Reimagining Council Facilities
22 August 2023
Whyalla City Council is keen to maximise the public value offered by its buildings and wants community input regarding the best approach.
Council owns close to 50 buildings, many of which need major repairs (due to their age) or are reaching the end of their useful life.
CEO Justin Commons said Whyalla ratepayers could not afford to continue to cover the cost of maintaining all these buildings, so Council would commence consulting the community on their preference regarding which buildings should be retained and how they should be used in the future.
“Ratepayers are no longer getting good public value out of many of these assets, as they no longer remain fit for purpose; are in poor or ageing condition; and/or are not well utilised,” Mr Commons said.
“It is important we reduce and rationalise our ownership to enable us to focus our limited resources on providing the best possible public value for the community from Council-provided community facilities.
“In some cases, a very small number of local residents use or benefit from a community facility, while in other cases, some buildings are largely used only for storage purposes. It is appropriate for Council to look at either selling or demolishing these buildings that no longer provide good public value to help maximise community benefit.
“However, we will consult with the community – as well as relevant groups – before making any decisions.”
Some examples of assets already identified include selling the former economic development building; demolishing the Civic Park depot; and demolishing several public toilet facilities that are beyond repair and now the target of ongoing vandalism (ie Wileman Street, Appleyard Reserve).
One of the most significant decisions to be made involves the future of Council’s current Civic Building.
“Recent investigations have found that the Civic Building has a very limited life,” Mr Commons said.
“It is fair to say that we have been applying band aids to this building for many years, but this is no longer cost-effective, so a decision needs to be made promptly on its future.
“Although we have no immediate safety concerns, we have decided to temporarily relocate to the former Edward John Eyre High School building to minimise any potential risk while we further investigate the best long-term options. This will occur later this year or early 2023.”
Mr Commons said there were significant costs simply to make the Civic Building safe in the long-term – requiring $500,000 to remain useable for a two-year period, and up to almost $5 million for a 10-year period – let alone meet current compliance, environmental and accessibility requirements, while also ensuring a more inclusive facility that the broader community can utilise.
“These costs cannot be justified on a building that is at the end of its useful life,” he said.
“We will need to consider several alternatives, including demolishing and rebuilding in the current location, or finding an alternative site for our new long-term base, for example the former Edward John Eyre High school.
“These reviews will look at the financial and social implications to help determine the best outcome for the community and ratepayers. Once we have more information, we will present the options to the community for their feedback via extensive engagement.”
In the meantime, Mr Commons said the interim relocation to the former Edward John Eyre High School site would help make Council more accessible to the central / west of the city.
Council will continue to provide updates over the coming months.