Published on Monday, 10 June 2019 at 12:00:00 AM
On Monday, 10 June, the Hon. Mick Murray, Minister for Seniors and Ageing; Volunteering; Sport and Recreation announced funding of $700,000 towards the Kambalda Aquatic Facility through State Government’s Community Sporting and Recreation Facilities Funding.
The announcement is extremely exciting for the Shire and its community. I would like to acknowledge the State Government for the funding in particular, The Hon. Minister Mick Murray, Minister for Seniors and Aging; Volunteering; Sport and Recreation and The Hon. Minister Alannah Mac Tiernan, Minister for Regional Development.
The State Government’s support for the project clearly demonstrates the strong working relationship the Shire has developed with the State Government through the assistance of The Hon. Kyle McGinn, MLC, Member for Mining and Pastoral Region.
The Kambalda Aquatic Facility was constructed in 1970 and operated by Western Mining Corporation (WMC) until early 2000, when the Shire of Coolgardie inherited the ageing asset as part of the normalisation process when WMC sold off all of their mining operations and withdrew their presence from Kambalda. Since this time, the Shire has maintained and operated the facility for the benefit of Kambalda residents and other visitors to our region at a cost of over $300k per year.
As a result of a compliance and safety audit undertaken in 2017, the facility was deemed to not meet current Health and Compliance Standards and would therefore require significant upgrades to the pool shell and replacement of plumbing, filtration systems and pump rooms.
Together with its community, the Shire of Coolgardie’s President, Councillors, CEO, staff have worked tirelessly over the last two years to secure funding support for this project from all levels of government, business, and mining companies.
The project is valued at $3.4M with the Shire recently securing a $1.905M – WA State Treasury Loan and $287,000 in Federal Government funding through Community Sporting Infrastructure Funding.
Prior to the announcement from the State, the Shire and its community had no option but fund the budget shortfall through reserves. The impact was that it would limit the Shire’s ability to fund its planned infrastructure projects for the community and industry.
Mining resource production in the Shire has increased by 25% from $2.5B to $3.1B in the last year
which reinforces the significance of the Shire’s contribution to GDP and the importance of continuing to build its infrastructure renewal reserve to meet future economic and social infrastructure needs.
The process of applying for government funding has been a catalyst for Council to assess the Shire’s
asset renewal position and ensure that investments in major infrastructure upgrades such as the
Kambalda Aquatic Facility are included in the Shire’s long-term financial plan.
It is acknowledged that planning for investment in infrastructure is vital to managing risk which ensures that the long-term viability of projects do not hamper the Shire’s ability to function or progress key projects for the interest of the community.
For further information and updates on the Kambalda Pool project head to the dedicated project page.
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