In a closed session that lasted just a few minutes on Wednesday, councillors opted to hold a further workshop to examine two possible sites in more detail – one in place of the existing Merrylands Administration building and the other at the council’s commuter carpark site in Granville.
An enthusiastic advocate of having a single administration building, Cr Ned Attie said it wasn’t possible to sustain an effective and efficient organisation without it.
“The resolution now moves closer with a workshop to be organised by staff whereby we discuss the finer details of the new admin building and the final location between Merrylands or Granville,” he said.
Cr Eddy Sarkis told the Review that there was a lot of time-wasting involved in having the council’s administration split over several buildings.
“If we are in one building, things are a lot simpler,” he said.
However Cr Lisa Lake said she didn’t support the idea of a centralised administration building.
She said with a population of 230,000 people across an area of 72sqm, Cumberland was growing fast, and with issues such as homelessness and disadvantage, the council had more urgent priorities.
“We should be focussed on embedding council staff in all our major town centres – Auburn, Granville, Merrylands and Wentworthville – so that we can better connect with our various communities and be responsive to their diverse needs,” she said.
Push to unite staff at single site
COUNCILLORS will consider potential sites at Merrylands and Granville for the development of a single new administration building to house Cumberland Council staff.
