Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour one of two to reject $120m council centre

Plans to build a mammoth $120m community centre in Hervey Bay 20 years in the making have finally been given the go ahead, but not everyone is impressed with the project.

Plans to build a mammoth $120m community centre in Hervey Bay 20 years in the making have finally been given the go ahead, but not everyone is on board with the project with Mayor George Seymour one of two voting against awarding the contract for the project.

The controversial $108m Hervey Bay Library and Administration Centre, dubbed the “Taj Mahal” by detractors including Maryborough MP Bruce Saunders, is going ahead despite lacking full support of councillors.

Mayor George Seymour and councillor James Hansen were the only two to oppose awarding the construction contract to Hansen Yuncken, with those in support roundly backing it as a choice which had to be made now.

The project, to be built on the corner of Main St and Torquay Rd at Pialba, will deliver a larger Hervey Bay Library, and Council Administration Centre to the city.

A new public plaza and community spaces are among the features of the multimillion-dollar development.

The $108m contract does not include GST, which is expected to bring the price tag to about $120m.

This was significantly higher than the originally forecast cost of $93m.

Councillor David Lee threw his support behind the project saying rejecting it now would be telling community groups and council staff calling for better facilities to simply “suck it up”.

David Lee was the first to back the motion, saying the council had “kicked this proposal down the road for 20 years” and it was time for a “decisive and courageous” decision.

Mr Lee said it was a “once in a lifetime opportunity”.

“The Tavistock St site (where the council is located) is no longer for purpose,” he said.

He said the project had been “misrepresented” by critics as a “Taj Mahal”, and said 60 per cent of the centre was community space.

The financial risks of the project, which experienced multiple cost blow outs, was “well mitigated” through the maximum price contract being awarded.

Jade Wellings rejected this view, saying the Taj Mahal was an icon and “we should be so lucky to have something like this for our community”.

Councillor Jade Wellings said critics’ labelling the controversial project a “Taj Mahal” only of benefit to councillors “couldn’t be further from the truth”. Picture: Patrick Woods.

She said the only mistake made in coining that term was “the assumption this building is somehow for the staff and the councillors to look out over the water and have big offices”.

“This couldn’t be further from the truth,” she said.

“This is a building for our community … they deserve this.”

Mr Seymour said the community should be at the centre of the debate, but for a different reason.

In a speech, which he said he was “sure it doesn’t make a difference”, Mr Seymour said the final price tag had been “very much different” to that first envisaged.

“I can no longer see this is a responsible use of public funds,” Mr Seymour said.

The centre, which is expected to cost about $120m to build, was first estimated to be a $93m project. About $40m of the project will be funded by the federal government. Photo: Fraser Coast Regional Council.

Mr Hansen backed this view.

“It has blown out of proportion in costs,” he said.

“I don’t think the community can afford it.”

Mr Lee refuted this saying by rejecting the deal the council was throwing $8.7m of money already sunk into the project away.

The message it would send to businesses, community groups, council staff and residents clamouring for better facilities was not great either.

“Doing nothing, it says (to those groups) … suck it up,” Mr Lee said.

After approving the deal the councillors then turned their eye to the Hillyard St block which had once been marked as the project’s intended home.

They agreed unanimously to dispose of the land with Denis Chapman saying it was “too valuable for a flat carpark”.

“This area really needs a hotel chain, or something like that, to come into this area,” Mr Chapman said.

Originally published as Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour one of two to reject $120m council centre