A statement by Neville Fredericks about Lamerton House being the preferred location for council facilities (Hub location questioned, Mercury, February 12) has been made in the absence of the facts.
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In 2008 council considered a report outlining the limitations of Lamerton House in its current form and the costs associated with purpose-built facilities on the existing site and on a separate site.
Further in 2012, an independent report on the financial and economic analysis of the City Hub project was taken of the six options including refurbishment of Lamerton House.
This analysis was conducted in a manner consistent with the requirements of NSW Treasury and the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet.
The option of retaining and refurbishing Lamerton House was the least favourable.
In terms of development costs it was also the worst of the six options at a cost of $58.9million and had the lowest economic benefit at $7.4million compared with $21.9million for the preferred City Hub site.
If council were to retain ownership of Lamerton House it would have to forego Section 94 developer contributions.
It would not get the benefit of the proceeds of the sale of the property and would be faced with inferior civic facilities for which the council would have to borrow more money than is currently planned under the City Hub proposal.
I encourage readers to find out more about the City Hub project at shellharbour.nsw.gov.au.
Michael Willis, general manager, Shellharbour City Council
