Eden’s Australasia president Peter Whiter wants Bega Valley Shire Council to explain why there has been an almost four-month “unexplained delay” in announcing the successful tenderer for the historic building.
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Tenders for the Australasia closed on August 2, with two companies, Rankin Builders of Pambula and Irisha/Rubycove from the Melbourne-suburb of Macleod, expressing interest.
Council said the tenders would be discussed at its meeting on August 30, but that failed to eventuate.
It was on the agenda of a closed session of council on November 1, but no details have been made public.
In a letter sent to the council general manager Leanne Barnes last Thursday, Mr Whiter sought an explanation for the delay.
“We are aware that the tenders are required to be reported to open council as soon as practicable after they close to ensure due process and transparency and whilst the actual tenders remain confidential, the report and debate is in open meeting,” Mr Whiter said in his letter.
“This process has clearly not been followed in relation to the Australasia tenders,” he said.
Mr Whiter said if the two tenders received were not acceptable or had “expired”, the council was obliged to explain to the community how it intended to restore the building, which had the potential to be a major tourist drawcard for Eden and the Bega Valley shire.
The community had voted to support the retention and restoration of the Australasia, and deserved to know why there had been a hold-up in the tender process, he said.
He said Eden’s Australasia had been created to support council in its endeavours to restore the circa 1904 building, but he claimed that since the election of the new council in September last year the community group had largely been “ignored” by council.
The group supported a “proper” tender process and its aim was in line with council’s stated intention to see the former hotel’s facade restored and other parts of the building remediated, but it nonetheless held “serious concerns” over council’s apparent failure to deal with the matter.
A council spokesperson told the Merimbula News Weekly on Tuesday that the tender process was proceeding as normal and in accordance with due diligence.
Details of the November 1 meeting had not been made public because they contained the tender prices which were confidential.
It was council’s intention that the tender be decided before Christmas, she said.
She said that while the tender was not listed on the agenda of today’s [Wednesday, November 22] council meeting, there were still two more council meetings before Christmas – November 29 or December 13.
