The shed would be built in the museum’s carpark with council seeking to use $236,000 remaining from a 2023 NSW Government grant, originally issued for design and investigation towards a new building for the museum, estimated to cost $1 million.
However, Yarrawonga Mulwala Historical Society president Kaye Reeves said the motion towards having a shed was complete news to the committee.
“We want a workshop meeting with council, and we’d like to see the engineer’s report; we want access to the building.”
“We haven’t had any discussion about the proposed shed,” Ms Reeves said.
“We want a workshop meeting with council, and we’d like to see the engineer’s report; we want access to the building.
“We have to store big items such as a crop feeding machine and an aeroplane.
“There’s just so much we need to discuss with the council.”
At its March 27 meeting, councillors decided that evacuation of the building was necessary to manage ongoing risks to occupants and the public, based on legal advice and a structural engineers report.
At the latest monthly meeting on May 27, Cr Andrew Kennedy questioned the extent to which the building was unsafe.
“Is it just the front? I’m not a structural engineer, I’m a builder,” Cr Kennedy said.
He expressed the urgent need for a separate building and asked for a reuse of the State Government grant for a storage shed, which he said could be built for $200,000.
Cr David Harrison supported Cr Kennedy, and said he hoped the shed would be a way forward.
“People in the historical society are very connected to their collections, which are of immense value,” he said, noting the emotional strain on committee members and owners of the museum’s collections.
“There should be no demolition order without a lot of consultation with the society’s committee; we need to reassure them that demolition is not our first option.”
Federation Council’s planning director Sussan Appleyard assured councillors and members of the public gallery that no demolition of the building would occur before full consultation with the Yarrawonga Mulwala Historical Society and the valuable, Australian heritage collections were moved to a temporary home.
Cr Kennedy suggested that YMHS could manage the land housing the Pioneer Museum.
Council staff have sought preliminary advice from a solicitor who specialises in insurance, insurance litigation and general negligence matters and are in the process of procuring a structural engineer to finalise a risk assessment and evacuation plan for the building.
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