Warrnambool City Council received state government confirmation funding for the Reid Oval redevelopment was secure, just hours before it went into caretaker mode ahead of the election.
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The council’s chief executive officer Bruce Anson said formal notification arrived at 10.30am on Tuesday when the government was to go into caretaker mode at 6pm.
The notification came after The Standard asked Treasurer Tim Pallas’ office a series of questions at 9.40am on Tuesday, including:
- Has Warrnambool City Council received the funding for Reid Oval yet?
- If not, is there any indication if it will come by 6pm tonight, before the State Government goes into caretaker mode?
- What happens if the money is not there?
- Can the State Government allocate it during caretaker?
- What happens if Labor does not win the November election? Is the money still available for the upgrade?
The state government did not answer any questions throughout the day, and did not answer by deadline despite repeated requests.
“Council received confirmation today that it would receive $7 million in Victorian Government funding to upgrade Reid Oval,” Mr Anson said on Tuesday afternoon.
“Council will borrow in excess of $2 million to put towards the project and, as with other sporting facility upgrades, we will talk with stakeholders about their contributions to help complete the project.
“With the state government commitment guaranteed council will still be required to complete a funding agreement that includes a timeline of actions with progress payment milestones.
“The funding agreement means that work on the project can be reimbursed through the $7 million allocation.”
On October 10 The Standard reported Member for Western Victoria James Purcell had offered to get Mr Pallas to write out a cheque so work could start, and had been pushing for the council to get the works underway.
On Tuesday evening Mr Purcell said the money had “been quarantined”.
“There is $7 million there for the redevelopment for the Reid Oval,” Mr Purcell said.
“The letter from the state government details this funding arrangement. It’s time to stop mucking around and stop making excuses and just get on with it. This is ridiculous.”
