“We really need to get a whole lot better, in my view, at project costing and project management.” This comment by councillor Ian Scandrett sparked a fiery response at the August 22 council meeting.
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Cr Scandrett made the comment during debate about the latest finance committee meeting where additional funds were approved for the Mittagong Pool refurbishment and the pedestrian bridge over the Moss Vale to Unanderra Railway.
At the committee meeting on August 15, an additional one million dollars was approved for the pool and $262,000 for the bridge. It was the pool, however, that caused the most anger.
Mayor Ken Halstead was not pleased with what had been said and the estimate had been done on “a very basic set up”.
“Don’t talk about things you know nothing about Cr Scandrett and you certainly know nothing about building a pool,” he said.
“It’s not just repairing the floor. This is a whole new structure. This is a very complex design. I’m extremely happy with what I see there in terms of the quality of the work.
“Even if you’re operating a private business you have pluses and minuses. You might have a series of works in a program. Some will go over and some will go under.”
Cr Duncan Gair said the comments were a “low blow” and the community needed to consider there were factors out of council’s control for both the projects. “Nobody knew what was underneath that Mittagong pool. We didn’t know we were going to get east coast low that would wipe out the pool,” he said.
A council spokesperson said major factors contributing to the funding request were:
- Additional excavation and removal of rock. The existing under floor material was found to be in poor condition and also required screening for reuse
- Subsurface sandstone required core drilling for installation of concrete pier reinforcement bars which were chemically anchored into place
- Removal of two existing redundant reinforced concrete stormwater pipes. The pool walls also required additional underpinning and strengthening as a result of damage caused by the 2016 East Coast Low Storm
- Reinstatement of natural rock face drainage to better help pool water quality. This was complemented with new drainage
