Sunshine Coast Council to appoint new SunCentral chairman for Maroochydore CBD project as current chairman opts not to extend tenure

Change is on the way for the council-owned development company overseeing the new Maroochydore CBD project.

SunCentral chairman Dr Doug McTaggart will be replaced after deciding not to seek an extension of his tenure, when his stint ends on April 30.

Change is on the way for the council-owned development company overseeing the new Maroochydore CBD project.

Sunshine Coast Council has taken action to ensure its SunCentral Maroochydore development company overseeing the new city centre project could continue to operate as a corporate entity, with a new chair of the SunCentral board to be appointed.

Current chairman Dr Doug McTaggart has told Mayor Mark Jamieson he does not wish to renew his position.

His tenure was due to expire on April 30, along with fellow board members Morgan Parker, Alison Quinn and Paul McLean, while Peter Sherrie's stint is not due to expire until September 30.

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Councillors will meet next Thursday to decide whether to follow officer recommendations to endorse nominations for three SunCentral board directors for two years, from May 1, 2021 to April 30, 2023.

One of the four directors will be appointed as the new chairperson until October 31, should councillors back the officer recommendations at next week's ordinary meeting.

The identity of the nominees for the three positions remained confidential but it appeared council was eager to ensure some continuity, given the complexities of the development agreement in place with Walker Corporation and the current board's experience with the agreement and existing relationship with Walker Corporation.

Council CEO Emma Thomas was likely to be authorised to release the names of those nominated as directors of the SunCentral board and the proposed new chairperson if councillors endorsed the recommendations.

Renders of the future city centre.

 

Further changes could be on the way after October 31, with a governance and resourcing review of council and SunCentral's roles currently underway following the development agreement being finalised with Walker Corporation late last year.

The review was expected to be finished by the end of June, with the interim chairperson appointment until October 31 expected to give enough time for a longer-term decision to be made on the role of SunCentral chair with consideration given to any outcomes and recommendations of the review.

The directors appointed were set to receive $70,000 a year, which included base fees and superannuation, while the chairperson would collect $120,000 a year, the same fees as had been in place since March, 2015.

The SunCentral annual report for 2020 showed more than $830,000 had been spent on pay and entitlements for key management personnel which included non-executive directors and the chief executive.

That was down from the $865,000 spent in 2019.

The 2020 annual report noted SunCentral had generated income of just more than $13 million during the reporting period, of which more than $12 million had been provided by Sunshine Coast Council.

Development costs incurred "in the pursuit of the company's objectives" had totalled just more than $11 million, with SunCentral recording a profit of $43,605.

Originally published as Sunshine Coast Council to appoint new SunCentral chairman for Maroochydore CBD project as current chairman opts not to extend tenure