ATTEMPTS by some Coffs Harbour City councillors to have all contracts relating to the Cultural and Civic Space project in excess of $250,000 to be determined by a full Council have been shut down.

Cr Paul Amos moved a motion at Council’s recent meeting on Thursday 9 September for all contracts and variation requests relating to the Cultural and Civic Space project in excess of $250,000 to be determined by full Council and not under delegated authority.

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Currently variations to the project are determined through delegation to the Cultural and Civic Space Project Board and not a full Council meeting of councillors, and any commitments or contract variations that exceed the project end cost of $81.265m require the approval of Council.

A recent approval of variations to the Cultural and Civic Space project, including internal and external changes, by Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes was announced last week.

Cr Amos’s motion also called for Council to receive monthly project update reports at each regular Council meeting outlining anticipated upcoming project costs and milestones, and outstanding or unresolved project elements.

“This project has been a very contentious project, and one of the concerns has been that we are able to deliver the project in budget,” Cr Amos stated at the Council meeting.

“This (motion) reverts the authority as to control of major variations on the Cultural and Civic Space project back to councillors, this more closely aligns care and responsibility for councillors to this project.

“It’s not usual for councillors to get this close to a major project, but in this instance I think that it is warranted.”

Cr Sally Townley spoke against the motion, despite agreeing with much of it.

“I do understand that Cr Amos’s motivation is about having tighter budget control and scrutiny of this important project and I certainly appreciate that and appreciate the need for it,” Cr Townley stated.

“I would agree that any variations need to be looked at carefully and I want to know about them as soon as they happen.

“We’ve kind of abdicated a fair bit of responsibility for financial delegations generally and I think that that hasn’t always been to our advantage, so I think there’s a broader discussion here.”

Cr Keith Rhoades said the motion was about Council being transparent to the community.

“This is not about trying to introduce a process after a contract has been signed,” Cr Rhoades stated.

“What the councillor (Cr Amos) is trying to do here is about some transparency on behalf of our community.

“It’s just about making sure on behalf of our community when big dollars are being spent on variations, new contracts or whatever, that their representatives, being the elected members of this Council, are the ones that are in the loop, do know what’s going on and can act on behalf of the community on this project.”

Cr Tegan Swan agreed that the motion was aimed at generating “transparency around a project that does create a lot of interest”.

“We have gone round and round with this, this idea of the transparency and bringing all of this stuff forward,” Cr Swan said.

“Sharing the process of this project as we go along, I think is valuable and is needed.

“This is just keeping us and the public in the loop about what is happening and making sure that we are across it; I hope it brings transparency and reassurance to people.”

Cr John Arkan also agreed that the motion provided Council with an opportunity to be transparent about the project.

“There’s nothing wrong with this motion as a wonderful way of being transparent and nice to the community, and we’re gonna keep an eye on the project as it progresses,” Cr Arkan said.

“If this motion gets up, that’s a step forward in being transparent; so vote for it maybe.”

Cr George Cecato spoke against the motion and did not want Council to risk jeopardising its contract with Lipman.

The Cultural and Civic Space Project’s design and construction contract with Lipman Pty Ltd was approved by Council in February 2021, together with a total project end cost of $81.265m.

“Yarrila Place is such an incredible project, it’s the CBD activating project, it’s a culture enriching project for the city, it’s gonna be the game changer for the city,” Cr Cecato stated.

“Why are we risking that we get ourselves in a situation that we don’t really understand?

“I am extremely happy with the position and the way that the contract is being controlled.”

Cr Amos completed lengthy Council debate on the issue by calling on councillors to show the community that they care about the project.

“This project is moving forward, it’s time for the councillors to show that we care as far as the outcome, we care about the cost, we care about how this is going to be controlled,” Cr Amos said.

“Not voting for this is taking a position of all care but no responsibility, it makes sense that Council support this.”

Voting on the issue resulted in a tied vote, with Mayor Denise Knight using her casting vote to defeat the motion.

Crs Paul Amos, John Arkan, Keith Rhoades and Tegan Swan voted for the motion, and Crs Denise Knight, Michael Adendorff, George Cecato and Sally Townley voted against.

By Emma DARBIN