IT MAY not be everyone’s favourite bedtime story but according to Cr Mat Morgan the draft Asset Plan released by Bass Coast Shire for public comment is actually quite a fascinating read.
Reflecting on the recent decision to demolish the Kilcunda viaduct bridge Cr Tim O’Brien said council needed to avoid situations like the viaduct bridge in Kilcunda where a vote was taken on a community asset which was beyond repair.
“If the community was more closely engaged with council these sorts of situations may not arise as much,” said Cr O’Brien.
“Where there are much loved community assets we need to hear that back from the community especially if they’re tucked away in dark corners.”
Cr Tracey Bell noted Bass Coast Shire had over $1.47 billion in infrastructure assets including roads, drainage, buildings, open space, and parkways.
“Our community would be wise to have a look,” said Cr Bell.
“We have ageing assets, the impact of climate, population growth and financial constraints that we are trying to deal with in managing existing assets.
“Without community input we risk developing a plan that doesn’t reflect local priorities.”
The asset plan identified a number of potential threats including operating risks from a growing and ageing population, the intensity of climate change, a growing asset base compared to council’s limited income stream, and the declining health of many assets leading to increased maintenance costs.
Bass Coast Council’s capital works budget of $31.5 million in 2025/26 accounted for over 20 percent of the annual operating budget of $123 million.
With a backlog of 3.6 percent of assets in a poor or very poor state the proportion of assets in a very poor state was estimated to cost $13 million to replace.
That backlog was expected to grow to 5.6 percent over the forecast 10-year period due to a constrained capital works budget and strong demand for new infrastructure.
Opportunities were identified in the open space Asset Management Plan to avoid rebuilding non-critical assets and ‘sweat’ some assets by using nature-based solutions instead of hard ‘grey’ infrastructure to reduce costs.
The draft Asset Plan has been released for community consultation until September 9 and can be found at engage.basscoast.vic.gov.au/asset-plan
