Date14 December 2023 At a special meeting of Council on 12 December 2023 the City of Rockingham’s Elected Members voted to decline the tender for Stage Two of the Aqua Jetty as it exceeded the budget allocation, and to instruct the CEO to investigate redesign options for Stage Two in an effort to reduce construction costs.
The tendered price to update and modernise the Aqua Jetty is approximately 60% higher than the available budget, and well above the pre-tender estimate obtained during the design phase, and in Council’s view does not represent value for money for ratepayers.
The price increase, attributed to the global increase in construction costs since the COVID 19 pandemic, and a tight labour market, would create a funding shortfall for which the City has not budgeted and would have a material impact on the City’s future planned works and costs to ratepayers.
Mayor Deb Hamblin said the City needs to be mindful of the impact the shortfall would have on residents at a time when the wider community continues to deal with increased cost of living pressures.
“We are very disappointed that we won’t be able to commence work on this important project early next year, as we had hoped, but as everyone managing their household costs knows there is a limit to how far the budget can stretch."
The City will undertake some essential asset renewal projects at the Aqua Jetty over the next few years to ensure the user experiences continues at a high level.
Declining the tender gives Council time to take stock and consider the financial implications more fully.