By DANE LILLINGSTONE
THE Southern Downs Regional Council took a step further in its Park Rationalisation in their latest council meeting.
The fates of Arcoola Park, Pratten Heritage Park and Lysaght Park have all been sealed.
As the Southern Free Times first reported last month, Victory Park in Allora is still in danger of being obsolete as council will now meet with relatives of the people with their names on the memorial plaque.
The current suggestion is for the plaques to be removed and placed in Memorial Park Allora, with the RSL even offering to help. Consultation with the families is currently underway.
Shilliday Park in Warwick is causing the council the biggest headaches with an ongoing legal case surrounding units near the park preventing them from making a decision.
The unit development on Rowland Street is currently in the middle of a court battle, and any decision on the park will be delayed.
Cr Vic Pennisi said any decision would not be rushed with the council responsible for 162 parks.
“The park rationalisation committee has been given two years to complete this process, and we will take the necessary time needed to be fully informed before making final recommendations,” he said.
Cr Jamie Mackenzie suggested that the infrastructure be removed and the park be immediately shopped around to be sold off to avoid any ongoing delays.
“We will find ourselves in court facing hefty legal fees,” he said.
The news was a lot brighter for Arcoola Park which has gone through the process unscathed. A petition signed by close to 100 people was submitted to council with a unanimous decision from the councillors that the park remains intact.
Pratten Heritage Park also received good news with the conclusion that council will seek submissions for the opportunity of a section of it to be sold or leased out.
The biggest loser to come out of the meeting was Lysaght Park in Clintonvale which will cease to exist. Current infrastructure will be moved to the Gladfield Driver Reviver rest stop, and Lysaght will be amalgamated with an adjoined piece of land and offered for sale or lease.
Cr Pennisi said the entire process was normal procedure for any business, and that it would hopefully result in a reduction of the operational costs for council and ratepayers.
“Amalgamation takes you down a path, and you lose focus on some of some things,” he said.
“Some savings have been found already, and this has been achieved without any apparent reduction in service delivery, and I am confident that with mature, open and sincere engagement we can improve on this and deliver a win-win outcome for our ratepayers.”
He said it would also teach the council a lesson in the future on how to be more strategic in the planning decisions for land development.
