City of Gold Coast administration staff who work in the Nerang precinct will be relocated to existing offices in Bundall, under a proposal that will see millions of dollars reinvested in the community.
CEO Tim Baker said the move would in no way impact community and customer services in Nerang and would provide an exciting opportunity to immediately investigate a community hub at the site.
Another key element of the plan will see the number of large depots around the city reduced from 5 to 3.
Consultation with staff will begin next week about the proposed changes which were endorsed by Council today.
CEO Tim Baker said the changes would save approximately $93 million over 10 years, with a decision to be made next year about assets that will be left vacant due to these changes.
“We undertook a comprehensive accommodation review because staff told me they were unsatisfied with the current state and that in some cases the environment was not conducive to high performance or morale,” Mr Baker said.
“The review determined that not only is the Nerang administration building no longer fit-for-purpose, but we are under-utilising our Bundall offices and our 5 large depots.
“Like most large workforces we have moved to more flexible working arrangements, which means that on any given day a percentage of our workforce is working from home.”
“The savings mean we can invest in both our residents with a new community hub proposed for Nerang and also our staff by creating better work environments.”
He said the review also found that there was no longer a need for 5 large depots across the Gold Coast.
“By paring that back to just 3 and increasing the number of smaller “satellite” depots, we can provide a higher level of customer service, more efficiently.”
The key elements of the proposal:
- All staff currently located in the Nerang precinct, including the Nerang Administration Office and the Nerang Bicentennial building, will be moved to Bundall.
- This will not impact community and customer services in Nerang precinct.
- Division 5 and 8 Councillor offices will remain in the Nerang Precinct
- An immediate investigation into creating a community hub in the Nerang precinct will get underway immediately.
- Consolidation of the City’s large depots from 5 to 3 with the Pimpama, Carrara, and Tugun Depots to remain.
- The creation of new satellite depots at strategic locations across the city utilising Council land holdings.
A report will be presented to Council at a future meeting that will include a strategic plan for staff accommodation along with the identification of alternate uses for assets not required for the Accommodation Strategy.
