A new library is the anchor tenant of the $21 million stage 1B of the Northern Beaches Community Hub and is due to open in early 2027.
With about 5600 library members living in the Northern Beaches, council is planning to take the opportunity to consolidate library services north of the city at the new Hub.
Mayor Greg Williamson said the plan was for the Gordon White Library building to be turned into a broader council facility like the Jubilee Community Centre in the civic precinct in Mackay’s CBD.
“The Jubilee Community Centre includes council office space, a foyer and meeting rooms,’’ Mayor Williamson said.
“It was created when the former Mackay City Library was closed after Dudley Denny City Library came online and has been extremely successful and popular with the community,’’ he said.
Mayor Williamson said the new Northern Beaches Community Hub would add ongoing annual operational costs of about $2 million.
“It wouldn’t be fair to just pass that onto rate payers without looking at different service delivery models to offset that increase,’’ he said.
“Re-purposing the Gordon White Library building for meeting rooms and staff offices would, in turn, reduce other staff accommodation costs for council.
“As part of the review, we’ll look at retaining limited library services, such as a reserved book collection point, for example, at the current Gordon White Library location.
“Dudley Denny City Library is also not far from North Mackay in the City Centre.”
Mayor Williamson said a project team was currently working on options and staff were also being consulted during this process.
He said it was prudent to achieve cost-savings, rather than just add ongoing operational costs to council’s annual budget.
“Even before the war in the Middle East, the 2026-2027 budget was shaping up as one of the most difficult in recent times for Mackay Regional Council,’’ he said.
“Cost-shifting by other levels of government and reduced funding also means future budgets will remain challenging.
“Council must make some tough decisions to ensure it remains financially sustainable while delivering quality services and infrastructure for the community against a difficult backdrop of escalating costs, without burdening rate payers.”
Mayor Williamson said council was also planning to sell the freehold Northern Beaches Community Hall site once the Northern Beaches Community Hub was open.
Community hall users have been informed of the plan to sell that site.