Personal DetailsLast seen: Friday, 8 October 1999
Age: 18
Year of birth: 1971
Height: 155 cm
Build: Slim
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown
Complexion:
Gender: Female
Distinguishing Feature:
Circumstances: Lisa Govan was last seen at approximately 7.30am on the morning of Friday 8 October 1999 in the vicinity of the Foundry Hotel Bottleshop, Kalgoorlie.
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Crime proceeds fiasco imperils Kalgoorlie hotel blow-ins Chris Thomson
January 22, 2009
A Kalgoorlie hotel frozen under proceeds of crime legislation, then gutted by a suspected arson attack, has become a public safety risk as authorities squabble over who should secure and repair it.
The office of WA's Director of Public Prosecutions yesterday confirmed police froze the pub from sale in 2003 when co-owner Kevin Ross Smith was charged with drug dealing. For four years between then and when Smith was finally convicted in March 2007, the hotel's ownership fell into limbo.
DPP spokeswoman Diana Callander said her agency could not legally confiscate The Foundry until Smith's conviction, and that as soon as he was sentenced the DPP had moved to impound the pub.
However, a suspected arson attack on July 3 last year caused $500,000 to damage to the hotel, which Ms Callander said had reduced the asset's worth to land value only.
"It was worth less than the rates and mortgage owing on the property at the time," Ms Callander said.
"So, in November last year, because there was no money in it for us, we withdrew the confiscation order."
Smith's company, Headframe Service Pty Ltd, is now deregistered, and the pub is derelict, prompting Kalgoorlie-Boulder mayor Ron Yuryevich to slam the Government for not fencing and fixing the hotel earlier.
"It was an unsafe building and no-one was willing to take action on it," he said.
"It's not good enough and where they have this legislation, someone has to be responsible."
Mr Yuryevich said The Foundry's long-term ownership limbo meant his council was powerless to move in and fence the hotel.
"We could have tried to take the State to court, I spose, but there was no end in sight in doing that," he said.
"They should be able to carry out repairs and ensure as a responsible owner it is safe for the community."
WA Police, which had originally slapped the sale freeze on the hotel, and firefighters, have complained to the council that officers have been injured when attending the ramshackle property.
Police and firies complain the pub's open access, and unsecured iron sheeting on site, are putting the Kalgoorlie community at risk.
Ms Callander said the pub's condition was not her agency's concern because the Government had never owned it.
"It's not our responsibility that it's a safety risk," she said.
"The hotel was a dump even before (Smith) was charged.
"It was riddled with white ant and there were people illegally living in the hotel - they were vagrants, I spose."
The hotel, on Boulder Road, has a chequered past.
It once doubled as the headquarters for the Kalgoorlie chapter of the Club Deroes bikie gang.
Missing 28-year-old woman Lisa Govan was last seen near the pub's bottleshop in October 1999. She has never been found and detectives fear she was murdered.
Mayor Yuryevich's council estimates fencing and boarding up The Foundry will cost $10,000. The city will soon serve a notice on defunct Headframe Service Pty Ltd to demand the work be done.
If a response is not received, the council says it will secure the site itself and take action to recover costs.
