Council clears the DEC
Public gallery in uproar as Glenorchy seeks to offload centre
GLENORCHY City Council will put the cash-draining Derwent Entertainment Centre on the market.
In a fiery council meeting last night that at times threatened to spiral out of control, aldermen voted unanimously to seek to offload the asset.
People in the packed gallery repeatedly interjected as Mayor Kristie Johnston spoke, voicing disapproval of the plan in a lively public question period scheduled to take 15 min- utes that went for more than an hour. One local pleaded for the council to “use your head”.
The vote means the general manager can pursue opportunities to sell or lease the entertainment centre following a 14day period where objectors can lodge an appeal to the Resource Management and Planning Tribunal.
Alderman Johnston stressed the council could still decide not to sell the DEC if it did not like the offer it received.
“A later meeting will determine the matter of when, who to, and on what terms a sale would be agreed to,” she said.
“It’s been well known the DEC has been a liability for council. It’s a regional centre the council operates for the benefit of the state and it has suffered some serious losses financially.
“It’s about trying to get a better outcome for the community.”
The Hydraplay consortium, behind Tasmania’s push for a team in the National Basketball League, remains the only interested buyer and looks set to secure the DEC if the council pushes ahead with the sale.
Hydraplay, led by entrepreneur and former basketballer Justin Hickey, has pledged between $80 million and $90 million to create a sports and entertainment precinct.
The plan includes a $3 million to $4 million upgrade of the DEC, as well as hotel and cafes. It would be the largest investment in Glenorchy since Mona.
“We are pleased the Glenorchy City Council has come to a prudent decision to dispose of an asset they received for free and look forward to our discussions with the State Government,” Mr Hickey told the Mercury.
The DEC has been a burden on ratepayers in recent times — it has failed to perform to its budgeted expectation each of the last four years and has only turned a profit once.
The council reported an operational loss for the centre of $145,000 in the last financial year, with depreciation ($869,000) and maintenance bringing the council’s total cost of running the building to almost $1.1 million.
Deputy Mayor Matt Stevenson said the centre had been a “drain on the purse of council ever since it came into their hands”. “If the DEC is sold it will remain an entertainment centre … the public will retain access to the Wilkinsons Point foreshore,” he said.
The council received seven objections and a petition with 418 signatures against the plan to dispose of the entertainment centre. The council valued the DEC at $18.6 million.