Council divided on plan
Funding fight over dredging project
CASSOWARY Coast ratepayers will fund the submissions of three contractors now battling to win the Port Hinchinbrook dredging project and the decision has divided councillors on the local government’s responsibilities.
Councillors voted 5-2 at the last local government meeting to pay $15,000 each to Burden Queensland Pty Ltd, Riverglen Dredging Pty Ltd and MGN Civil Pty Ltd to complete their business cases before the final contract is awarded for dredging at One Mile Creek.
Division 2 councillor Teresa Millwood and division 6’s Kylie Farinelli voted against the recommendation with Ms Farinelli saying the council should never have been the proponent for the project.
The dredging project has been a hot political issue for years after many reports of low tides restricting the local coast guard’s ability to respond to distress calls, while also bogging Port Hinchinbrook residents at the marina.
“I get all that and I also want to see a solution, but I don’t think ratepayers should have anything to do with it,” Ms Farinelli said.
“Council doesn’t have a legal responsibility to manage that whole estate (Hinchinbrook).
“There’s so many questions and we’re being asked to fund $15,000 towards the three potential contractors, knowing that only one of those plans is going to be taken up. So two will be funded for nothing.”
Mayor Mark Nolan said “council needed to have some skin in the game” and the $45,000 worth of ratepayer funded business cases would go a long towards earning government funding for dredging.
“Part of this process of awarding the three lots of $15,000 is part of our responsibility to render the project shovel-ready to attract that $1.5 million (pledged by the Federal Government),” he said. “If we don’t do this work now, we don’t have any chance of getting that $1.5 million.
“I will not support ratepayers funding the dredging if federal and state funding doesn’t come through.”
Ms Farinelli said she was concerned about ongoing costs.