Alice Springs councillor calls on church to ‘come back to the table’ and negotiate new CBD deal

As a NT CBD revitalisation project turns riverside, one councillor wants to reopen with negotiations with a church and find ‘the best deal for the community’. Find out why.

A councillor is calling on a church to “come back to the table” for negotiations on a project to spruce up the Alice Springs Town Centre, which is focusing riverside.

At the Tuesday Alice Springs Town Council ordinary council meeting, the council adopted community feedback on its 50 per cent designs for the CBD as part of the $20 million “Regenerating the Alice Town Centre” project.

Alice Springs councillor Eli Melky. Picture: File

But before the feedback was adopted, councillor Eli Melky called on the Alice Springs Uniting Church to “come back to the table” and negotiate a new deal around using the church lawns in the upgrade.

“While I don’t want to put the church on notice in this statement that somehow they can ask for more or dig in their heels for more or whatever, I will here and now declare that I supported and still support the decision of council not to proceed on the basis of the offer that was counted by the church,” he said.

Mr Melky’s comments come as the council held a special confidential council meeting on March 4, where a “second counter offer” from the church was one of three items to action, as per the agenda.

Last week, a media release from the council stated a segment of the Todd Mall upgrade would not proceed as an agreement could not be reached with the church on the use of its lawns.

The Flynn Memorial Uniting Church lawns, located in the Todd Mall in the Alice Springs CBD. Picture: Gera Kazakov

“So I challenge everybody in this room and I challenge the church particularly to come back to the table and say what is the best deal for the community?” Mr Melky said at Tuesday’s meeting.

“And don’t be so stubborn about the figures because, you know, it’s a negotiation, it’s not a one-to-one figure and we’re not moving off of it.

“I’d like to go down on record by stating that if we don’t try an 11th hour with a master negotiator at the helm, proven one, then you know, at the end of the day, then we truly have tried everything.”

Previously, Alice Spring Uniting Church minister reverend Emily Hayes said the church made “a number of proposals” but council “decided not to proceed with any of the proposed arrangements”.

Alice Springs Town Council councillor Marli Banks. Picture: Gera Kazakov

Councillor Marli Banks said if the “the land space between Todd Street and Hartley Street does not come to fruition, as is likely at this stage” then council should instead look into “activating the river”.

“But now, in fact, we’re going to invest in the river and with that there’s businesses and tenancies along that river and it will change and perhaps people will start investing along the river space in those tenancies for it to be more commercial for opportunity of enjoyment as well,” she said.

Councillor Alison Bitar said due to how “many different iterations” the project had “over the last decade” it was time to “get the job done” and “actually see some shovels in the ground”.

Mayor Matt Paterson said he looked forward to “trying something different” with the project on Liechhardt Tce.

Originally published as Alice Springs councillor calls on church to ‘come back to the table’ and negotiate new CBD deal