A rate rise of approximately $0.25 per rateable property per week could support the running costs of a 50-metre, heated indoor pool.
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The Eurobodalla Shire Council collected approximately $61million in rates from shire residents last year, including revenue from waste operations.
Of this amount, $600,000 goes to subsidise the three swimming pools in Batemans Bay, Moruya and Narooma, a council spokesperson says.
The council estimates a 50-metre pool in the new Batemans Bay Aquatic Centre, as opposed to the planned 25-metre pool, would “cost approximately $6.5million more to construct, and $300,000 more per year in ongoing costs”.
The council said there are 25,442 rateable properties in the shire – and that it was unlikely all ratepayers would be happy to foot the bill.
The Bay Post/Moruya Examiner calculated the additional $300,000 divided by 25,442 comes to a total of an extra $12 per rateable property per year, or $0.25 per week (rounded up).
However, a council spokesperson said additional rates could put the council over their “cap”.
“Councils are rate capped ... if we went over our cap something would need to be cut (not unlike football salary caps) or we’d need to apply for a special rate variation,” the spokesperson said.
The council said there were a few reasons for the extra costs: “Circulation space around the pools is required to ensure their effective and safe operation,” it said.
“It would not be possible to incorporate a 50-metre indoor pool without significantly increasing the size of the pool building. Incorporating an additional 26.5 x 28 metres of pool space (this includes a 1.5m fibreglass bulkhead to enable the pool to be divided, and a minimum four-metre concourse on both sides) will add up to 742sqm to the roof structure and additional walls.
“(It) would also significantly increase the costs associated with the plant room’s specifications for water circulation, treatment and filtration. (It) would increase the operating costs due to the additional staff required to supervise. There are also increased costs such as chemicals, materials and energy.”
The current Batemans Bay pool receives fewer swimmers per week than Moruya’s outdoor 25-metre pool.
“In the past five years, 478,410 people visited our pools,” the council said.
“Narooma pool accounted for 45 per cent of visitors, Moruya 31 per cent and Batemans Bay 24 per cent. The total average visits per week over the past five years is estimated to be 887 in Narooma, 888 in Batemans Bay and 1154 in Moruya.”
