A RIVERLAND council is set to seek approval for the sale of a local community centre after numerous attempts to find a permanent use for the building had failed.
Renmark Paringa councillors passed a motion at last month’s general meeting to begin the process of revoking community land status for the McCormick Centre for the Environment.
Renmark Paringa Council chief executive officer Tony Siviour said numerous possible uses for the centre had been previously explored.
“Council has worked with the Australian Landscape Trust over a long period of time to attempt to make the McCormick Centre for the Environment a self-sustaining asset for the community,” Mr Siviour said
“Despite running two expression of interest processes, as well as pursuing 11 different alternative uses for the centre which included a study hub, NDIS hub, innovation centre, house employees relating to the Murray-Darling Basin and a potential site to co-ordinate the carp biomass project, nothing has come to fruition.
“All previous partners of the McCormick Centre now no longer have an interest in the building including the Australian Landscape Trust, who have relocated all operations to Calperum Station.”
The McCormick Centre was opened in September 2002, with council signing a formalised agreement of operations or lease – for a period of 15 years or expiring in 2018 – in 2005.
Mr Siviour said council would next seek community opinion regarding a potential sale of the location.
“History would suggest that the project has unfortunately not been able to fully deliver on the considerable vision of the original and majority funders of the McCormick Centre: Brooks McCormick and Bill Rutherford,” Mr Siviour said.
“Council will now prepare a report which considers the merits of revoking the community land classification of the building and disposing of the asset.
“The revocation report will outline all the efforts council has undertaken to activate the building, the costs to maintain and run the building – which is in the vicinity of $60,000 to $70,000 per annum – and ask the community their view on whether they support council pursuing the disposal of the asset.”