Council to cut costs by merging workshops

New depot a super saving

TOWNSVILLE City Council will create a super depot as it looks to move its two ageing workshop operations in Dalrymple Lane, Garbutt, and Bamford Lane, Kirwan.

The council will now call for expressions of interest in the design and construction or lease of a new facility in a location CBD.

Mayor Jenny Hill said bringing the council’s workshop operations together in a new modern depot would deliver broad- ranging operational and economic benefits.

“Consolidating operations in new facilities will improve the overall efficiency of council’s workshops, which serve as the engine room for council’s

within 10km

of

the basic services,” Cr Hill said. “Council’s current depots at Bamford Lane and Garbutt were established in the 1970s and have served Townsville and Thuringowa well, but are in urgent need of major upgrades.

“We amalgamated in 2008 and it’s now eight years on and I think it’s important because we get efficiencies when you amalgamate your depots – you’ve got your boilermakers in one depot and your mechanics in another.

“It’s ridiculous if you’ve got to do work, for example, on garbage trucks, they do the welding work at Bamford Lane and then the trucks have to do mechanical repairs elsewhere.”

Cr Hill said there were a number of locations where the new depot could be based in- cluding Garbutt, Bohle parts of Mount Louisa.

She said the move was part of the Facilities Master Plan the council had developed to consolidate administrative and operational facilities.

“The master plan looked at council’s current and future workshop needs and makes a compelling case for a brand new single facility in a centrally located site,” Cr Hill said.

and

“Relocating to a new site would also allow a fairly smooth transition of council’s operations, with the least disruption to services and the community.”

The future of the Garbutt and Bamford Lane sites will be further investigated as part of the facilities master plan and council’s ongoing requirements.

Funding for the new depot project has been set aside in the council’s 2015- 16 operational budget.