By Sahar Foladi
Not everyone was jolly at the endorsement of the near-$100 million Dandenong Wellbeing Centre all-electric aquatic project at a council meeting on Monday 8 May.
Greater Dandenong Council passed a report which recommended proceeding with the $98 million previously-endorsed design of DWC after a recent ‘green’ audit.
The long-awaited project will be included in the 2023-’24 draft budget so it can be progressed to procurement.
The report was approved by all of the councillors except Cr Rhonda Garad.
Cr Garad, who has been openly critical of the DWC project, abstained from voting saying, “There’s no point in opposing it because other councillors are on board with it.”
Cr Garad said everything about the project is a concern for her including the design, financial risk and cost blow-out.
“In such financial times, for us to spend millions of dollars on one swimming pool is the wrong time.”
While the Federal Government has pledged $17 million towards DWC, council will still need $81 million as they lobby for the State Government to contribute $20 million.
Cr Jim Memeti said they’ve heard “whispers” that the State Government will cut back on a lot of grants and that the council “will not get anywhere near that amount.”
While he’s disappointed, he said they’ll try again in the future in hope that “things can turn-around” for them.
In contrast, to Cr Memeti’s support, Cr Garad said the large-scale project is “highly risky and unnecessary.”
The “ridiculous design features” only increases the costs and according to her “it is just for aesthetics”.
However, Cr Memeti said all aspects of the building should be considered including the design for the long-run.
“We want to build the facility not just for aesthetics but something that can remain functional and up-to-date for the future of an emerging community where younger migrants understand how important swimming is.”
Cr Memeti said it’s not the a pool that the council is investing in but the two-storey facility consists of a range of activities such as yoga, spa, sauna, cardio and meditation.
“That’s why we’ve renamed it as a ‘Wellbeing Centre’,” Cr Memeti said.
“It’ll encourage the community to embrace and make use of the facility in the long run in our attempt to increase participation rates.”
While DWC is anticipated to display high participation rates, Cr Garad argues a sizeable proportion of the participation will come from residents living outside the municipality.
“This begs the question of why residents of Greater Dandenong will be paying $100 million-plus to provide a facility for the people living outside the municipality.”
Cr Garad remains concerned about the blow-out costs as seen in many of council’s projects including the Keysborough South Community Hub with pre-tender cost estimate of $21.5 million and post tender cost of $22.9 million.
“We’ve seen significant costs blow out for significant projects. It’s unlikely for the $100 million to remain at that.”
She emphasizes that the projects especially one of this scale, shouldn’t be fast tracked as she says was what occurred with a recent audit report that reviewed the ongoing costs and energy efficiency of DWC.
“It seemed to be done at a rapid speed. I’m not convinced the report is accurate.
“My concern is the people that undertook this are not people that have the runs on the board, that have a track record of competing high standard of energy efficiency that we’re looking for.”
According to the council, the DWC could achieve a 6 Star Green Star rating, with net zero carbon emissions. Its all-electric design sources power from roof solar panels and ‘green’ grid electricity.
At the council meeting, Cr Tim Dark sang praises of the project.
“DWC is one of the biggest infrastructure projects the council has embarked on, certainly in my time on council.”
Construction is set to begin in April 2024.
