ANYONE walking or driving down Albury’s Dean Street can see how quickly the city’s $10.5 million redeveloped art gallery is taking shape.
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Scaffolding has just been erected on the old gallery, while foundations for the modern extension have been poured.
Excitement is building in the community as people realise the project is well on track for the targeted mid-next year completion date.
But the project has always carried out a large footnote —that is, the $3.5 million shortfall in funding caused by the NSW government’s decision to use its cash elsewhere.
To its credit, the council took the visionary step of deciding the project still had to go ahead.
That, of course, is at the cost of ratepayers — minus whatever an advisory group can raise through philanthropic support.
But now it appears hope is not all lost when it comes to state support.
The council is right in pursuing that $3.5 million in the lead-up to next year’s state poll.
An election, after all, is one of those times when government forgets its usual mantra of not having cash to splash around. The gallery project is truly worthy of such support.