Dear councillors,

Last week, a group of concerned residents, ratepayers and business owners convened a meeting to discuss our very strong concerns about the apparent direction of the council with reference to the Visitor Information Centre (VIC) and the Community Hub as a whole.

There were in excess of 20 people at the meeting and their feelings were unanimous on this matter.

All present, were united in their belief, that the Visitor Information Centre would return to Halls Gap (from its current location at Brambuk) once the construction of Stage 2 of the Community Hub was complete.

I personally, have documentation and verbal confirmation of this from your Mr Jim Nolan, sent last year and in discussions earlier this year.

It now appears that there is some doubt in your minds as to this matter.

Let me stress this point as strongly as I can! The people of Halls Gap demand that the VIC be returned to the Halls Gap township once construction of Stage 2 is complete in October/November this year.

Let me also point out that the funding application for Stage 2, was to finalise the 'Community Hub' which would incorporate the Centenary Hall, Function Centre and the VIC, a point which is made quite clear on the sign outside the construction site.

This sign acknowledges the government support for funding our grant application.

Also, many community groups and business organisations provided the NGS with letters of support for the grant application.

Any change to this concept of a Community Hub encompassing these three units would be a breach of contract with the government and the community.

The name says it all - Community - which is what we have all worked hard for over many years, to achieve a place where the community can convene and celebrate all types of occasions.

We also acknowledge the hard work by the council employees in putting together the various grant applications for the project over that period. It now appears that the council is considering letting the building/s out to commercial enterprises and as such have called for expressions of interest.

This is an outrageous proposal for two main reasons -

1. This is a community asset, not a commercial one

2. The current businesses in Halls Gap and that are close to the Community Centre are appalled that the council would consider using a public building to compete with them when they are already struggling to be commercially viable.

We, the community of Halls Gap, therefore request that the new Community Hub, when completed, be used for its original intended purpose of a Community Centre for the community's use and that the VIC be returned to its original home in the centre of the Halls Gap Township.

Failure to do this will constitute, in our opinion, a breach of faith with the community as a whole and with the government which provided the funding.

As this is an open letter, copies have been sent to: Louise Asher, Minister for Tourism and Major Events and Tim Bull, Minister for Local Government.

Paul Turner

Halls Gap Residents and Ratepayers Association