Addendum Agenda of Extraordinary Governance Meeting

Extraordinary Governance Meeting

22 October 2024

Infrastructure and Planning Committee Report

ITEM 01

Carnes Hill Aquatic and Recreation Centre - Amended masterplan design

Strategic Objective	Healthy, Inclusive, Engaging Improve liveability and quality of life for the community by delivering vibrant parks, places and facilities
File Ref	345357.2024
Report By	Iqra Hoda - Assistant Project Manager (WSIGP) Luke Morley - Senior Project Manager WSIG Program
Approved By	Peter Scicluna - Acting Director Operations

Executive Summary

Council has a $53.4m grant through the NSW Government’s Western Sydney Infrastructure Grants Program to deliver an aquatic centre at Carnes Hill. The current Carnes Hill Aquatic and Recreational Masterplan requires a revision so a viable centre can be delivered to the community with the available funds.

This report recommends the revision of the masterplan to include a 25m indoor pool that can be delivered with the grant funding, and a staged approach to future components of the plan, if funds become available. It also seeks the redirection of a $4.265 Internal Reserve that will supplement the budget.

RECOMMENDATION

That Council:

1. Endorse a revision to the Carnes Hill Aquatic and Recreational Centre masterplan to include an indoor 25m 8-lane pool and a staged approach to delivery, that aligns with available funding and the Long-Term Financial Plan; and

2. Redirect $4.265m in funding currently set aside for Liverpool Council’s Biochar enterprise to the Carnes Hill Aquatic Centre project.

REPORT

Background

In February 2023 Council was advised it had succeeded in securing $53.4 million to deliver an aquatic and recreational centre at Carnes Hill through the Western Sydney Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) Program – formerly WestInvest. A Deed of Agreement was signed in December 2023 to deliver the project.

With the onboarding of the WSIGP project team in April 2024, and subsequent interrogation of the aquatic centre cost plan, it was identified that the $53.4 million would be insufficient to deliver all elements of the current Carnes Hill Aquatic masterplan. New cost estimates found it would cost $93 million to undertake the intended scope which included a 50m pool. To verify the cost overrun an independent cost plan was commissioned. This estimate costed the project at $100 million.

The project team has been working on strategies to resolve budget and scope within the grant funding allocation. This has included:

1) A revision of the Masterplan that includes:

· Reducing the scope of deliverables by staging additional components of the masterplan, based on future funding;

· Commencement of value engineering principles; and

· Cost plan verification of proposed changes.

2) Seeking other sources of funding to supplement the $53.4 million WSIG grant.

3) Retaining the intended community outcomes to satisfy the Outcome Logic Map identified in the WSIG Deed of Agreement.

4) Obtaining operational and maintenance cost modelling to understand the running cost implications of new masterplan design proposals.

This process has resulted in a revised masterplan (Attachment A) that includes a 25m indoor pool in addition to the original components of the 2023 masterplan. The project team will develop the masterplan with provisions to allow for flexibility in design and delivery based on future opportunities if funding becomes available (Figure 1).

The following components will be delivered with the WSIG funding allocation as Stage 1 (Figure 2):

· Indoor 25m 8-lane pool

· Indoor Learn-to-swim pool

· Indoor Splash Pad

· Change rooms, family and group

· Storage and plant spaces

· Café/ Restaurant

· Reception/ Foyer and Kiosk

· Pool Concourse.

The overall precinct masterplan includes the following additional components that can be delivered if funds become available:

· Outdoor 50m pool

· Outdoor waterplay area

· Gymnastic Centre

· Spa and sauna.

A presentation occurred in July 2024 to the WSIG Project Office advising them of the proposed change. The direction from WSIG Project Office was to resolve first with Council the approved change. Then following endorsement of the amended masterplan, LCC project team will need to apply for a scope and time variation to the executed Deed.

A map of a site

Description automatically generated Figure 1: Masterplan of Precinct Showing the proposed staging of Carnes Hill Aquatic and Recreational Centre and Shared Access Road.

