Shire taps reserves to make up pool funding shortfall

THE Surf Coast Shire is tapping into the funding from some of its reserves to fill in the needed cash for the Surf Coast Aquatic and Health Centre (SCAHC).

There is more than $43 million in local, state and federal funding already committed for the proposed $46.8 million centre in Torquay North, and the council decided in February to contribute the predicted $3.57 million shortfall itself so SCAHC can go to tender.

In its meeting on Tuesday night, the council resolved changes that will find just over $1 million of this figure.

The officers’ report to councillors stated this will come from transfers from the Adopted Strategy Reserve and from nominated projects that are closed or no longer a high priority.

The largest single amount is $600,000 from the Torquay Town Centre Project – nearly three quarters of the shire’s allocation – with a review finding holding the full amount was not required as works in the project “were not fully scoped or costed”.

The Torquay Town Centre project will retain the remaining $225,000 for a Public Domain Plan to scope and cost the remaining projects in the Torquay Urban Design Framework.

Race Torquay will also have to find money from elsewhere when and if it returns to the annual Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, with the one-day criterium having its $162,338 of funding (the second-largest figure) in the Adopted Strategy Reserve rerouted to SCAHC.

“There has been no commitment from event organisers that the event will return,” officers stated.

“However, it should be noted that Council would need to re-prioritise initiatives in the future if it wanted to continue to support Race Torquay financially.”

A further $256,305 will be found from other projects, with most of this comprising $150,000 from the Activity Based Working Office Fit Out Project, which was set up in 2019 “to address office capacity issues which have been solved”, officers stated.

Supporting the motion, Cr Gary Allen said he was in favour of the proposed method to make up the shortfall as it did not requite the shire to increase its borrowings.

“It’s taking from Peter to pay Peter – so in other words, we’re taking from Torquay projects to fund a project that is essentially going to benefit the Torquay and district community.

“We won’t know until we see the result of the tender process, which we agreed to last month, to test the financial viabiltiy and whether we can proceed with the pool, but this motion makes us prepared in case the tenders do come in within the guidelines to go ahead.”

Councillors Heather Wellington and Paul Barker both opposed the motion.

“I think we’re living beyond our means,” Cr Wellington said.

“I suspect what we’ll do is we’ll find a million here and a million there and all of a sudden we’ll have the 46.8 [million dollars], but that will be at the cost of other priorities as well.”

The latest revisions to SCAHC, made by the shire last month, will see the 25 metre pool go indoors instead of outdoors, and only one indoor program pool built instead of two.