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One of the Illawarra’s favourite ocean pools is in ruins for what is going to be a long, hot summer, after the company employed to repair it went into liquidation.
Specialised Marine Services (SMS) was contracted for half a million dollars by Wollongong City Council to renovate the pool, which had some holes developing in the concrete, and a deteriorating external sea wall.
Questions have been being asked for months as the work did not appear to be progressing, and the warmer months arrived with significant amounts of the work remining to be done.
On Wednesday it was revealed that Narellan-based SMS was being liquidated.
Its equipment had been removed from the Austinmer Beach worksite, including contact details for the company.
When contacted by the Mercury, SMS owner Michael Lee said he was not ready to comment.
‘‘I can’t really talk about that at the moment because everything’s happening at the moment,’’ he said.
Wollongong City Council infrastructure and works manager Mike Hyde said SMS had left the project and a new contractor would have to be found.
‘‘Council will begin negotiations immediately with alternative contractors who can complete these essential works,’’ he said.
‘‘We will inform the community as soon as we are able to provide information on a completion date for these works.’’
Mr Hyde declined to say how much money the council had handed over before SMS went bust.
‘‘This is commercial in confidence at this stage as the company is in the hands of an administrator,’’ he said.
‘‘So far the works are about 50 per cent complete.’’
Half the cost of the project would be about $250,000.
When asked if he would return to the pool job, and why this job had proved so difficult for the contractor, Mr Lee offered a ‘‘no comment’’.
He said this was not the first time he’d worked on an ocean pool.
‘‘I’ve been doing this 20 years and it’s the fourth time I’ve done a pool like that,’’ he said.
The pool now lies closed, with debris from the construction in the water, steel reinforcement bars exposed, and the walkway unusable.