Aquatic centre land deal on Council agenda

Aquatic centre land deals, green living, security cameras and input to the regional transport plan are on the agenda for Redland City Council’s next general meeting on Wednesday 20 February.

Five items are scheduled for discussion in closed session, without media and public present.

• 19.1 City Plan Major Amendment Packages: First State Interest Review
• 19.2 Proposed Major Amendment (Environmental Package)
• 19.3 Harridan Pty Ltd v Redland City Council ‐ Planning & Environment Court Appeal No. 3344 of 2018 ‐ Offer to resolve the appeal against refusal of standard format 1 lot into 7 lots at 14‐20 Bonnie Street, Thornlands
• 19.4 Wellington Property Management Pty Ltd v Redland City Council ‐ Planning & Environment Court Appeal 2519/18 (Material Change of Use for a Child Care Centre at 100‐102 Collins Street, Redland Bay)
• 19.5 Redland Aquatic and Emergency Precinct Land Exchange

Local council election boundaries

Council will also discuss an electoral boundary review. The officers report says that the number of enrolled voters in divisions 3 and 6 are outside the 10% variation permitted by law. Councillors will be asked to approve a recommendation that the Electoral Commission of Queensland adjust boundaries to ensure all divisions are within the allowable 10% variation.

Changes made to Redland City Council electoral boundaries before the 2016 local government election included a puzzling decision to move the Birkdale Commonwealth lands with all of its five voters from Division 1 (Paul Bishop) to Division 9 (Paul Gleeson). This was discussed by Redlands2030 in “A murky tale about land development and electoral redistribution in Redland City”.

Aquatic centre redevelopment plans

Plans for redeveloping the area around the Cleveland Aquatic Centre have been discussed for years.

On 18 November 2015 councillors approved a mayoral minute asking the CEO to investigate options for the relocation of the Surf Life-Saving Queensland headquarters to the Redlands, with a view to creating a regional centre of excellence.

A Council news release issued the next day said “The Redlands could become a nursery for Australia’s best lifesavers with a plan for a potential $50-$60 million surf life-saving centre of excellence to be set up locally.”

Potential community benefits from this project mentioned in the Council’s news release were “200 ongoing full time local jobs” and a new community swimming pool. No evidence was cited in support of the jobs estimate.

There was also the potential for the redeveloped aquatic centre to include State Emergency Services, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services and the Redlands Local Disaster Coordination Centre in a new emergency services precinct

In December 2015 the Council discussed a confidential report (item 16.3.2) and voted to negotiate acquisition of the site from the State Government and pursue plans with Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) to develop a Surf Life Saving Centre of Excellence.

On 10 August 2016 Councillors endorsed a confidential business case prepared by Deloittes and ratified a memorandum of understanding with SLSQ.

In March 2017 the Council announced that it had initiated community engagement about plans for upgrading the “much-loved Cleveland Aquatic Centre” This included “the option of a public/private partnership to redevelop the site”.

Mayor Karen Williams said Council had “committed $21 million based on the current project scope, with our proposed timeline seeing new facilities open in 2020.”

The Council announced in October 2017 that it had signed an MOU with Surf Life Saving Queensland, saying that the facility, now estimated to cost $71 million, would include “four new public pools and potentially other facilities such as water play areas.’

With an estimated project cost of $71 million and a council budget of $21 million the funding gap of $50 million presented a huge challenge.

“We are also calling on the State and Federal Governments to commit funding to the project in recognition of the benefits it would provide to the state and nationally.” said mayor Karen Williams.

Federal and state government funding has yet to be announced and the project timeframe has slipped. In 2017 the Council said work on the new facility should be underway by “mid to late 2019.” The Council website now says project construction will start in April 2021 with a “Grand Opening” in September 2022.

But what about a water park?

A request that Council provide Redlands residents with a free water play park is being put to council in a petition which has already been signed by about 3,300 people.

Community expectations were raised that “Redland City may soon be home to a water park”, following a Council decision just before the 2016 elections to investigate options. After the elections, councillors seemed to lose interest in the idea of delivering new water play facilities.

In March 2018 Mayor Karen Williams said a major children’s aquatic play area could be included in the Toondah Harbour redevelopment “at no cost to the ratepayer”.

The Toondah project is currently bogged down in environmental reviews. Even if the project was eventually approved and went ahead, it’s unlikely that any significant community facilities would be delivered within the next five years

A large lagoon style water play facility such as the one at South Bank in Brisbane is likely to cost more than $1,000,000 per year to operate, including power, chemical and staffing. The Council has not clarified who would be responsible for operating costs if a lagoon was included in the Toondah project.

Council Meeting on 6 February

Here are links to the minutes of the meeting held on 6 February 2019 and the meeting video recording.

In our meeting preview we noted that there were eight items listed for discussion in closed session. However one of these items was withdrawn, item 19.3 Cleveland Centre Traffic and Transport Strategy.

Observing council meetings

Council general meetings commence at 9:30 am in the Council chambers at Bloomfield Street in Cleveland. Members of the public can observe proceedings from the public gallery (except when the meeting is closed to the public for discussion of items considered to be confidential).

Redlands2030 – 17 February 2019