A map of a site

Description automatically generated

Figure 2: Revised Aquatic Centre Masterplan – 8-Lane 25m Indoor Pool

The proposed Stage 1 of the revised masterplan has been costed (and independently verified) at $57.6 million. Given that the available WSIG funds are $53.4 million, the project requires an additional $4.2 million in funding.

It should also be noted that revised masterplan options which included both a 50m indoor pool and a 50m outdoor pool in lieu of a 25m indoor pool were considered during the planning process. The estimated costs for these facilities are $71.8 million and $58.4 million, respectively. However, available funds ruled out the possibility of a 50m indoor pool. The justification for recommending a 25m indoor pool over a 50m outdoor pool is addressed later in this report, which considers the Long-Term Financial Plan (LTFP) and the Liverpool City Aquatic and Leisure Centre Strategy.

A final note the land parcels do not contain Crown land. Currently, there is no Plan of Management that relates to this site. A Plan of Management will be completed as part of this development application and background investigation works on this are underway.

The current lot classifications are as below. Any reclassification or boundary consolidation works will be part of the concept design phase and lodged with the DA.

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Internal Reserve Redirect

In December 2023 Council voted to direct $4.265m in funds from the Carnes Hill Redevelopment Stage 2 Internal Reserve to Council’s Biochar Enterprise (Attachment E). The funds were originally allocated to the Carnes Hill aquatic project and redirected when Council was awarded the WSIG grant.

Council’s Chief Financial Officer identified the Carnes Hill Internal Reserve had a balance of $4.265m as of 30 June 2024. The Biochar Enterprise project is currently on hold, so the project team is requesting Council return the $4.265m to the aquatic centre project as it will make a significant positive impact upon the budget.

FINANCIALS

Budget / Forecast Cost

The current budget status is summarised below:

Item	Expense	Income source	Income
25m indoor pool aquatic centre	$57.6m (including $8.3m contingency)	WSIG grant	$53.4m
Biochar Enterprise	N/A	Internal reserve	$4.27m
Total	$57.6m	Total	$57.6m

The attached cost plan shows a total construction cost of $59.7, however the project team have identified a cost saving of $2.1m that have been considered in the above table.

Long-Term Financial Plan

The project team has obtained operational and maintenance cost information for the project through an Operational and Cost Analysis report by independent consultant LARCAN (Attachment C), and an internal assessment using current data from the LGA.

The results indicate that the project falls within the range of Council’s Long-Term Financial Plan (LTFP) forecast. The LTFP implications are outlined in the table below:

Item	25 m pool - LARCAN report ‘Realistic Scenario’	50m Outdoor Pool - LARCAN report	25 m pool - Internal assessment using current LGA attendance data	Current LCC LTFP forecast based on 2023 masterplan
Income	$2,407,584	$3,130,716	$2,875,096	$4,689,371
Expense	$3,302,060	$4,169,810	$3,404,761	$5,070,867
Net Result of Expenditure v Income	-$894,476	-$1,039,094	-$529,665	-$381,496
Lifecycle Asset Maintenance	-$259,100	-$384,400	-$259,100	-$279,600
Depreciation	-$1,151,085	-$1,379,209	-$1,151,085	-$1,375,335
Net Result after Assets & Depreciation	-$2,304,661 (A)	-$2,802,703	-$1,939,850 (B)	-$2,036,431 (C)

Current LTFP forecasts comparisons show a range of $268,230 (A-C) shortfall to a surplus of $96,580.28 (B-C) per year in relation to the LTFP forecast for the recommended 25m pool project.

The range above is considered conservative as LARCAN also provides an alternative depreciation calculation given Council has received grant funding of $53.4 million: “This should be considered within the depreciation calculation. It would therefore be a valuable exercise to calculate the depreciation on the capital costs only that are above the cost of $53.4 million”. In this case LARCAN’s Net Result after Assets and Depreciation would be -$1,236,661 per year, which is $799,770 within LCC’s LTFP forecast costs for the facility.

