At last nights Council meeting Councillors adopted new designs for the Kootingal Library and Hall redevelopment and made provisions of $300,000 in the 2023/24 financial year to supplement the total budget for the project. The design changes have been made to better cater for the needs of the community and to best utilise the facility moving forward. The report states that the additional funds are “due to significant market volatility in recent months in relation to material costs and subcontractor/ consultant contract prices.”

Prior to the additional funds being allocated, the project budget of $1.53 million consisted of:

LRCI Phase 3 grant funding - $1.2 million;

State Library grant funding - $200,000;

Council’s Building Services Special Rate Variation (SRV) - Kootingal Hall redevelopment allocation - $80,000; and

Council’s Buildings Services budget - Kootingal Hall toilet renewal allocation - $50,000.