Jetty demolition postponed

An indecisive Bunbury City Council has delayed the demolition of the Bunbury Timber Jetty for at least a year in a move which will cost more than $100,000 in maintenance.

While the majority of councillors agreed the 137-year-old jetty was beyond saving at this week’s committee meeting, they made no plans for its demolition.

The council instead adopted a plan from engineers MP Rogers & Associates which would reconstruct about 220metres of the jetty using as many of the existing timbers as possible.

The matter will return to full council next week — the last meeting before the council elections next month — where a final decision will be made.

It is unclear, however, if the replacement jetty will blow the council’s budget and a number of councillors said they may have to scrap the plan or go to the State Government, cap in hand, for more money.

The jetty’s reserve fund has run dry and the historic structure has begun drawing money from the $7million accountwhich was set aside for its eventual demolition or reconstruction.

The ongoing cost of the containment boom, which has been in place since May last year, has been increasing as weeds and algae weigh it down below sea level and force the council to replace sections every month.

If the council’s decision is finalised next week the engineers will be instructed to complete a jetty design and put it out to tender before Christmas so the project could be costed and returned to council urgently.

The tenders for the work would not be expected until next February, a contract would not be awarded until later in the year and demolition would unlikely take place during the winter.