The 2022 Council budget in Division 9
The Austinville Valley (credit: Dave Straton)
Each year, when the council budget is adopted, I put together a short summary of the projects that locals can expect and ongoing work impacting our suburbs and the hinterland.
As you might imagine, with an annual budget of about $1.8 billion it can be hard to capture every big project and the idea of divisional boundaries can create some perception of haves and have not in each years budget. Also, not every project is delivered in a financial year and many are delivered over multiple years so it’s important to remember the best way to find out about the budget is to read the Annual Plan or the budget documents first hand after adoption to see the projects you care about for yourself.
First of all, Council’s capital (CAPEX) program this year is just over $400m. That’s the money we allocate across the city to build things (not including the reprovisions for previous years on projects not yet completed). It’s a bit less than previous years because of supply chain limitations and changed post-COVID delivery environment. We allocate about $1.4b on operating expenses (OPEX) which includes all our people, all the services (like operating community centres, lifeguards and libraries services) and the maintenance costs of existing buildings before end-of-life replacement.
But let’s get to it in Division 9. There’s a divisional Local Area Works budget of about $950,000. Additionally there’s a collection of Whole of City projects drawn from that CAPEX and OPEX budget noted above. I’ve combined the two below because most people I chat to tend to just want to know the summary and aren’t particularly interested in which budget the project is funded from.
Community buildings & assets
$3.5m - Mudgeeraba Cemetery (over 2 years)
$1.7m – Lower Beechmont Community Space (fully funded)
$1.2m – Firth Park Community Centre (renovation, fully funded)
$5m - Firth Park Netball courts (over 3 years)
$60k – Mudgeeraba Pool masterplan
$120k – Community facility grants (various community buildings)
Culverts and small bridges
$600k – Bonogin (2 year project)
$800k – Mudgeeraba (3 year project)
$300k – Network of small bridges/culverts
Retaining Walls and Landslips
$400k – Retaining wall in Railway St
$1m+ – QRA Phase 1 funded projects in Mt Nimmel Rd (Austinville), Lowry Court (Neranwood), Red Oak Drive and Tallai Rd (Tallai)
$1m+ – QRA Phase 2 funded projects in Smith Rd (Bonogin), Lowry Crt (Neranwood), Leviathan Drive (Mudgeeraba), Mt Nimmel Rd (Austinville)
Waste, Sewer and Water
Merrimac Sewerage Treatment Plant - $11m of a $150m+ project over coming 4 years
Reedy Creek Landfill - $6.5m over 2 years
Merrimac WRC - $2.5m over 2 years
Pathways
$2m - Gilston – to close out Gilston Rd project
$425k – Gilston; Longhill Rd
$1.1m – Mudgeeraba pathways through Active Travel program - close out the project
$300k+ - Bonogin; Glenmore Drive
$50k – Mudgeeraba; Firth Park
Roads and Traffic Calming
$2m – Worongary; Hinkler & Elysium (over 2 years)
$10m – Reedy Creek; Old Coach Rd (over 4 years)
$2m – Reedy Creek; Bermuda St Extension (design work continuing)
$1.4m+ – road refurbs across the division
$6m – Robina; Laver and Robina Town Centre Drive (intersection upgrade work; 2 years)
$1m – Robina; Scottsdale and Robina Town Centre Drive
$50k – Austinville Waterhole design improvements
$50k – Bonogin Rd cul-de-sac design improvements
$100k - various traffic calming projects in Reedy Creek and Mudgeeraba
Parks and Playgrounds
$100k – Numinbah Valley; Natural Bridge - Bochow Park
$50k – Springbrook – Centenary Park
$22m – Robina/Merrimac – Greenheart Project
$500k – Fire Trail network
$20k - contribution to National Feral Deer Strategy
Community events and grants
$140k – Mudgeeraba Street Party, ANZAC Day, Active & Healthy program, Naturally GC program, The Doyles, Festival of Small Halls, Darren Smith Cycle Classic, GC Car Show, Paws at the Park
$33k – Divisional grant donations