I attended the community consultation meetings in regard to the proposed plan of management for the foreshore, which was recently approved.

In December 2013 council was also notified that the Plaza carpark was to be purchased by a private party, with the NSW Minister for Crown Lands holding discretion on how the sale proceeds.

Council pushed the State government to have an open Expression Of Interest (EOI), but this does not provide for continual process changes if they are required.

Direct contact should be made with the State government to request a review of the process to ensure that transparency and all opportunities are presented for any state asset to return the best possible outcome to the community and increase competition in any bidding transaction.

Council became formally aware of the sale of the Plaza carpark through an open EOI on September 23, 2014. At the extraordinary council meeting held on February 4, 2015, council had no joint venture partners, detailed design or financials to determine the commitment council would make to the project.

The risk our community faced was another hole in the ground, such as the one located on William Street, which remains undeveloped.

There were two options available: the car parking to be provided (by the state or local government), or the owner of the property provides or pays a contribution to council at a set rate.

As stated by the director, the contribution is "$20,000 per space", which is held in a reserve fund for future car parking which council is to provide.

The contribution to council would be $1.26 million based on the shortfall referenced in the council report.

In relation to assets, council is not immune to issues with controlling carparks. For example, the former carpark is no longer available in its ground-level form between Short and Gordon Streets.

If the council fails in its $1 token bid for the purchase of the Plaza site, council could take the opportunity to negotiate with the resultant owner to design a multi-use rooftop-level carpark. This would create a valuable community asset with the potential for commercial return, to cater for additional car parking for events/functions/markets/pop-up stalls/fireworks viewing/seating and landscaping.

Through the use of the contributions proposed from Plaza carpark ($1.26 million) and the existing carpark reserve funds (which are to provide for additional car parking) regardless of the outcome, detailed financials and design should support any proposal to ensure that current and future priorities are able to be met.

We need to work together with the State and Federal governments or other community partners to achieve the best outcome for our community.