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SEPTEMBER 06, 2024
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Band marches on Cairns Municipal ensemble forced to find new venue
l CAIRNS REGION | Nick Dalton CAIRNS Mayor Amy Eden is going electric. She will soon take delivery of a Hyundai IONIQ 5 at a cost of nearly $71,000. A council spokeswoman said the mayor was also currently driving a council fleet car, also electric, pending the arrival of the Hyundai IONIQ 5. “Both vehicles are electric, reflecting (the) council’s commitment to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions,” she said. “All mayors have the option of a council-provided car as part of their remuneration – an option that has been taken up by all recent mayors. “Mayors have the option of purchasing that vehicle from (the) council at the end of their term, as was the case when Mayor Bob Manning left office.” The spokeswoman said the council’s remuneration guidelines capped the value of the mayor’s vehicle at $72,200 (2023/24 value). The mayor’s new vehicle costs $70,645. It’s a far cry from her personal car, a thirsty V8 Toyota LandCruiser 4WD wagon. “Mayor Eden selected the vehicle she preferred, and (the) council sought quotes from local dealerships,” the spokeswoman said. CONTINUED PAGE 3
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Cairns Municipal Band life member John Sexton plays The Last Post as the ensemble prepares to move from Cairns North to Edge Hill. Picture: Nick Dalton
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THE Cairns Municipal Band – forced to give up its Charles St premises at Cairns North to make way for James Cook University’s Cairns Tropical Enterprise Centre (CTEC) car park – has had to go back to the drawing board because of expensive construction costs. The band has acquired a site in the Greenslopes St cultural precinct to build a new hall of about 450sqm. But band life and building committee member John Sexton said the original drawings were being redesigned to ensure the cost stayed around $1.1 million. He said quotes based on the first designs – which cost $50,000 – ranged from $1.3m-$2m. “We negotiated with JCU for two years about the price. Initially they offered us peanuts,” Mr Sexton said. The final offer was $1.15 million. “JCU got off relatively cheaply,” he said, “The committee didn’t want to sell but eventually we were resigned to, otherwise they would have resumed it if we didn’t sell,” he said. “The sale did not have the approval of all band members but ìn the interests of the hospital foundation it was committee-approved.”
Mr Sexton said the new single level building needed to be 450sqm so it accommodated the band, its equipment and other bits and pieces. He said the band, which had 35 members, was fortunately able to acquire the last block left in Greenslopes St. The building must be built on a concrete foundation 800mm higher to mitigate flooding from nearby Saltwater Creek. Mr Sexton said it was a new regulation even though the other buildings in the precinct had never flooded, not even after Cyclone Jasper. “That costs a lot of money. We’ll need a stage area, seating for 150 people, a wheelchair ramp, car parking for 20-25 cars, a kitchen and toilets as well as storage,” Mr Sexton said. “It will be all that we require to accommodate the band,” he said. He said the next set of designs should be ready later this month for the committee to make a final decision on. “We are having them draw up a building with the right floor area and for a price we can afford,” Mr Sexton said. Mr Sexton said all going well construction could start at the end of October for a six-month build. He said the band was supposed to be leaving Charles St by mid-next year. CONTINUED PAGE 3
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