THE Kangaroo Flat Aquatic Centre business case report (Bendigo Advertiser, May 13) outlining the assumptions on costs comes up with some very rubbery figures, or perhaps hard to digest figures from the council.
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“The Wellness Centre would generate $200,000 over 10 years and the cafe and gym would make a combined $325,000” (profit presumably over the same 10 years).
How can anyone presume what the economy will be like over the next 10 years, with people working longer, government expectations that women should go back to work, self-funded retirees having their pension asset test lowered and unemployment growing?
And the council planning a five or six per cent rate rise per annum for the next five years.
No decent economist can predict what the future holds for the next 10 years, let alone the next five years.
The prediction that some 420,000 people will use this facility in the first year seems over the top i.e. 420,000 divided by 365 days equals 1150 people per day, or approximately 100 per hour over a 12-hour day.
The Peter Krenz Leisure Centre only receives some 330,000 visits per annum.
This raises the issue again of traffic flows, traffic congestion and parking of cars and buses.
What is also interesting is that the Barnard Street Aquatic Centre is losing some $450,000 per annum (Jack Lyons, Bendigo Advertiser, May 13).
To achieve the attendance figure of 100 visits per hour, is it the council's intention to close all the other pools in Bendigo?
One only has to look at the community effort in running the Golden Square Pool, which has shown great resilience.
On Australia Day some 555 people entered the pool for a free day of celebration with the support of Cr Elise Chapman. This shows what a community united can do.
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