By Jeremy Sollars
A detailed design for the major upgrade of the Warwick Saleyards is likely to be up to six months away, following a vote of Southern Downs councillors in early March.
Mayor Vic Pennisi this week also indicated that the final cost estimate for the upgrade could be anywhere from $3.5 to $10 million.
Current councillors in March voted five to four in favour of a $7.5 million ‘third’ option for the future improvement of the Warwick Saleyards, long a point of controversy in the local livestock sector and wider community.
The other options voted down last month were construction of a brand new saleyards and a more expensive major upgrade, costed by consultants at $15.6m and $13.9m respectively.
The chosen ‘middle’ upgrade option likewise estimated by council consultants at $7.5 million did not come with any details about specific design elements, with Cr Pennisi telling the community in March that more information was still to come.
Members of the council’s Saleyards Advisory Committee and many in the community expressed anger at the time that the $7.5 million option appeared to be based on little or no concrete details.
Warwick and Stanthorpe Today this week asked Cr Pennisi and the council’s chief executive officer Dave Burges for a status report on the saleyards, with Mr Burges advising that an ‘internal working group’ has been formed within council to progress the project and has met “several times” already.
Mr Burges said a “detailed design” is expected to be finalised “within four to six months”, and said the council would then seek to apply for funding sources from the state and federal governments.
The council has made it clear its intention is that ratepayers will not shoulder the full cost of any upgrade to the Warwick Saleyards but until state and federal grants, if any, are secured the ‘cost split’ will remain open to speculation.
As a cost split comparison, a major $14 million upgrade of the Casino saleyards in northern New South Wales over the last several years was split 50-50 between the NSW and federal governments and the local Richmond Valley Council.
Mayor Pennisi this week said while $7.5 million was the estimate attached to the final council decision in early March the potential cost of a Warwick upgrade – depending on what’s included – could end up anywhere between $3.5 and $10 million.
But he said he and the councillors would await the detailed design to be overseen by the council’s internal working group.
“I don’t personally believe it will be $10 million, but it depends what we want to get out of the project,” Cr Pennisi said.
“Do we want a ‘hard’ roof over the selling pens or just shade cover, and do we want new drafting facilities – those are some of the questions we need to answer.
“As a council we’ll be aiming to cap the cost at the $7.5 million, and it could end up being a lot less.
“I’m expecting we’ll have a preliminary design from the working group by June or July of this year.
“That’ll give us a basis to start getting our applications together for (state and federal) funding programs that will open up next financial year.”
One such program is likely to be the Federal Government’s ‘Building Better Regions Fund’ program.
At least five consultancy firms – Wiley and Co, ProWay, Outcross AgriServices, GeoLink and AgriBusiness Development Institute – have been contracted over the past several years to provide advice and reports on future options for the Saleyards, at a cost to ratepayers of $300,000.
In favour of the $7.5m option in March were Mayor Vic Pennisi, Deputy Mayor Ross Bartley and Councillors Andrew Gale, Stephen Tancred and Cameron Gow.
Against were Councillors Jo McNally, Sheryl Windle, Cynthia McDonald and Marco Gliori.
Crs Gliori and McDonald had previously made clear their position was in favour of the ‘greenfield’ option, having voted in favour of that option as members of the Saleyards Advisory Committee.
Mayor Vic Pennisi made it clear he was opposed to both the original ‘greenfield’ and ‘brownfield’ options, saying he was fearful that a new saleyards or a major upgrade could “become another WIRAC” and a “millstone around the neck of the council”.
