Dear Ken

I write to you to seek clarity as to the City's preference for the future use of the former Geraldton Fire Station, on the corner of Durlacher Street and Anzac Terrace.

I understand that the City regards this site as crucial to the future of the CBD. It has been indicated to me in the past that Council’s preference would be for the site to be commercial or retail.

Menshed have made it clear that they see it as potentially a very good site for their organisation. There is no doubt that Menshed is a very valuable, and important group in Geraldton, and they do a lot of good in the community. I would see it as a priority that they get a permanent long-term home, preferably close to the centre of the city.

Menshed had a good site offered to them by the Uniting Church, but that stalled because the Church will not accept lotteries funding. I respect this and have not been able to find a way around it.

I seek clarity from the Council as to your preference for the future of the Fire Station site. If you agree that Menshed should have the site, I will advocate strongly for this within Government. If the Council would prefer the site to have an alternative use, I would ask you to publicly state this, so that Menshed, myself and the Council can find an alternative, acceptable and permanent site for Menshed in Geraldton.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Ian Blayney MLA
Member for Geraldton