Two community organisations that share a Brisbane City Council-owned site with Kenmore Men's Shed say they were told a $1.5 million federal grant awarded to the shed was to be for their benefit as well.
Recycling charity eWaste Connection and Kenmore Bridge Club share space at 98 Brookfield Road with Kenmore Men's Shed, known as ShedWest, on a cramped and overcrowded site.
Before the 2019 election, now-federal MP for Ryan Julian Simmonds committed $1.5 million of federal funds to upgrade the facilities shared by the three groups.
Six months after the election, ShedWest was informed the government had committed the funds to upgrade the shed.
The group began working on negotiating the deed of agreement with the government to secure the $1.5 million grant, but later realised the money would not be enough to redevelop the Brookfield Road properly.
After confirming with federal officials that the $1.5 million grant was in ShedWest's name only, and not site-specific to 98 Brookfield Road, the men's shed made plans to build a new facility at the Brookfield Showgrounds nearby.
Change of plans
But in mid-2020, local councillor Greg Adermann and Mr Simmonds stepped in to reallocate the grant to the Brisbane City Council to ensure the funds would remain at 98 Brookfield Road for the use of all three tenants.
In a statement to ABC Radio Brisbane earlier this week, Mr Simmonds said he supported the council's plans for the grant at 98 Brookfield Road, while noting ShedWest's proposal for the Showgrounds site.
"I support the alternative proposal of the council which delivers a better facility, for all of these important community tenants, on the existing site and I look forward to continuing to work with them all to deliver this project," Mr Simmonds said.
eWaste Connection founder Monique Lowndes told ABC Radio Brisbane she was never formally notified that the $1.5 million committed by Mr Simmonds had been given to ShedWest, and only found out by accident.
"The Bridge Club and eWaste Connection representatives requested an urgent meeting with both Mr Simmonds and Greg Adermann," Ms Lowndes said in a statement.
"We were assured very clearly that the funds were only to be used at 98 Brookfield Road and that it was definitely for the benefit of all three existing tenants and not just for ShedWest.
Ms Lowndes said eWaste Connection also wrote to then-deputy prime minister Michael McCormack in March 2020 seeking clarification about the grant, and received a response that the $1.5 million commitment "would be expected to align with what was publicly committed by … Julian Simmonds".
She said eWaste had repeatedly and unsuccessfully sought to speak with ShedWest about the funding's intended purpose.
Kenmore Bridge Club president Elizabeth Handley cited a letter written by Mr Simmonds in October 2019, months after ShedWest received the federal commitment for the funds, stating that the funding would be given to the men's shed to coordinate the project.
Ms Handley said in a statement that it was the bridge club's understanding that the grant was awarded to ShedWest, for all three groups to benefit from it.
'Frustrating' reallocation
ShedWest president Mike Symes this week told ABC Radio Brisbane the sudden reallocation of the funds to Brisbane City Council was "gutting" as the men's shed was well progressed in developing plans for the Showgrounds site.
"Apart from gaining [development] approvals from Brisbane City Council, we don't have any other [geotechnical] constraints holding us back, and we're almost tender-ready to go on that site," Mr Symes said.
Mr Symes said the men's shed simply wanted the money promised to them to be delivered so they could continue their plans to move away from the cramped 98 Brookfield Road site.
Ms Lowndes said it was "hard to understand" how ShedWest had made such plans "at the exclusion of the two other community organisations".
Both Ms Handley and Ms Lowndes said negotiations with the council on the 98 Brookfield Road redevelopment had been challenging due to the requirements for more on-site parking and the site's geotechnical complexities, meaning practical designs that suited all three groups were difficult to achieve.
Brisbane City Council is now seeking a total of $5 million in federal funding through the Community Development Grants Programme to redevelop the 98 Brookfield Road site.
