By JESSE GRAHAM
A HEALESVILLE businessman has called for local council contractors, as a watchdog Facebook page gains hundreds of supporters in a matter of weeks.
Garry Christie, who runs the Facebook page Healesville Matters, has asked the Yarra Ranges Council to reveal how much of its contracted works are undertaken by local companies.
His comments come after a post on Healesville Matters about a footpath being constructed by the council in Symons Street, which he believed was ‘sub-standard’.
Mr Christie said the minimum depth requirements for the path had not been met.
“It will be (a) shame for council to have spent all that money only to have the footpath fail because the contractor is cutting corners,” he wrote on the page.
However, Yarra Ranges Council director of Environment and Engineering, Mark Varmalis, responded to Mr Christie’s claims and said the footpath was being constructed correctly.
“Our standard is that paths are 75mm thick concrete resting on a 50mm thick compacted crushed rock bed,” he said.
“This increases to 150mm thick concrete for footpaths, coinciding with driveways and for a length of 1.5m each side of the driveway.
“These particular works were inspected and were carried out to the standard.”
Mr Christie told the Mail that he thinks works, such as concreting, should be undertaken by council staff, or contracted to local businesses.
“I used to do concrete footpaths when I worked for council, in the early days of my employment,” he said.
“It cannot be cheaper to have a contractor doing footpath works, which are relatively straightforward – my question is why aren’t shire staff doing these works?”
The Mail contacted Yarra Ranges Council with questions about the council’s process in appointing contractors – including whether locality was taken into account – and Mr Christie’s claims.
However, no response was received before deadline.
