Indigo Shire’s councillors will receive these recommendations at the Council meeting tonight, Tuesday 1 July in Chiltern but will not make a final decision on a preferred location until the Council meeting in August. Public submissions about the recommendation will be taken for consideration until Friday 25 July at 5.00pm. These submissions will then be formally considered by councillors, along with the report, at the Council meeting on 5 August.

“The consultation and assessment process involved in this decision has been extensive as we want to get it right,” said the Council’s CEO Brendan McGrath.

“One office location will save money by reducing property maintenance, energy and water consumption, duplication of equipment, and mileage and fuel costs. The major benefit though will be in staff productivity which will increase due to the improved office surroundings and improved interdepartmental communication with everyone under the one roof. Our ratepayers will benefit through the productivity improvements which ultimately will be reflected in improved customer service,” said Brendan McGrath.

Beechworth, Chiltern and Yackandandah are the three short-listed sites identified for the new office location, as a result of a community engagement process and feasibility study conducted by Suters Prior Cheney Architects. An in-depth study and assessment against specific criteria was conducted to reach the recommendation of Beechworth as the preferred site.

The criteria applied to each proposed site included:

-        connectivity to the township and local community

-        space for future expansion

-        the availability of generous onsite and street car parking

-        proximity to the geographic/demographic ‘centre’ of the Shire

-        a lower capital investment required in comparison to the other sites

-        site ownership

It was recognised in the Suters Prior Cheney study that existing council offices in Yackandandah provide the best opportunity for connectivity to the township, however are restricted in its potential for future development due to restrictions placed upon it by heritage constraints, physical space limitations and lack of ownership of surrounding land. There are currently 3 separate buildings staff work between which are not suited for office accommodation and have grown in an ad hoc manner. Modifications have been made to former dwellings to convert spaces into offices and storage space which have become inadequate.

The study outlined the proposed Chiltern site lacks connection to the town centre, does not have a strong civic centre presence around the site and requires substantial infrastructure and landscaping establishment for the site to become viable. Chiltern is also the most expensive option when compared to Beechworth and Yackandandah.

The overall projected project costs (taking into account potential funding from sale of council owned properties) are $6.6M for Beechworth, $7.2 M for Yackandandah and $7.3 M for Chiltern. These costs were calculated based on industry benchmarks for a modest municipal office in a rural location. Members of the Project Control Group, including Council’s CEO Brendan McGrath, General Manager Assets and Operations Phil Prior, Architects Ken Woodman, Stephen Cheney and Vicki Leo then assessed and reviewed the costings.

A number of options will be considered by Council in the next couple of months in regards to financing the proposed new office location. These include the possibility of selling current assets and borrowing funds.

Indigo Shire Council plans to service Chiltern, Yackandandah, Beechworth and Rutherglen via customer service centres and one main administration office. Council will establish which services will be offered in these centres. Potential services include internet banking facilities for ratepayers, meeting rooms for Council residents and staff and video conferencing facilities.

Copies of the detail report are available for viewing by clicking on the link below. Hard copies and electronic copies are available from Council’s Customer Service Centres at Beechworth, Yackandandah, Chiltern and Rutherglen.

** ends release***

For further information:

Nell Showers

Media and Communications Officer

Ph: 03 5728 8063

Email: nshowers@indigoshire.vic.gov.au