BOB’S BORING BUDGET WHY IT’S A WINNER
CAIRNS Mayor Bob Manning has handed down a balanced $294 million Budget off the back of posting a $7.3 million surplus for 2016-17.
The council’s financial road map focuses on safety, lifestyle and the arts.
THE search is on for someone to reopen a restaurant or cafe at the former Courthouse Hotel so the iconic building does not languish as a dead spot in the city centre.
Cairns Regional Council’s 2017-18 Budget appropriated $190,000 for a minor refurbishment and to hire consultants to help decide the site’s future use.
It was a paltry figure in the council’s grand scheme of transforming the former hotel into the heart of a world-class arts precinct alongside the Cairns Regional Gallery and the former Mulgrave Shire Council building.
But Mayor Bob Manning said short-term uses for the building were being investigated.
He envisaged the Courthouse being rented out for wedding receptions and other pop-up style events and wanted to get a restaurateur into the space as soon as possible and to remain well after the transformation was complete.
“We will try as quickly as we can to activate the Courthouse in some way,” he said.
“We will use it, not to its maximum, but we don’t want people to just see it sitting there and doing nothing.”
The council bought the former pub for $5.75 million in December.
The Budget included a heavy focus on the arts and culture and not just with the $43.7 million to complete construction of the Cairns Performing Arts Centre.
The Cairns Regional Gallery will receive $1.3 million to support its ongoing operations, so integral to creating that gallery precinct, with $650,000 pledged towards building new back-of-house facilities at Munro Martin Park.
The Tanks Arts Centre will get $168,000 for internal upgrades and roof replacement, with $140,000 flagged to establish an indigenous art trail.
Other big ticket items outside the arts and culture sphere included $3.8 million on cycleways and pathways, including a $2.6 million kitty to start work on the Northern Beaches Leisure Trail.
Upgrades to parks and playgrounds will set the council back $4.9 million, as well as $16 million for their ongoing maintenance.
The Esplanade will not be forgotten with $3 million committed to refurbishments, including the replacement of the boardwalk.
Cr Manning left the region on a cliffhanger, promising a “very, very significant” announcement would be made on Friday.
“You’re going to have to wait for that one,” he said.
WE WILL USE IT NOT TO ITS MAXIMUM, BUT WE DON’T WANT PEOPLE TO JUST SEE IT SITTING THERE AND DOING NOTHING MAYOR BOB MANNING