Carss Park Pool decision slammed as 'betrayal of the community'

This was the blunt description used today by the Save Carss Park Pool Action Group to describe Georges River Council's decision last night to vote to demolish the old Kogarah War Memorial Pool at Carss Park and support an investigation into the suitability of Todd Park, Blakehurst for the site of a future regional aquatic centre.

"In a complete betrayal of the community, Blakehurst Ward Councillor Sandy Grekas has moved a motion which Councillor Sam Elmir seconded which votes to demolish Carss Park Pool immediately and proceed with spending more public money to proceed with Todd Park as the preferred pool location and investigate whether an aquatic megacentre can actually be built at Todd Park," the Save Carss Park Pool Action Group statement said.

"So not only are these two Councillors voting to kill off a pool in their ward that the community has begged them to keep and rebuild, they are now want to take away a sport playing field at Todd Park as well."

One resident called it a disaster.

"We will be circulating a petition at railway stations to get 10,000 signatures to present to State Parliament to have the matter debated," the resident said.

A study by consultants Otium Planning Group applied 14 sustainable assessment criteria to four possible locations for a regional aquatic centre with the LGA - the Sans Souci Leisure Centre, Todd Park, Carrs Bush Park and Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.

Todd Park was identified as the highest-ranking site, according to a council report.

Cr Grekas' motion called for the immediate demolition of the Kogarah War Memorial Pool complex so the decontamination and remediation of the site can occur.

It also called for a report on establishing a Hall of Fame as part of a proposed regional aquatic centre to recognise the athletes and coaches who trained at the Kogarah War Memorial Pool Pool and for the erection of a permanent war memorial at the pool site to ensure the space remains open space.

"I'm quite excited by the opportunity for the council to build a new aquatic complex that will remain in the Carss Park Sporting Precinct," Cr Grekas said.

"We have an obligation to make the best decision for our entire community.

"We have to make a decision based on the facts. Over the next 30 years, the population of the LGA will increase by 32,000 or 21 per cent, to 186,0000 total population."

The current pool usage is 36 per cent of the total population Residents and schools are currently travelling to aquatic centres outside the LGA, she said.

"To be financially sustainable, we need more than one million visits per annum to meet the costs of running the centre," she said.

"Todd Park was unambiguously the highest rated facility for further investigation.

"I want the best possible pool complex in the best possible location and ideally the that would have been in the current location, but the expert's report shows that is not possible."

But Councillor Kathryn Landsberry lodged an amendment calling for the council to commence as a matter of urgency with the next stage of detailed technical investigations and reports required to facilitate the rebuilding of Carss Park Pool at the current site.

"They are asking us to agree to the proposal (at Todd Park) before we have all the information," she said.

Cr Landsberry described the idea of building a regional aquatic centre at Todd Park as preposterous given the traffic congestion already at the site.

She described Cr Greaks's suggestion to build a war memorial on the site of the old pool as "a bit tokenistic".

"The overwhelming majority of the community want the pool rebuilt at Carss Park and not on a site where they will have to rip out playing fields," she said.

Cr Nick Katris supported her amendment. He described the consultant's point score system was very difficult to understand

"Community consultation doesn't get a lot mention," he said.

Cr Katris said a 2002 landscape and heritage study for Todd Park indicated it was once swampland that became market gardens and then was filled in with night soil.

'There is no geotech report, no contamination report. And there is a stormwater channel in Todd Park that would cost a fortune to relocate," he said.

Cr Vince Badalati also supported Cr Landberry's amendment.

"We are being asked to decide tonight without knowing how much it will cost in Todd Park," Cr Badalati said.

" Any report should have financial figures. If you don't know how much it will cost what sort of management is that? It is utterly absurd.

"The Prime Minister has said he will donate $5 million to the Carss Park site but not at any other site. It is offensive just to disregard the community. There was a petition with 10,000 signatures calling for a pool to be rebuilt in Carss Park. There is no mention of that in the (consultant's) report."

But mayor Kevin Greene spoke against the amendment.

"We are looking to get all the details on the Todd park site. We don't have as much detail as we have on the Carss Park site," he said.

"Experts have said that to build on Carss Park site would be significantly more than to build on a greenfield site. Rebuilding on reclaimed land is taking a huge risk with ratepayers' money."

Cr Greene said that estimates from Sydney water show it would cost $1.5 million to provide water for the Carss Park rebuilt pool and another $2 million to build a new pipe from the Princes Highway.

"To build at Carss Park would be double the money it would cost at Todd Park," he said.

In reply, Cr Landberry said. "We don't have any money for this. The only money we have got is $5 million from the Prime Minister. How can we knock back $5 million?"

But Cr Landberry's amendment was lost.

Cr Con Hindi then called for two simultaneous site suitability studies - for Todd park and Carss Park.

Cr Katris supported this.

"If we don't have two studies then we can't say we have done our best," Cr Katris said.

But this too was voted down.

Supporting Cr Grekas' original motion, Cr Sam Elmir said, "If we take it back to the Carss Park site are we really making the best decision for the most efficient use of the ratepayers' money?"

Summing up, Cr Grekas described it as probably the biggest decision to be made by the council.

"By supporting the pool to be built at Todd Park, it will deliver the best result not only now it into the future," she said.

"Sometimes the right decision is not the popular decision," she said.

Voting for the (Todd Park) motion were: Keven Greene, Sandy Grekas, Sam Elmir, Stephen Agius, Lou Konjarski, Nancy Liu, Warren Tegg and Christina Wu.

Voting against were: Con Hindi, Vince Badalati, Nick Katris, Rita Kastanias, Kathryn Landsberry, Leesha Payor and Colleen Symington.