Saturday, 10 April 2010
Councillor voting determines Colac Library decisions
A recent letter claimed that Councillors who promised to leave the Colac library where it was, have changed their mind. In fact, most have been consistent in their position.
With any Council matter a decision requires the support of at least 4 out of 7 Councillors. Three Councillors, of which I am one, have always tried to save the Colac library and end involvement in the unpopular joint use Colac library. Two other Councillors have been consistent in their support of the joint use library as an alternative to the existing Colac library.
The Ordinary Council Minutes of 22/4/’09 show that 4 Councillors of 7 voted to proceed with the joint use library at Colac. I was one of the three who opposed this, preferring to save the existing Colac library, in line with pre-election commitments. 3 votes were too few to save the Colac library.
At a Special meeting on 10/2/’10 a Colac library annexe was considered. I would have preferred to maintain a library at the existing Colac site so there is a centrally located library under local management. It was clear to me that such a proposition would fail to gain the support of at least 4 Councillors.
The adopted position, on a 5 to 2 vote, was that an annexe of about 100 square metres, with only 2,500 items (books etc); remain at the current Colac Library site. I put this motion forward at the Special Meeting on 10/2/’10 as I gathered that such a proposal was likely to be supported. Another proposal, about a community based steering committee to guide the formation of the library annexe, was only supported by 3 Councillors. This annexe is, at best, barely half a library.
Unfortunately, the $1.3 million debt burden from the Joint Use Library at the Colac school will constrain the capacity of Council to improve other services. Some improvements may still be possible if Council can source Government grants.
I encourage interested residents / ratepayers to read the Council Ordinary Minutes of 22/4/’09 and Special Meeting Minutes of 10/2/’10 if they want to see how each Councillor voted on the various decisions about the Libraries. See links below:
Please feel free to contact me on 5237-3196 if you would like to discuss this or any other Council matter.
To comply with the Councillor Code of Conduct I need to make it clear that these comments are my personal report. I am not speaking on behalf of the Council.