Claims The Circus has "refused" to pay fees associated with hiring Launceston's Royal Park have been labelled "inaccurate" and "misleading" by The Circus general manager Greg Hall.
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The Circus, owned by Weber Bros Entertainment, hired the site between October 3-25 last year, and seven shows were cancelled due to wet weather between October 13 to 16.
The City of Launceston council is expected to discuss the $9855 bill from hiring Royal Park and a further $1190.35 in costs due to infrastructure damage, with the council report stating the company "refused" to pay the hire costs.
However, Mr Hall said what was written in the council report was "inaccurate and misleading".
"We have never, ever refused to pay," Mr Hall said.
"We are seeking a waiver on the rental of the premise for a number of reasons."
He said they had actively sought a resolution for the past seven months.
Mr Hall said they had sought a waiver of the rental fee because of the park's closure over the three days of performance.
"We were told we won't be able to perform because the park was closed, but people were using the park on both days," he said.
"On Saturday 15, we had hundreds turn up for our 1pm show and arrived on the 'closed' footpaths."
He believed The Circus could have performed on both days and said there had been plans in place to ensure patrons "wouldn't even get their feet wet".
"We refunded tens of thousands of dollars, it caused disruptions to patrons and was distressing not just to us, but for the people who were there.
"There were kids looking crook, parents were annoyed. They had been overwhelmingly sympathetic to us. We would never, ever jeopardise people's safety."
The council report stated the hire fee had been reduced by the cost for the three days affected by the weather event subtracted from the total requested.
Mr Hall said they had sent a letter to the council objecting to the agenda item listed as 14.4 in the council papers, and had asked for the letter to be tabled to councillors.
"We are asking for councillors to have a full view of the situation for them to make a decision," he said.
Regarding the additional infrastructure damage cost covered in the agenda papers, Mr Hall said they understood and were willing to pay it.
There were kids looking crook, parents were annoyed. They had been overwhelmingly sympathetic to us. We would never, ever jeopardise people's safety.
- The Circus general manager Greg Hall
The "minor" damage was to a training levee, which the council said was caused by tensioners or supports being driven into the structure.
Mr Hall said there had been no knowledge Royal Park was flood prone upon agreeing to hire the site, and it was not known until they had set up and played there.
Launceston's acting mayor Matthew Garwood said the matter had been listed for deliberation at this Thursday's, June 15, council meeting.
"Councillors will take the time to look at all the relevant information and approach the item with the same amount of care and enquiry as we do with all agenda items," councillor Garwood said.
Under the Local Government Act the council has the power to remit these fees or write-off the debt however council officers said in the report the reduced rate was "reasonable" and as such recommend councillors do not remit the amount.
The officers also said a write-off was "not appropriate" as the council had not yet made reasonable attempts, like engaging a collection agency, to recover the debt.
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Molly Appleton
Molly Appleton is a senior journalist at The Examiner, having formerly worked at The Advocate as a news and sports reporter. She brings a passion for storytelling and knowledge of Tasmania across the three major regions. For any story ideas contact her on 0448 184 160.
Molly Appleton is a senior journalist at The Examiner, having formerly worked at The Advocate as a news and sports reporter. She brings a passion for storytelling and knowledge of Tasmania across the three major regions. For any story ideas contact her on 0448 184 160.
