POINTS of Order were hotly contested at Monday night’s unscheduled Southern Grampians Shire Council meeting, with Cr Bruach Colliton saying he felt like he was in an episode of ABC-TV’s ‘Utopia’ at one point.

The meeting was held to debate the contract being awarded for the stage one co design and concept design phase of the new Hamilton Gallery.

Chief executive, Tony Doyle said 28 tenders were received by closing date of August 19 with the contract being awarded to Angelo Candalepas & Associates.

He said the quality of submissions was very high requiring thorough assessment and initiating extensive discussion to arrive at a short listing of six before a final decision was made.

Mr Doyle said Angelo Candalepas & Associates closely considered the linkages with the immediate and broader surrounds and identified the benefits of the Hamilton Gallery being well positioned between the Grampians, Budj Bim, Adelaide and Melbourne.

He said the selected awardees had demonstrated a strong history of “delivering projects on time and within budget”.

“Angelo Candalepas & Associates has significant experience working with public galleries working with stakeholders of unique and diverse demographics and cultural backgrounds,” he said.

Cr Rainsford was quick to leap to her feet and express concern that the concept design was being put through at the 11th hour before going into caretaker mode.

She expressed concern about the process of awarding contracts when the two projects, the Civic Hub and the Hamilton Gallery depend on each other and moved a motion to not support the awarding of the contract.

“There are too many questions,” she said.

“It means we’re going to be awarding a very expensive contract to design one thing, while we’re applying for funding for another.”

“They need to talk to each other.

“I can’t support this on the detail, I can’t support this on the budget.”

Cr Mary-Ann Brown spoke against Cr Rainsford’s motion and said the art gallery project was a project that had been in the pipeline for a long time.

“(This motion) is going to push it down the road further,” she said.

(The Civic Hub and the Gallery) – they’re two different services or organisations that we’re looking at.

“The digital hub was first discussed in 2017 – (and) we’ve finally got to this point.”

Cr Bruach Colliton supported the motion to delay the awarding of the contract and said it shouldn’t be about councillors point scoring over one another.

“This is the biggest project Council has been dealing with for quite some time,” he said.

“The facts are the gallery cannot proceed until the Hub is built which houses the library, council offices and the cinema … with a Civic Hub in between.

“It makes sense that this is combined into the one overarching precinct with the same eyes on it.

“There is no point awarding gallery tender until we demolish Walkers (the Lonsdale Street building), until we demolish Toyworld, and until we start the hub.

“This is backwards.

“On the eve of a new council when we should have done some other things.”

Cr Henry also spoke against the motion.

“All up and down the country LGA’s would be holding unscheduled meetings … so I don’t have a problem with it”.

Likewise, Cr Fran Malone spoke against Cr Rainsford’s motion and said she was “so frustrated that we can’t move forward”.

Cr Rainsford’s motion was lost.

Also discussed was the budget for the Gallery with Cr Rainsford and Cr Henry respectively asking how much the project was estimated to cost and where the funding would come from.

Mr Doyle responded and said that Council had a multiprong strategy in place.

“Firstly, we’ve created a foundation who we’ve asked to raise $30 million from philanthropic sources,” he said.

“Council has committed $10 million in its long-term financial forecast, but we (have) also had discussions with the state government, and we’ll be seeking $20 million from the state government, as well as a contribution from the federal government.”

The Community Hub Grant application was also discussed during the meeting.

Cr Rainsford moved the motion that the recommendation be approved and was seconded by Cr Brown.

All Councillors voted in favour of the motion.