`Bigger is better` so goes an old saying. Well, that needs challenging!
The Moreton Bay Regional Council's building maintenance budget is bigger because it has to stretch to look after 1,800 buildings in the Council's entire region. Two of these publicly utilised Council owned buildings are on the Redcliffe Peninsula. They are now closed to the public, pending demolition or repairs.
The first is Sutton's Beach Pavilion, with Council estimating repair costs to total over $10 million. The second is Mousetrap Theatre, where repairs are estimated to cost between $2 and $3 million.
These buildings have existed as publicly utilised buildings for many decades. No significant Council maintenance or repairs have been allocated to them since amalgamation 14 years ago. None that have been publicly advertised anyway! Is policy now to be demolition by neglect?
Admittedly, not all of the 1,800 Council buildings require repair. Thank heavens for that! But surely, all need some degree of regular maintenance over time. Even many publicly utilised BBQ facilities in our parks cannot be used due to a lack of maintenance.
With Redcliffe about to celebrate its bi-centenary as Queensland's first European Settlement in September 2024, it's undoubtedly not a good look to have two of the only few remaining local historic, iconic buildings left on the Peninsula closed to public access.
Before amalgamation, the Redcliffe City Council was able to regularly balance its budget and had a surplus. The third largest Council in Australia, Moreton Bay Regional Council, does not. It currently has a debt of over $300 million!
Is this the price that ratepayers have to pay for being part of being bigger!
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