The schism over the Gatekeepers Cottage widened at the weekend, with more councillors - including mayor Ben Taylor - openly criticising the project.
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The historic building cost more than half a million dollars of ratepayers' money to restore, more than five times the cost originally indicated.
While the former mayor Cr Samantha McIntosh - the main advocate for the 19th-century cottage's refurbishment - defended the project in The Courier on Saturday, Cr Taylor said he did not think it should have gone ahead.
In an opinion piece, Cr McIntosh said she stood by "the confident decision of council to relocate and use the cottage."
"It will sit alongside the splendid reproduction of the fernery in the garden that will add yet another jewel to our famous lake precinct," she wrote.
She said the project had been politicised, and accused endorsed council Labor Party and Greens candidates of "fluffing their pre-local election feathers."
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However, Cr Taylor, who - like Cr McIntosh - belongs to the Liberal Party, which does not endorse candidates, bluntly disagreed with her assessment. Speaking to The Courier, he said: "We shouldn't have done it," he said. "Based on the amount of money that was spent, we shouldn't have gone into the project."
Cr Taylor said the costs had not been clearly explained to councillors, and there had been "a lack of communication" about the project's spiralling costs.
At the initial council meeting where councillors voted to transfer the cottage from Gregory Street back to the Botanical Gardens, councillors were told it would cost a maximum of $100,000 for its transfer and refurbishment - and might cost much less if external funding sources were found.
The City of Ballarat released figures last month, which revealed the cost to ratepayers stood at more than half a million dollars, at a total of $501,546 over three years. The Friends of Ballarat Botanical Gardens also contributed $65,000.
Cr Mark Harris, an independent councillor, described the project's value for money as "poor".
"A number of these initiatives came from councillor McIntosh at the time and were pursued fairly vigorously by her, without the purview of whole of council decisions," he said.
"The core cultural problem was that it was felt what the mayor wanted at the time represented what the city and the council wanted at the time - and often they weren't the same things."
"My view is that it probably came from that simple misunderstanding. The mayor of the day does not have any extra prerogative."
Cr Amy Johnson - also a Liberal Party member - described the funding figures as "a massive cost blowout".
She said it was "an indictment on the leadership of the former mayor and CEO of the city."
"I did not, and would not, have supported this project at this cost."
"For the true cost of this 'mayoral pet project' to have been kept from councillors is shameful.
"If only the previous mayor and CEO had spent more time focused on economic development of our city and less time on cottages, chandeliers and fountains, we'd be in a much stronger position to deal with the financial implications of the current pandemic."
The only two councillors besides Cr McIntosh to defend the project so far have been Crs Jim Rinaldi and Grant Tillett, who are both staunch supporters of the former mayor.
Cr Tillett has stepped in to defend the project on social media, writing on Facebook: "What we have now is a fully refurbished genuine structure which originated in the gardens, and has been returned to the gardens - a genuine piece of Heritage in all its glory.
"I fail to see how the criticism of the cottage is either warranted or justified."
Cr Rinaldi told The Courier directly he thought the project was good value for money - although said he did not yet have a breakdown of costs for the outdoor decking.
"It is beautiful - it really is, you see the kids in there doing things," he said. "It's part of our heritage. But there is negativity, there are elections coming up and councillors are trying to score points."
He said he was unaware of the costs until informed by The Courier late last month. "We're not privy to that because it's operational," he said.
Further discussion of the project is expected in the council meeting scheduled for this Wednesday.
PAST COVERAGE
November 2014: Stalemate over historic gift
June 2016: Council vote on heritage house
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