The council last night announced it had finalised a contract of sale to buy The Pines building at the Mayday Hills site in Beechworth.

At a public meeting last night, the council said the deal did not mean it was abandoning Yackandandah.

Mayor Barb Murdoch said staff at Beechworth had been working in poor conditions and the move would improve their environment.

Services that stay in Yackandandah will account for a total of 34 staff, including two customer service staff.

There are 51 staff in the Yackandandah office.

The other 17 staff from the infrastructure department will be relocated to Beechworth once The Pines building has been redeveloped.

Cr Murdoch said a new library in Yackandandah would operate six days a week and “a couple of library staff” would be added.

She said the town would boast one of the best libraries in the shire.

The cost of all work at The Pines at Beechworth and Yackandandah is expected to be done within the $4.5 million budget.

Cr Murdoch said the Mayday Hills deal presented the “strong prospect of some savings and a better outcome for the shire”.

But the issue of job relocation caused concern at last night’s meeting.

Cr Murdoch said the council had resisted the option to abolish a Yackandandah office altogether because they did not want to take away significant employment.

“It is challenging to provide services to the whole shire,” she said. 

“Neither offices are up to standard and they both need revamping.”

Cr Murdoch said the council would look at various options for use of the present Beechworth office site in Ford Street, including the possibility of moving the Beechworth library to the site and maintaining a “customer service presence there in some form”.

The council signed the contract for The Pines late yesterday, saying it had completed its investigation of the offer from the new owners, George Fendyk and Geoff Lucas.

“This has taken some time but we are pleased to say that the matter has now reached a happy conclusion for both parties,” she said.

She said the council would refurbish The Pines building and develop an area for car parking.

“We will now move to have a design done for the interior layout of The Pines and while there are some administrative and Heritage Victoria boxes to tick, we would hope to have the site ready for staff to move in by early next year,” she said.

Cr Murdoch said the council would maintain the roads within Mayday Hills so they would remain open to the public, ensuring the public access to the gardens.