COUNCIL stalwarts say they have received little direct feedback about the state government's proposed GovHub in Bendigo - yet.
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Greater Bendigo deputy mayor and Lockwood ward councillor Rod Fyffe said only two people had approached him about the $90 million project since about the start of the year.
"Both of them were strongly of the opinion we should go ahead with it," he said.
Seven options have been put before the city's councillors ahead of Wednesday's council meeting.
The recommended course of action is for the city to sell the land on which its main offices stand, at Lyttleton Terrace, and to become tenants in a 1000-desk building to be constructed in its place.
The remaining options range from alternative models of involvement in the proposed GovHub to a new 440-desk office building exclusively for council staff.
Cr Fyffe said the convenience of a 'one stop shop' for council services in Bendigo appealed to both parties he had spoken with.
"They can see the benefit of having some of the government services, too," he said.
He said the idea of new council offices was initially preferable to the people he had spoken with, 'until they find out how much it's going to cost.'
Whipstick ward councillor James Williams said people had been speaking to him more about the GovHub since it had been in the news. But he did not consider the number of people raising it with him to be extensive.
"I've been dealing with it for a long time," he said.
Cr Williams was on the committee of an independent review of the City of Greater Bendigo back in 2013, which set the stage for the Bendigo GovHub proposal.
He said the greatest concern residents had raised with him about the project recently was the potential sale of council-owned land.
The same was true for fellow Whipstick Ward councillor Andrea Metcalf, who said about a dozen people had reached out to her about the proposed GovHub.
Residents had also been querying whether the council had explored all of the available options, the first-term councillor said.
"I listen to what they say and I will make a thorough assessment," Cr Metcalf said.
The third of the Whipstick ward councillors, fellow first-term councillor Malcolm Pethybridge, said the GovHub had been coming up in conversations.
Some of the people he had spoken with were all for it. Others were not convinced.
"Some have come up with other ideas - a site other than the middle of Bendigo… whether [the GovHub] is really needed or not needed," Cr Pethybridge said.
"We've got to take all this into account."
Both he and Cr Williams said discussions about the GovHub were difficult because much of the detail was in-confidence.
All four councillors encouraged residents to raise their thoughts on the GovHub with their ward representatives ahead of Wednesday's meeting.
"I'd probably expect at least a dozen phone calls over the next week," Cr Fyffe said.
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While both Cr Fyffe and Cr Williams said the community's wishes would factor into their decisions, research by the council's staffers would be their major consideration.
"People will be raising information generated by that," Cr Fyffe said.
Cr Williams said there were times when the city's councillors needed to make hard decisions.
In such circumstances, he said it was about people having 'a bit of faith' in their councillors to do the right thing.
Wednesday's council meeting starts at 6pm in the Bendigo Town Hall.
All of the city's councillors were contacted for comment.
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Emma D'Agostino
Covering general news and Bendigo council.
Covering general news and Bendigo council.
