Denmark councillors vote to allow Denmark Bulletin to continue operating out of Denmark Visitor Centre for now

The Shire of Denmark has voted to allow the Denmark Bulletin to continue subleasing a portion of the town’s visitor centre from the Denmark Chamber of Commerce for a further six months. The decision came after a debate between councillors in which standing orders were suspended twice and two motions were defeated before the eventual resolution was reached. The DCC, which operates the visitor centre and leases the building from the Shire of Denmark, requested to sublet a portion of the centre for use by the Denmark Bulletin until June 2024. Ultimately a resolution authorising the chief executive to grant a further six-month licence so that the Bulletin had time to find a new premises was successful, though it stipulated that the council did not support the request. The resolution was tabled by Cr Janine Phillips and was carried 4-2 with Cr Kingsley Gibson and Cr Clare Campbell voting against it. Conditions in the lease agreement between the DCC and the Shire stipulate the DCC can derive additional income by renting out some of its space commercially for up to six months with the approval of the Shire chief executive. The Bulletin has leased space within the DVC since the Shire chief executive granted approval for a six-month lease in May 2022, and then a further three-month lease from November. When approving the further three-month lease the chief executive advised the DCC that it should apply to the council for the sublease if it intended for the Bulletin to continue its occupation of the space. The original recommendation presented in last week’s officer’s report suggested the council should advertise the sublease for public comment for three weeks, then authorise the Shire chief executive to sign the sub-lease if no adverse submissions were received. An amendment to the recommendation, tabled by Cr Donald Clarke, resulted in it changing so that the chief executive would only be authorised to sign the sublease if no submissions were received having removed the word “adverse.” The amended motion was defeated 4-2, with only Cr Clarke and Cr Gibson voting in for it. After a period in which standing orders were suspended for the first time during the item, Cr Phillips tabled a second resolution. The ultimately defeated resolution stated council did not support the request because it is “of the view that the principle of commercially sub-letting of Shire property is likely to have an adverse effect on local businesses or individuals that have available commercial office space for rent, and that the sub-tenant may receive an advantage over other businesses.” Despite the stated non-support for the request, a second part of the resolution would have authorised the chief executive to issue a six-month licence for the Denmark Bulletin to operate out of the DVC for six months while looking for an alternative location. When voted on, Cr Phillips’ first tabled resolution was tied 3-3 before Cr Gibson used his casting vote as deputy shire president to see it defeated 4-3. Standing orders were then suspended a second time to allow councillors to discuss the wording of the successful resolution which removed the reasoning for the non-support from Cr Phillip’s first resolution while combining its two parts into one.