The recent headlines in the Advertiser and now the Eastern Courier that King William Road is 2.5 times over budget has shocked me. It is news to me.
Any suggestion that King William Road is 2.5 times over budget is completely wrong. It continues the agenda they (the media) have set for years now that it (King William Road) is all about pavers v bitumen.
Our Mayor and our CEO have sent a letter to the editor to set the record straight. Hopefully we will see a retraction in upcoming editions.
Mind you, such inaccuracies really should not shock me. There are times, as I have previously blogged, when I wonder if I would know more about the inner workings of Council by:
- not participating in the decisions of council and,
- simply reading the printed news.
This is another case that prompts this thinking.
The media is reporting that our original budget to upgrade the high street section of King William Road was $ 6.0 m. The final cost of $ 15.5 m calculates at 2.58 times.
We have never had a budget of $ 6.0 m for the high street redevelopment. Never.
Our budget was closer to $ 10.0 m. Added to this there will be ‘budgeted for’ work being done that is being bought forward. Works too, in conjunction with SA Water, that will surely be preferable now rather than later. These extra works has lifted our budget, including a contingency sum to cover the unforeseeables, to $ 15.5 m
The contract we have let for the project is a smidgen under $ 12.0 m. It takes into consideration the programming of works to avoid as much as possible interfering with our traders, and their need to continue business while work proceeds.
Thanks for ‘setting the record straight’. I did think the claimed ‘blow out’ was a little out of character for The Council. Keep up the good work.
You know what. Some fodder perhaps. Way back in 2006 Council’s long term financial plan had $ 6.0 m allocated for resurfacing the road, the whole length by the way-from Greenhill Road to Heywood Park. What we are doing of course, to the high street section only, is way beyond anything that budget item would have anticipated.