Mayor Jenny Hill has detailed how the decision to make the Riverway Arts Centre the new Thuringowa Library came about

Mayor Jenny Hill has clapped back after MP Phillip Thompson took out a full-page ad in the Townsville Bulletin calling for transparency around the Riverway Arts Centre.

Phillip Thompson and Jenny Hill.

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MAYOR Jenny Hill has hit back at MP Phillip Thompson after he took out a full-page ad in the Townsville Bulletin calling for transparency around the Riverway Arts Centre.

The Herbert MP claimed the Mayor and Townsville City Council had failed to keep the community abreast of the issues faced in reopening the arts centre after it was badly damaged in the 2019 Monsoonal Floods.

Mr Thompson’s ad said he wrote to the Mayor on July 14, but was still yet to receive a response. However, the council is responding to the letter.

Cr Hill and Mr Thompson went into battle over the history of the site, which is expected to become the new home of the Thuringowa Library, last month.

Herbert MP Phillip Thompson. Picture: Caitlan Charles

Mayor of Townsville Jenny Hill. Picture: Alix Sweeney

In last week’s council meeting, Mayor Hill went through the history of the project in a bid to clear the air on delays and the decision to move the Thuringowa Library into the former performance space.

In June 2019, the council received $3.6m for the Riverway Splash Water Park but with the city reeling after the floods, the council made an application with the state government to redirect the funding to works not covered by insurance.

Cr Hill said the plans for the splash park had been on display for three months in 2018 to ensure maximum exposure in the community.

She said the city was inundated with rain during the monsoon, which severely damaged much of the Riverway Arts Centre, and put the splash park plans on hold.

“Townsville’s major infrastructure across the city was almost impacted and the decision was made that now is not the right time to build a splash park,” Cr Hill said.

“The teams were working very hard on recovery projects, so the money for the project should be reallocated to infrastructure damaged in the monsoonal event that wasn’t covered by insurance.”

Phillip Thompson's ad in the Townsville Bulletin

The council was successful in getting approval from the state government, who provided the initial grant funding, to recovery works.

Cr Hill said the original plan was to have the Riverway Arts Centre back up and running by September 2019. However, there were delays in getting some items for the repairs and the requirement to bring the building up to new standards with new legislation.

She said the Riverway building was also severely impacted by continuing mould outbreaks, with works to mitigate the issue completed in July 2020.

“During this period discussions were held on how the Riverway complex could be a better service the public once it reopened,” Cr Hill said.

It was thought the combination of the new library at Riverway and The Pinnacles Gallery, which reopened in early December 2020, would better activate the area.

Cr Hill said all repair works, completed by Hutchinsons Builders, was complete in November last year.

Mr Thompson said the Mayor was “ducking and weaving” again because she had not said where the splash park funding had gone.

“(However) I’m glad we’re finally getting some detail on why the Riverway Arts Centre has taken two and a half years to fix,” he said.

Mr Thompson added the community expect the council to be transparent and Cr Hill needed to explain where the funding had gone.

Originally published as Mayor Jenny Hill has detailed how the decision to make the Riverway Arts Centre the new Thuringowa Library came about