Maranoa Regional Councillors agree to purchase brand new $38,000 Christmas tree

Councillors have upped the ante ahead of this year’s Maranoa Christmas Street Party with plans to purchase a pricey $38,000 Christmas tree, after the previous tree was destroyed by vandals.

Maranoa Regional Councillors unanimously voted 9-0 in favour of purchasing a brand new $38,000 Christmas tree from Commercial Christmas Services.

Councillors have got into the festive spirit early this year and upped the ante with plans to purchase a brand new electronic Christmas tree.

The new and improved tree comes with a $38,000 price tag and will replace the current damaged tree, which is displayed each year on McDowall St, Roma.

The decision comes after the second-hand tree reached “its end of life” following damage by vandals during its decade of service.

Deputy mayor Geoff McMullen moved the motion to buy a brand new tree from the same supplier, Commercial Christmas Services, at the September 20 ordinary meeting.

The $38,000 will be allocated from the Bassett Park Grand Stand Box Cutter and Roller Doors budget (WO 23388).

A council spokesman told councillors that the new tree would be a worthwhile investment considering technological upgrades and the fact they purchased the second-hand tree from the same supplier ten years ago.

“I’ve been here 10 years and that tree has stood up for 10 years, so they’re fairly stable trees and of good quality,” the spokesman said.

“Most of the damage that has come to that Christmas tree is through vandalism not through the tree itself and the longevity of that tree.

Deputy mayor Geoff McMullen said he hopes the new upgraded Christmas tree will last 10-20 years.

“There’s been a slight upgrade over the years to the lighting systems in these trees which are all LED now, where before they were originally bulbs.

“It will certainly be an improvement to the structure of the tree. I believe the upgraded model will be much better.”

Councillor George Ladbrook said he was “a bit concerned about the price”.

“$40,000 is a lot of money for a tree… you can nearly buy a car for that,” he said.

“I know everything’s gone up, but last time we spent $4670 (and) this time it’s nearly $40,000.”

Councillor Wendy Taylor said she was concerned about using funds allocated to another project to buy the tree as well as what would become of the old tree.

“My first question is why does it come out of Bassett Park’s budget?”

A council spokeswoman said the funds will come out of the $2m Bassett Park budget, and explained that this money “is just left over from that”.

“We are looking at gifting it to another town or potentially saving it,” the spokeswoman said.

“We will see what we can do with it. The intention is not to throw it out, but to see where else we can put it.”

Councillor Cameron O'Neil and Councillor Birkett drawing the winning tickets for the 2021 Shop Local campaign.

The spokeswoman also said they explored other more local options for suppliers, however this quote and tree was the best deal on offer.

Councillor Cameron O’Neil agreed it was time for an upgrade but requested to make an amendment that the current old tree be repurposed and given to another Maranoa town for their celebrations.

“I know there’s been issues with the vandalism and we’ve taken bits out and now it’s a shorter tree because of those idiots who decided to climb it at 2am in the morning, which we haven’t had since we put the fence up,” he said.

“Yes it’s a little bit more expensive than what we outlaid in 2013, but it’s a brand new tree. I’m hoping it’s 25 years+ we get out of a tree like this.

“We’ve learnt some lessons, we have now got some security around it, there’s cameras down there to try and stop what has happened in the past in vandalising the tree.

“I think it will be an extra boost to the Maranoa Christmas Street party that will be held later in the year.”

Councillors unanimously voted 9-0 in favour of purchasing a brand new $38,000 Christmas tree from Commercial Christmas Services.