GAWLER Council has expressed concerns about its ability to attract Federal Government investment for proposed upgrades to Karbeethan Reserve, at the present time.
The Karbeethan Reserve masterplan (pictured) details four stages of planned development at the Evanston Gardens sporting precinct, the first two of which will deliver improvements to the existing baseball diamond, construct a new shared-use clubroom, upgrade two soccer pitches, and create a synthetic soccer pitch and softball diamond.
In a grants update report released last week, special projects officer Tara Shillabeer stated the total value of investment required for Stage One “could be up to $10 million”, and that it was too early to begin applying for government funding.
“A key to the successful and timely implementation of the Karbeethan Reserve masterplan is the ability to leverage external funding for the project,” she stated.
“While this project will result in significant community benefits for Gawler and the region, it does not strongly align with the (Federal Government’s) Regional Growth Fund’s assessment criteria, which is focused on economic development outcomes.
“In addition, council staff do not consider this project as ‘grant ready’ as the scope for Stage One implementation has not been confirmed or been through the detailed design process.
“Therefore, applying for funding at this time would present some risks to council from both time and cost perspectives.”
Gawler mayor Karen Redman said the council is yetto endorse the masterplan, and that further conversations needed to be had with the Federal Government about “pouring
in more money to local communities”.
“At the moment, councils tend to fund the lion’s share,” Ms Redman said.
“That grants update really focused on bikepaths and connections, because they’re quite small amounts we can go for while we’re getting our debt down – so, we’re still investing.
“Then, we’ll be ready to focus on these big projects, but also we’re looking for the Federal and State Governments to really invest in our local community.”
Public consultation on the masterplan ended in early April.