Toodyay Herald

The funding announcement coincides with a Shire of Toodyay call for local contractors to register for work on the $12 million project, which is expected to significantly boost local employment during construction.

The latest funding announcement is in addition to last year’s Federal grant of $4.7 million and represents a “best case scenario” mapped out by the Shire of Toodyay in December 2017.

The Premier visited Toodyay last month to make the announcement at an official civic gathering at Newcastle Gaol Museum before joining about 80 local residents for morning tea in the Memorial Hall.

He also visited the Toodyay RSL’s new Clinton Street premises to inspect plans to convert the former shire gardening depot into a sub-branch headquarters, which the Premier was told requires initial funding of $10,000 to get the building project started.

Last month’s funding announcement consists of $900,000 from the State Government’s Community Sporting and Recreational Facilities Fund and a WA Lotterywest grant of $890,000.

The Premier said he grew up in rural NSW where similar projects were funded by poker machine revenue.

“I’m very pleased that in WA we don’t need pokies to pay for better community facilities – this is a much better way to do it,” he said.

Mr McGowan began his Memorial Hall address leading the audience in singing Happy Birthday to local volunteer Desrae Clark (left).

He said the grants were for a new multi-purpose sports pavilion, tennis, netball and basketball courts, and a new rectangular playing field with floodlights for hockey, soccer and rugby.

The shire publicly advertised last month an intention to borrow up to $4.5 million from the State Treasury to help build the new $12 million sport and recreation precinct, including a 25m swimming pool.

Last month’s funding announcement reduces required borrowings to $2.7 million and cuts annual costs to $319,000, according to the shire’s best-case scenario.

Mr McGowan said Toodyay’s new precinct would become a hub for a range of local sports, provide a timely upgrade of local sporting infrastructure and help foster a healthier, more-connected community.

“Grassroots sport is the cornerstone of country communities like Toodyay, and my government is proud to help deliver this important project,” the Premier said.

“Not only will the new precinct offer better opportunities for local junior and senior sport, it will provide important work for tradespeople in a range of industries, supporting small business and local jobs.”

Mr McGowan congratulated Shire Community Development Officer Debra Andrijich – who won this year’s Australia Day Toodyay Community Citizen of the Year Award – for writing the successful grant applications.

Local Labor MP Darren West said Toodyay was a growing community – the new sports and recreation project was vital to accommodate further growth into the future.

Mr Scott has attracted increasing criticism since starting in 2012, culminating in last December’s announcement of a State Government inquiry into the council after a year of Local Government Department monitoring and official departmental criticism which Mr Scott tried unsuccessfully to withhold from the council.

He wrote an email described as “appalling” to former Cr Di Granger, prompting her to resign only five months after defeating former shire president David Dow by an absolute majority vote in a record Central Ward turn-out in the 2017 council elections.

Mr Scott and Shire President Rayner were also found by a separate internal inquiry last year to have breached the Shire of Toodyay Code of Conduct by publishing “derogatory” statements in the shire’s ratepayer-funded April 2018 Toodyay Community Newsletter, for which the pair have refused to apologise.

These matters are now being examined by three Perth investigators conducting an ‘authorised inquiry’ into the Toodyay Shire Council and its administration.

Mr Scott’s performance was raised when the council met behind closed doors last month to consider his bid for a new contract.

He was invited to address the start of the meeting and said he had done an outstanding job for the shire and that a new three to five-year contract was considered normal.

Mr Scott then left the chamber and councillors spent the next hour and a half discussing whether to re-employ him.

Cr Eric Twine’s motion that Mr Scott be offered a new two-year contract was lost 4-5, with only President Rayner and Crs Twine, Paula Greenway and Judy Dow in support.

Cr Bill Manning, seconded by Cr Craig Brook, then moved that Mr Scott not be offered a new contract.

It was carried 5-4 by Deputy President Chitty and Crs Rob Welburn, Ben Bell, Manning and Brook, with Cr Rayner and the other three councillors against.

Cr Manning then successfully moved that President Rayner and Deputy President Chitty obtain three quotes from professional recruitment agencies to look for a new CEO.

Cr Brook, an oil and gas industry safety expert whose council-approved six-month leave of absence ended last month, emailed his resignation – effective from April 1 – to President Rayner at the end of the meeting.

The West Ward councillor, who owns a house in Morangup and was elected last year, said he could not find work locally to support his family and had taken a job in Victoria managing bulk fuel supplies at Adelaide and Melbourne airports.

“Morangup is my home and I hope to be able to return to live and work here and run for council again,” he told The Herald.

Cr Brook said President Rayner told him the shire would seek Local Government Department advice on whether to call a fresh election to fill the vacancy or wait until next October’s council elections when Crs Dow, Welburn, Twine and Bell’s terms expire.

The council decided earlier this year to seek State permission to abolish electoral wards to enable all Toodyay electors to vote for every candidate, regardless of locality.

The October elections are expected to be by postal ballot after a 2017 switch from ‘in-person’ voting lifted local voter turn-out from near WA’s worst to almost the best.

It is understood that at least two councillors whose four-year terms expire in October may decide not to re-contest their seats.