Mudgee Art Galley And Tourist Centre Way Over Budget

Post date: May 21, 2020 4:06:58 AM

A cost blow-out for the Renovation and Construction of Art Gallery and Tourism Information Centre, saw a lengthy debate between members at last night’s Mid-Western Regional Council meeting.

Deliberation was centred on whether the project should go to another tender process at a later date, with Cr Martens blaming COVID-19 for the dramatic rise in cost.

A number of councillors spoke for the project, but are concerned over how much extra it will cost out of council budget and should be attempting to secure more grant funding.

However, Mayor Des Kennedy is showing support to “just get the project done”.

He says that it’s been something that been discussed for too long, with some other councillors agreeing the longer they wait, the higher the cost will be.

Cr Martens lost her amendment which would see the project delayed.

Cr Holden then requested other attending councillors to consider that the project not proceed unless at least 50% of the funding come from grants.

That motion was also lost, with councillors finally voting to proceed with the project tender, at a price of nearly $6.4M.