michael willicombe - too easy

Prior to the Murdoch’s lease renewal, mayor Tagliaferri suggested that the council could buy out the last couple of years left on the lease. He had been looking into Eastern States markets and wanted to adopt some of their ideas.

Most, if not all, council owned markets are managed within council. Not only are they well run but the highly lucrative returns stay in the pocket of the ratepayers rather than private companies.

There had already been disputes and tensions between council, stallholders and market managers. Many of the councillors did not want the Murdoch’s to have the lease renewed. There was some talk that the Murdoch’s had threatened to run the markets into the ground and they also threatened legal action. At the time, they still had about 2 years left on the current lease.

Buying them out was an ideal solution and one that the stallholders association has suggested many times. No one seems to know why council suddenly turned and allowed the renewal to go ahead without fully exploring other options.

Now with 20-20 hindsight it all seems so logical and simple. Interesting though, that in last weeks Herald, Michael Willicombe put it together in nice bite sized pieces just on the off chance that any new mayoral candidate might step up and actually do something.

This would be the way to go in the interest of ratepayes, council, customers and stallholders. Perhaps, it’s even a perfect out for the Murdoch’s. Take the money and run. Retail is obviously not their forte and they could make as much, if not more, doing something they are more suited to. Surely the money is not worth the aggravation or humiliation of the last year or two.

Excerpt from an article in the Fremantle Herald’s thinking allowed column.
Written by Michael Willicombe.

A dedicated market manager employed full time by council could easily manage the markets. All the profits from stallholders would then come direct to council instead of the head lessees.

Genuinely affordable rents could then be set directly by council at the same time as it achieves a much higher overall income return for ratepayers; a genuine win-win scenario. The much greater income coming to council under this plan would then allow for proper maintenance and the final full restoration.

All council has to do to activate my market plan is get out of the new 21 year lease agreement without crippling penalty…D’oh