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Cancellation of Cloud Arch

Decision Maker: Council

Decision status: Recommendations Determined

Decisions:

Moved by Councillor Forster, seconded by Councillor Chung –

It is resolved that:

(A)        Council note:

(i)          in June 2013, Council endorsed the City Centre Public Art Plan, followed closely by the adoption of the George Street Concept Design in September 2013;

(ii)         following an international competition, Council awarded a tender to Partridge Events for Cloud Arch by Junya Ishigami in July 2014, with an estimated total budget of $3.5 million;

(iii)        in August 2017, more than three years after awarding the tender, a revised design for Cloud Arch was released and the cost had increased 222 per cent to $11.3 million;

(iv)       in December 2018, the City's Chief Operating Officer revealed that the overall project delivery costs totalled approximately $22 million, a 528 per cent cost blowout;

(v)         financial analysis of comparable city councils in Australia, including Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, and international cities such as New York and London, shows that spending on public art is approximately 1 per cent of those councils' total capital works budgets;

(vi)       the City of Sydney's 2019/20 Public Art spend in the local government area is currently estimated at $4.7 million or 1.83 per cent of its total capital works budget; and

(vii)      the Cloud Arch, at a cost of $22 million, would make up 11 per cent of the City's total capital works budget; and 

(B)        the Lord Mayor be requested to:

(i)          confirm the permanent cancellation of the Cloud Arch project;

(ii)         reassess the potential for a different public art installation in the future Town Hall Square, following the completion of the Light Rail Project; and

(iii)        allocate no more than 1 per cent of the City's Total Capital Works budget for the relevant financial year to any future public art installation in the future Town Hall Square.

Amendment. Moved by Councillor Scully, seconded by Councillor Thalis –

It is resolved that:

(A)        Council note:

(i)          in June 2013 Council endorsed the City Centre Public Art Plan, followed closely by the adoption of the George Street Concept Design in September 2013;

(ii)         following an international competition, Council awarded a tender to Partridge Events for Cloud Arch by Junya Ishigami in July 2014 with a budget and delivery strategy endorsed by Council in August 2017;

(iii)        the City of Sydney and Transport for NSW had negotiated a Light Rail Development Agreement for installation of the footings for Cloud Arch, but the Light Rail subcontractor denied access to the City to construct the footings;

(iv)       the City was forced to modify its designs for the footings in response to light rail infrastructure being built through the proposed footing locations, which resulted in redesigns, more complex construction needs, cost increases and time delays; 

(v)         the program for the Light Rail provided no opportunity for installation of the footings before it opened for operations and regrettably, the City made the difficult but responsible decision to defer the project;

(vi)       a report to Council on 10 December 2018 outlined the significant challenges staff were presented with that impacted on delivery of the Cloud Arch project. At that time Council approved the deferral of the Cloud Arch project to be considered as part of the Town Hall Square project when the Light Rail is complete and financial conditions are more favourable. The City’s position has not changed since then; and

(vii)      the draft Central Sydney Planning Strategy envisages significant public domain improvements incorporating public art within a new future Town Hall Square and therefore presents the most opportune time to revisit the Cloud Arch project.

(B)            the Lord Mayor be requested to defer the Cloud Arch project until consultation on the Town Hall Square redevelopment commences, so that the feasibility of incorporating Cloud Arch, or an alternative suitably iconic public art installation into the future Town Hall Square project can be considered, noting that funding for the Future Town Hall Square project will need to be considered in future budgets.

The amendment was carried on the following show of hands –

Ayes (6)          The Chair (the Lord Mayor), Councillors Kok, Miller, Scott, Scully, Thalis

Noes (4)          Councillors Chung, Forster, Phelps and Vithoulkas.

Amendment carried.

The substantive motion was carried on the following show of hands –

Ayes (6)          The Chair (the Lord Mayor), Councillors Kok, Miller, Scott, Scully, Thalis

Noes (4)          Councillors Chung, Forster, Phelps and Vithoulkas.

Substantive motion carried.

S129260

Misrepresentation

During discussion on Item 12.5, Councillor Scully stated that she had been misrepresented in respect to comments made by Councillor Phelps and clarified her position accordingly.

During discussion on Item 12.5, Councillor Thalis stated that he had been misrepresented in respect to comments made by Councillor Phelps and clarified his position accordingly.

During discussion on Item 12.5, Councillor Thalis stated that he had been misrepresented in respect to comments made by Councillor Forster and clarified his position accordingly.

 

Report author: Erin Cashman

Publication date: 19/08/2019

Date of decision: 19/08/2019

Decided at meeting: 19/08/2019 - Council

Accompanying Documents: