While it is encouraging that the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce is joining the protest against the Administrator’s application to IPART for a rate increase (‘”Sell more assets instead” – Chamber says NO to 10-year rate hike’, PP 047), there is a caveat that goes with this support.
I have previously commented on the idea of selling off the Central Coast Water Authority, and this possibility should certainly be given first priority.
However, the notion that there should be a wholesale disposal of land that is “not productive or useful” requires some thoughtful consideration.
Much would depend on what land is considered productive and useful, and it might well be that there is disagreement with what the Chamber thinks of as “surplus”.
One of the obvious assets that could be sold is the Bullion Street carpark, but, strangely, the Chamber is adamantly opposed to this, for reasons too feeble to be treated seriously.
Why the Chamber is so determined to prevent this property being placed on the market for redevelopment and improvement is hard to fathom.
Obviously, its sale could make a significant contribution to paying off our debt and, at the same time, redevelopment would improve what is, at present, an eyesore in the Umina precinct.
One can only suppose that the Chamber’s idea of surplus property would be wetlands that could be reclaimed for building or small plots in residential areas that are not being immediately used for children’s playgrounds and the like but are reserved for future use.
The community at large might well have a contrary view on those spaces.
It goes without saying that the Administrator’s application should be vigorously opposed, and all support to prevent an adverse decision from IPART is to be welcomed.
As I have said many times, the Administrator will be with us for (thankfully) a limited period of time, and it is not within his purview to commit a future Council to long-term imposts to which the community is almost universally opposed.
Let him do his job of cleaning up the mess and, then, let him move on as soon as possible, so that we can get back to normal in the management of the city.
The Administrator, for instance, should not be meddling in such matters as the Warnervale airport: if the elected Council’s decision is to be overridden, it should be by another elected Council, not a temporary bureaucrat who will disappear soon and can avoid any responsibility for his decisions.
Email, Feb 20
Bruce Hyland, Woy Woy
My opposition to the sale of the Bullion St car park is based on the fact that people visiting the business centre of Umina Beach would have nowhere to park and this would put even more pressure on the small businesses located nearby. I respect and admire Bruce but I definitely disagree with him on this one,unless he can provide a valid alternative that meets the needs of businesses and shoppers.