The Kingston Butter Factory Arts and Craft Co-op crew were involved in a good old-fashioned handshake deal.
When Logan City Council decided it was going to give the KBF precinct a new lease of life, those brokering the deal pulled the committee of the co-op aside.
“Everything will be okay,” the powerbrokers assured the ladies who until that point had been keeping the old KBF afloat by attracting busloads of day trippers to their much-respected trove of treasures.
“We need you to move for a while. It won’t be long. Just enough time for us to spruce the place up a bit. When we’re done, you can move right back in again. It’ll be better than ever.”
While those involved in the deal would probably be kind enough to say it was a matter of trust, truth of the matter is that trust had nothing to do with it.
The Arts and Craft Co-op had no choice but to follow the direction of councillors who in all fairness probably truly believed they had the co-op members’ best interest at heart.
Because councillors at the time had no reason to believe that they wouldn’t be there to see things through.
Now, co-op members feel they’ve been sold a dud.
Instead of being taken down a path of integrity, they’ve been stabbed squarely in the back.
It’s a tough moral position for anyone to be in. Post-administration council is all about equity – providing all people with same opportunities. It’s a noble and just cause.
The problem is, of course, that there will always be some more equal than others. Some who are able to navigate the complex road of tender, and some – in this case, the members of the co-op – who would always struggle with such a process.
With just two months until their current contract expires, the Arts and Craft Co-op is caught without a home to go to. Members are caught without a place to sell their wares. And the band of many admirers who regularly visit their shop will be left with one less place to do their Christmas shopping.
Council has its hands behind its back. Is there anyone else able to help?
