The Vault: The big shed shemozzle, part 3

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shed demolishing
Destination unknown: The former Porter’s shed – bought by the Warrnambool City Council for $40,000 – is being demolished and will be relocated to council land somewhere in the West Warrnambool.

The Vault – Carol Altmann

The $63,000 relocation of the former Porter’s shed – sold to the Warrnambool City Council by developer and former councillor Graeme Rodger for $40,000 – has begun.

A Bluestone subscriber tipped us off this afternoon that the deconstruction of the Wangoom Rd shed had begun, but we are yet to learn exactly where it is being moved to and for what purpose.

It is also not yet known how much it will cost to reassemble the shed, which the council attempted to auction shortly after the council purchased it early last year, but the auction failed to attract a bid and the shed was passed in for half what the council paid for it – $20,000.

The shed was bought on behalf of the council by its director of City Infrastructure, Peter Robertson, who by way of his position has the authority to make purchases up to $149,999 under the council’s procurement policy.

The ultimate cost of the shed, however, is expected to be far more than that.

porter shed
The Wangoom Road shed, formerly owned by developer Graeme Rodger, and sold to the Warrnambool City Council earlier this year.

In addition to the $103,000 that will be paid to Mr Rodger for the shed and its relocation, there are the reassembly and fit-out costs including insulation, electricity, water etc.

As it happens, we posed a series of questions about these very issues to the council’s media spokesman Nick Higgins on Tuesday (Dec 8).

The questions include:

1. Where is the shed being relocated to and for what purpose?
2. How much will the council spend on reassembling the shed at this new site?
3. Will the council be reassembling the shed on a concrete slab and, if so, how much will this slab cost? If not, what will the shed be reassembled on?
4. What is the estimated cost of the complete refit for the shed upon its relocation, including insulation, power, water, toilets etc as required?
5. Did the council compare the cost of purchasing, disassembling, relocating and reassembling Porter’s shed with the cost of building a new shed and, if so, what was the difference?

We are yet to hear back from Mr Higgins on this ongoing saga, but you will be the first to know when we do.

(And we know the council – while not a subscriber to Bluestone – is reading stories in The Vault via access to someone’s password, so if you are reading this one, Mr Higgins, I am hoping we can have those answers soon to pass on to our subscribers.)

2 thoughts on “The Vault: The big shed shemozzle, part 3”

  1. Thanks, Bluestone for keeping us informed. I would have thought that the council would be a proud supporter of local business.

  2. Another question for Mr Higgins , will the sheets be replaced as the old sheets will have holes in them that won’t line up when re erected ???? And cost please ?

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