THE Border Mail stated that tenders have closed for the proposed $1 million art work for “Wodonga’s soon to be completed urban square” (March 2).
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This indicates to me that our council did not take the meeting organised by Ian Deegan seriously.
It was made clear at that meeting and in letters to The Border Mail, that spending $1 million on art work is tantamount to the straw that broke the camel’s back, given our level of our debt.
I would have expected our council to put this project on hold at the very least.
Surely there are other ways to beautify our city without putting ourselves further in debt.
What about some attractive trees such as crepe myrtles that are practically drought proof and don’t require a lot of maintenance.
A few hundred dollars would probably cover it and provide much appreciated shade.
Put some seating underneath and you have a pleasant setting without too much expense.
Encourage local talent to have input and you may be pleasantly surprised by the result.
Although $400,000 of this money is anticipated to be sourced from a government grant, that still leaves $600,000 to be sourced from ratepayers’ funds.
Cancel the application for a grant and put the funds allocated for an piece of art, or a large part of it, towards debt reduction and show ratepayers that you are serious.
— WENDY COOKSEY,
Wodonga