An open letter to Catholic Healthcare on behalf of concerned people of Mullumbimby. Coolamon retirement village in Mullumbimby is a great asset to our community.
The vision for Coolamon was provided long ago by Howard Timms and Keith O’Meara. They were local men who could see that Mullumbimby needed a facility to help older residents with their ageing and assisted-living issues.
These men rallied the community with their leadership and inspiration. Generations of locals have responded to their vision for this aged-care facility in our town. They have rolled up their sleeves and done whatever was necessary to make it happen, including: music hall dinners, street stalls, Chincogan Fiesta, Brunswick Housie, building extra facilities, staff support, purchasing furniture, volunteer driving, bequests, and donations of needed resources.
This has amounted to tens of thousands of hours of voluntary labour and in excess of a million dollars to set up and maintain this vital facility for our town. It is an achievement we are immensely proud of as a community.
Coolamon was built on land that was partly owned by the community. It was built with money from the community and St Vincent de Paul, opening on 9 February 1984. Additions came in 1996 of a craft room, then a chapel and major extensions in 2002. In 2008 the Lang family donated a carport and 23-seater bus with wheelchair facilities. A lot of community money went into the building and furnishing of these welcome additions.
This shared responsibility changed in 2007 when Catholic Healthcare took over the operations of Coolamon. The community no longer had any say in the service. We could see things changing and it wasn’t long before Catholic Healthcare stopped paying a small yearly fee in lieu of rent. The Auxiliary and Steering Committee were disbanded after a very long association with Coolamon. The community was let down!
Catholic Healthcare, it is time to set things right. There are two things that need to happen to rectify the situation and restore community trust.
We believe a proper rental should be paid by Catholic Healthcare and used for the future rehabilitation and operation of the land. It is not sufficient to say the operation of the facility is a benefit to the local community to avoid paying rent. There has to be good faith on both sides and a reasonable rental payable for the ongoing benefit of this great asset is a good place to start.
Secondly, Catholic Healthcare need to pay for the land they have occupied at Coolamon, at no cost and for a long time. Council could subdivide the land and sell it to Catholic Healthcare. The money from the sale should be used solely for the clearing and maintenance of the hospital site and not lost into consolidated revenue.
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