Community consultation for a performing arts and convention centre in Busselton closed on Monday, August 9, 2021, with results from the survey expected to be released in the coming weeks.
Consultation on the project was agreed to by City of Busselton councillors after tenders for the project came in more than $13 million over budget.
The additional costs to fund construction were brought on by increased prices due to supply and demand in the building industry, a fallout from the global pandemic.
An opt-in survey was mailed to 4,000 residents, which was expected to elicit a 10 per cent response rate that would provide enough data to make the results statistically significant and representative of the population.
Other residents were also welcome to complete an online survey through the City of Busselton's Your Say website. People from the age of 14 years old could take part in the online survey giving younger residents an opportunity to express their view.
Results from the survey will be used to inform councillors on how to proceed with the project, which will be taken into consideration along with other information.
Councilor Paul Carter said the survey was never intended to be a referendum and the results would inform council's decisions on the extra spend that would be required as a result of the tenders.
"The results will be analysed in terms of demographics so they actually represent the population," he said.
"If 50 per cent of the results are from a particular age group but they only represent 20 per cent of the population than those results will be adjusted so they fairly represent the community.
"The survey was not about location or car parks or how it would be built, it was about the extra money and how much that extra money would cost.
"The centre is already in the long-term financial plan just not at the budget we are looking at, the survey was about the extra budget."
City of Busselton director of finance and corporate services Tony Nottle said it was important to let the community know they were not in a financially adverse position.
"The financial position of the city is pretty healthy when you look at our annual rates income, we have more than that sitting in our bank accounts and reserves," he said.
"Unfortunately, the way the ratios are calculated you cannot include them so it makes it look like you actually do not have much money at all.
"The fact of the matter is we put our money aside for the future costs we know we will have, so if a pool liner at the Geographe Leisure Centre splits we have the money to replace it without raising rates in that year."
Mr Carter said the city had a budget practice at the end of each year where they put any surpluses into reserves, which looked like they had broken even.
"If we had left that money sitting in our bank account these ratios would have been more than adequate," he said.
"This year we decided not to put the money into reserves and kept the majority in our municipal account so we have a surplus on paper for the end of the year, and that result will be improved.
"It is purely about whether we shifted that money on June 30 or July 1, but that is what we have done to create a non-adverse position in our financial management."
Councillor Phil Cronin said the centre would offer so much more than just a single theatre.
"We have to make this centre functional so it is versatile and attractive for people who may want to run a conference or an event," he said.
"If we can retract seating then we have a big space that could be used for other things.
"In the upstairs area a third of that is a rehearsal room with wooden floors and lighting, we can open doors and have one big room or cut it off to have another smaller room.
"It means there is versatility.
"It might cost a little more to put these devices in but if you took that whole floor out then economically it is not so viable."
Councillor Kate Cox said the building had been designed so it was possible to have multiple events occurring at the same time.
"It becomes more economically viable rather than have one space where just one corner of it might be used," she said.
Once results from the survey are completed council will be asked to reconsider the project.
