Fabian
November 5th, 2004, 11:10 PM
Clover has decided to approve the original scheme as envisioned by former mayor Frank Sartor :okay:It will also be named after swimmer Ian Thorpe.
From The Sydney Morning Herald (smh.com.au)
Thorpe pool gets nod after a few false starts
By Darren Goodsir, Urban Affairs Editor
November 2, 2004
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/11/01/thope_wideweb__430x313,1.jpg
Winning proposal ... the Harry Seidler-designed Ultimo Aquatic Centre with its signature wave roof.
About $40 million will be spent on a new city pool, to be named in honour of swimming champion Ian Thorpe, after a controversial council decision yesterday to solve a four-year dilemma over the prized commercial site.
The Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, said work on the Harry Seidler-designed swimming and fitness centre, with a signature wave roof, would start as soon as possible.
To be located on the corner of William Henry Street and Harris Street in Ultimo, it is scheduled to open in late 2006.
It will include a 50-metre pool, leisure pool, hydrotherapy pool with ramp access, a sauna and steam room, and a fitness centre as well as a sports medicine clinic, cafe and parking for 99 cars.
The decision, reached at a closed extraordinary meeting of councillors, means that the original proposal pushed by a former lord mayor, Frank Sartor, has triumphed - and a scaled-back version, adopted by the council under Lucy Turnbull's leadership, has been dumped.
The Turnbull-endorsed project, which was tailored for a $25 million budget, abandoned the leisure pool, the fitness centre and the clinic.
Initially, Cr Moore was convinced that the council should adhere to the scaled-down model, predominantly on cost grounds. She proposed an outdoor pool and a number of alternatives.
However, a vocal campaign by residents, which saw her shouted down at one meeting, convinced her to reverse her stance and push to have the original concept reinstated, which had already won ministerial planning approval.
This brought with it considerable problems, because the successful tenderer, Belmadar, had won on the basis it was building the scaled-back $25 million centre, which still required government approval.
For the past few months, confidential council sessions have been held to see whether Belmadar should be given the extra work without the need to re-advertise the tender. The council feared that if a tender was redrawn, Belmadar could have a case for compensation. A number of inquiries were made to see why the council signed up Belmadar before ministerial consent was granted, thus binding it to the deal.
A probity auditor, Deloittes, was appointed to ensure the commercial negotiations were appropriate. Cr Moore said the decision was "a victory for the city community".
"The residents in this area have been fighting for this centre for 10 years and I am very pleased this will now become a reality."
Cr Moore said the centre's name would be "a fitting tribute to a well-loved Sydneysider and Australia's greatest ever Olympian". Thorpe said he was humbled by the honour.
"To me, this is the best city in the world and I look forward to enjoying these terrific facilities and hope that the centre can host outstanding athletes from time to time," he said.
The council opted again to debate the pool decision in closed session yesterday, but Labor was joined by the Greens councillor, Chris Harris, in voting for an open meeting. Cr Moore said she believed confidentiality was needed before contracts being signed, but she was pushing for a policy in future for all contracts to be put on public display for two weeks after initial agreement was reached.
A Labor councillor, Michael Lee, said his team supported the expanded pool concept, and its name, but debated the closed nature of negotiations.
"We support this enthusiastically," he said last night. "Our argument was about the confidential way the decision was reached, and whether residents are getting value for money."
From The Sydney Morning Herald (smh.com.au)
Thorpe pool gets nod after a few false starts
By Darren Goodsir, Urban Affairs Editor
November 2, 2004
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/11/01/thope_wideweb__430x313,1.jpg
Winning proposal ... the Harry Seidler-designed Ultimo Aquatic Centre with its signature wave roof.
About $40 million will be spent on a new city pool, to be named in honour of swimming champion Ian Thorpe, after a controversial council decision yesterday to solve a four-year dilemma over the prized commercial site.
The Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, said work on the Harry Seidler-designed swimming and fitness centre, with a signature wave roof, would start as soon as possible.
To be located on the corner of William Henry Street and Harris Street in Ultimo, it is scheduled to open in late 2006.
It will include a 50-metre pool, leisure pool, hydrotherapy pool with ramp access, a sauna and steam room, and a fitness centre as well as a sports medicine clinic, cafe and parking for 99 cars.
The decision, reached at a closed extraordinary meeting of councillors, means that the original proposal pushed by a former lord mayor, Frank Sartor, has triumphed - and a scaled-back version, adopted by the council under Lucy Turnbull's leadership, has been dumped.
The Turnbull-endorsed project, which was tailored for a $25 million budget, abandoned the leisure pool, the fitness centre and the clinic.
Initially, Cr Moore was convinced that the council should adhere to the scaled-down model, predominantly on cost grounds. She proposed an outdoor pool and a number of alternatives.
However, a vocal campaign by residents, which saw her shouted down at one meeting, convinced her to reverse her stance and push to have the original concept reinstated, which had already won ministerial planning approval.
This brought with it considerable problems, because the successful tenderer, Belmadar, had won on the basis it was building the scaled-back $25 million centre, which still required government approval.
For the past few months, confidential council sessions have been held to see whether Belmadar should be given the extra work without the need to re-advertise the tender. The council feared that if a tender was redrawn, Belmadar could have a case for compensation. A number of inquiries were made to see why the council signed up Belmadar before ministerial consent was granted, thus binding it to the deal.
A probity auditor, Deloittes, was appointed to ensure the commercial negotiations were appropriate. Cr Moore said the decision was "a victory for the city community".
"The residents in this area have been fighting for this centre for 10 years and I am very pleased this will now become a reality."
Cr Moore said the centre's name would be "a fitting tribute to a well-loved Sydneysider and Australia's greatest ever Olympian". Thorpe said he was humbled by the honour.
"To me, this is the best city in the world and I look forward to enjoying these terrific facilities and hope that the centre can host outstanding athletes from time to time," he said.
The council opted again to debate the pool decision in closed session yesterday, but Labor was joined by the Greens councillor, Chris Harris, in voting for an open meeting. Cr Moore said she believed confidentiality was needed before contracts being signed, but she was pushing for a policy in future for all contracts to be put on public display for two weeks after initial agreement was reached.
A Labor councillor, Michael Lee, said his team supported the expanded pool concept, and its name, but debated the closed nature of negotiations.
"We support this enthusiastically," he said last night. "Our argument was about the confidential way the decision was reached, and whether residents are getting value for money."