Calculations were also undertaken by LARCAN on a masterplan option that considered a 50m outdoor pool in lieu of a 25m indoor pool. As per the table above, LARCAN found a 50m outdoor pool would deliver a Net Result after Assets and Depreciation of -$2,802,703. This is well outside LCC’s LTFP.

LCC Aquatic and leisure centre strategy

In 2019 Liverpool City adopted the Aquatic and Leisure Centre Strategy (ALCS). The purpose of the strategy was to provide a “road map” for the provision of future aquatic and leisure facilities. The plan considered Council’s current direction against deliverability, effectiveness, and assessed the viability of replacing and redeveloping existing facilities as well as developing new facilities.

The strategy sought to ensure future centres met key market indicators. The guiding principles were:

· Health and Community

· Inclusiveness

· Connectiveness

· Place Making

· Capability and;

· Affordability.

In 2021 Warren Green Consulting was engaged to assist Liverpool Council with the Aquatic and Leisure Centre Provision – Implementation and Priority Plan (ALCP) (Attachment D). The scope was to:

· Consider the current leisure centre concepts and the alignment against the ALCP.

· Review and refine the existing ALCP to ensure that it is realistic and deliverable and effectively meets future demand.

· Assess the viability of redeveloping/ upgrading existing facilities.

· Develop a plan for the prioritisation and implementation of the future infrastructure provision.

Carnes Hill Recommendation

A significant recommendation within the ALCP was to reduce the length of the pool in the Carnes Hill Aquatic and Leisure Centre Masterplan from 50m to 25m. The rationale for the recommendation was summarised as follows:

· Community Feedback: Previous consultation was clear about the need for more informal leisure pools to meet resident needs in hot weather.

· Function: When comparing a 25m and 50m pool it is noted that a 25m pool is generally warmer with no “deep” water. This results in a 25m pool being more suitable for year-round usage.

· Social and Demographic Factors: Residents in Liverpool are likely to have a lower propensity to swim based on several factors including place of birth.

· Demand: An assessment of the catchment indicates that the demand for aquatic visits would be around 250k per annum which could be accommodated by a range of aquatic spaces including a 25m pool.

The revised CHARC Masterplan presented with this report aligns with the ALCP recommendation.

PROGRAM

The target completion date for Stage 1 Carnes Hill Aquatic and Leisure Centre is November 2028.

CONSIDERATIONS

Economic	Provide efficient parking for the precinct. Facilitate economic development. The financial impacts are outlined in the report above.
Environment	Enhancement of liveability and the environment of the LGA. Manage the environmental health and health of the precinct riparian zone Protect, enhance and maintain areas of endangered ecological communities and high-quality bushland as part of an attractive mix of land uses. Raise community awareness and support action in relation to bush regeneration along the riparian zone.
Social	Provide a centre and activities for the enjoyment of physical activities. Promote community harmony and address discrimination in design of facility. Support access and services for people with a disability. Deliver high quality services for children and their families.
Civic Leadership	Deliver services that are customer focused.
Legislative	Local Government Act 1993 The Local Government Act 1993 aims to facilitate engagement with the local community. There is no express obligation to consult on revisions to the plan and for reasons set out in the report it is not proposed to conduct further engagement on the proposed changes to the masterplan.
Risk	Rejection of the recommendation risks termination of the executed Deed and return of funds to WSIGP as a viable aquatic centre could not be delivered within the available budget.

ATTACHMENTS

1. Attachment A - Amended Masterplan & Staging Plan (Under separate cover) - Confidential

2. Attachment B - TCubed Cost Estimate (Under separate cover) - Confidential

3. Attachment C.1 – LARCAN Operational Costing Report (Under separate cover) - Confidential

4. Attachment C.2 – LARCAN Operational Costing Report Supplementary Report (Under separate cover) - Confidential

5. Attachment D – Aquatic and Leisure Centre Provision – Implementation and Priority Plan (ALCP) (Under separate cover) - Confidential

6. Attachment E - Council 2023-12-13 - Biochar Minutes (Under separate cover) - Confidential