Busselton council agrees to proposed Marine Discovery Centre lease after deferring decision

City of Busselton councillors have come to a quick resolution to enter into the proposed lease for the Marine Discovery Centre during their October meeting.

The unanimous vote in favour of the proposal came after the council initially voted to delay the decision in September due to insufficient information.

Busselton Jetty Inc will be the lessee in the deal but will no longer be required to pay a quarter of total gross revenue on certain aspects of the centre. Instead, the current Busselton Jetty licence agreement with BJI will be reviewed in order to agree to an annual amount to be transferred from the organisation to city reserves.

Rent will be set at $100 plus GST and other outgoings in the first year.

In the following year the base rent would increase to $15,000, while from the third year onwards rent would rise to $33,000, adjusted annually according to the consumer price index.

The lease will lock in the lessee for between 21 and 42 years, with the aim of aligning the lease with the current Busselton Jetty Inc Jetty licence agreement.

The council agreed to enter into the lease in principle in May, subject to a further report, while agreeing to a location and design of the Discovery Centre.

The three-storey centre is planned for the corner of Jetty Way and Foreshore Parade, and includes an educational area, a function room, upstairs bar and ground floor kiosk.

It is the second iteration of a revamped Discovery Centre for Busselton, with the original plan looking to build the facility on the jetty and include underwater sections.

That plan was ultimately scrapped due to ballooning costs.

The lease will now be sent for approval by Minister for Lands John Carey and go out to advertising to the public.