From Council Minutes (28th June)
Crs Lipshutz/Magee
That Council;
1. Reiterates Council’s desire to maximise community use of GESAC.
2. Recognises the expressions of interest of both Warriors Basketball Association and McKinnon Basketball Association in supporting Council’s objectives at GESAC.
3. That Council seek independent legal advice as to whether the communication between Council and Warriors Basketball Association;
(a) constitutes a legally binding agreement; and
(b) stops Council from cancelling the allocation awarded to Warriors Basketball Association at GESAC.
4. That pending receipt of the legal advice Council not execute any agreement or contract with respect to the allocation of the basketball courts at GESAC.
5. That this resolution be incorporated within the public Minutes of this meeting.
The MOTION was put and CARRIED unanimously.
QUESTIONS
What a mess this whole issue is. Councillors have finally exerted some authority and appear to be attempting to ensure that local groups are catered for at GESAC. The real questions are:
- Where were councillors right at the start in setting performance criteria, overseeing the tendering process and establishing clear protocols and expectations?
- How much will this ‘legal advice’ now cost ratepayers? Will it be added to the overall escalating costs of GESAC?
- What of other local groups who have been refused allocation? Will we be going through the same process with them? Or are contracts already signed? Or does it take a public backlash to get any action?
- What role will the administration and the lawyers play in all this? Will the ensuing advice simply be ‘sorry folks – nothing can be changed’? This at least saves face!
- If the Warriors contract is null and void, then by how much will this affect the figures for GESAC? Does this mean that costs will go up elsewhere in the next budget and in the renewal of leases throughout the municipality?
These are not idle questions. They go to the heart of councillors’ duty to set policy and administrator’s duty to deliver services according to Best Value principles – ie. a real cost benefit deliverable. It would appear that neither of these mandates have been achieved thus far and in the process occasioned much needless angst for many in the community.
Glen Eira Debates 
July 1, 2011 at 10:25 PM
The most appalling aspect of this is that council has neglected to set any proper guidelines for use of GESAC. This knee-jerk reaction to the protests of the local sporting group is clear evidence of their failure to carry out their obligations to their community.
The management of the development of GESAC has been carried out in secrecy – the minutes of the committee tell us nothing. I cannot believe that the committee was unaware of the tendering process. Now they are just trying to save face.
It is ironic that the same council minutes include an item leasing part of the Bricker pavilion to the Sandringham Dragons – a semi-professional football team playing in an AFL competition. How is this serving the community? The lease is for part of a pavilion paid for by the rates of residents – at a measly sum of $13,000 per year. It again shows where council’s priorities lie.
However, the most outrageous decision of the council meeting was in relation to the Booran Road reservoir. The relevant information is on p4 of the so-called Strategic Resource Plan. It states $4 million allocated for the years 2017-18 and $3.5 million for $2018-19 for development of the land for public recreation.
Having been given the land by the State Government, our council is apparently happy to let it remain vacant and unused for the next 8 years! Council has failed to make any expansion of public open space (in fact sold off land that could have been used e.g. Neerim Road depot) yet having been gifted a valuable piece of property, are going to neglect it for 8 years.
Council has acknowledged the lack of open space in our city yet taken no steps to address the problem. Instead they have expected the MRC and even local schools to solve their problems for them.
How much would it cost to bulldoze the site and put in a garden park? Not $7.5 million. It suggests that council already have an agenda for another sports ground and pavilion. So get ready for the community consultation people.
July 1, 2011 at 10:41 PM
But it’s okay to spend 8.8 million on a damn grandstand and another pavilion with ‘community facilities’ that will bring in a pittance. And God forbid that anything in the budget should touch the pavilion program overall. They’ll keep building even if it eats up all parkland.
July 1, 2011 at 10:51 PM
Thank you for bringing this up Glen Huntly. We noted this fact in one of our earlier posts on the budget. It’s significant that at Tuesday night’s council meeting the most mention that Booran Rd got was that Tang declared conflicts of interest. There was the usual wailing and self congratulations as to how much council has to do and how well it’s being done and how short of money everyone is. But no mention of the staggering increase in childcare costs for 3 year olds. No mention of the waste of ratepayers’ money. Just an emphases on the positives – such as $50,000 more for community grants. Needless to say that the gallery weren’t informed that this increase is probably the result of the cutting of ward funds. Does anyone know of a function where these funds have actually been employed? We’re still waiting for a report on the Tucker Ward Forum, or the street stop by Pilling, Tang and Esakoff. And Magee election promise to hold regular forums evaporated almost overnight after one single forum. Such is life in Glen Eira.
July 1, 2011 at 10:54 PM
And please remind me when Frank’s next ward meeting is.
July 2, 2011 at 9:09 AM
Frank has probably worked out that whwn holding forums the same people will turn up and say the same thing, Unless forums have a specific reason for happening then they are just a waste of everyones time. As for Magee, “seemed like a good idea at the time”
July 1, 2011 at 10:34 PM
This is what happens when councillors delegate all control to Newton and Burke. It’s also what happens when not enough hard questions are asked and answers demanded. It’s what gets Newton off the hook every single time because councillors vote in whatever is put in front of their noses, so it’s councillors who ultimately take responsibility for lousy decisions. Newton comes out all innocent and pure, cos as Anonymous keeps repeating – he doesn’t vote. He just engineers everything.
It’s fair dinkum about time that some of these councillors stood up on their hind legs and yelled their heads off. But of course they won’t and that’s why Glen Eira is in the state it is and that’s why these councillor lackeys won’t be there in 18 months time.
July 2, 2011 at 1:12 AM
Yes remember the rhymes
“It’s time It’s time”
and
“Goodbye Mr Wick go south”
July 2, 2011 at 12:06 PM
Southwick is safe with opponents such as yourself. The ALP has never considered Caulfield winnable. Danby is on his last term. Ari is getting the numbers.
July 2, 2011 at 12:59 PM
There’s one item in the in-camera section regarding the gym equipment tender. I find it strange that there is no estimated value provided, no number of tenders and no result announced in the minutes. Since this concerns gesac then it needs to be carefully looked at. I’m also wondering why on earth council is seeking tenders for gym equipment itself and why this is being kept secret. It would be even more informative if we knew exactly how many tenders there were. As others has already said, every single scrap of information about hiring, tenders, allocations must be made public to avoid public perceptions of mismanagement and cover ups.