson and Regan roads.

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