Share options bounced at Glen Eira basketball centre
18 Oct 11 @ 07:30am by Jenny Ling
The Glen Eira Warriors and McKinnon Basketball Association told the Leader that chief executive Wayne Bird had recently contacted them to try to fix the council’s handling of the courts contract at the $41.2 million Glen Eira Sports and Aquatic Centre.
The council initially gave the contract to the Warriors in May but, one month later after protests from the McKinnon association, sought legal advice over whether it was legally binding.
Mayor Margaret Esakoff and Deputy Mayor Jamie Hyams refused to comment, including whether they had got advice.
Basketball Victoria operations manager Gerry Glennen, based in Albert Park, confirmed Mr Bird had approached both groups to see if a compromise could be reached.
“But I don’t know … whether that was successful,” he said.
Glen Eira Warriors president Geoff Charnley said the Warriors would not compromise.
“It was suggested to us that we give up weekends and give it to them (McKinnon),” he said.
“We said ‘no, we need the weekends’ … that’s not going to work for us.
“The councillors need to make a decision. Time is marching on, that’s our real concern … it’s (GESAC) going to open soon.”
McKinnon Basketball Association spokesman James Cody said the group was willing to compromise.
“We would rather have some time there than none,” Mr Cody said. “We just want to get the right outcome.
“At the end of the day if we don’t get it, it will be a pain, we’ll just have to manage with another facility.”
Glen Eira Debates 
October 18, 2011 at 10:02 AM
This is getting to be a real joke. So is the bull from mayor and her shadow. Can’t comment. What a load of crap. Every council meeting there’s “legal advice” over gesac in the minutes so it’s already confirmed. This duo should go under the stage name of Marcel Marceau. The biggest joke is that everyone already knows that the ombudsman is involved and so are the damn lawyers. It’s also common knowledge that the vic basketball assoc has been dragged in to. Councillors didn’t keep their eyes on the ball and let Burke and Newton run the show. That’s the problem with this council in everything.
October 18, 2011 at 10:35 AM
There’s secrecy and there’s secrecy. I agree with the above comments that Esakoff and Hyams are failing in their roles as Mayor and Deputy Mayor not because things are “confidential” but because they refuse to let their bosses (us) know what is going on – especially when rumours are rife and it’s close to 5 months that this fiasco has been allowed to drag on and on. Instead of real leadership the community gets nothing but silence and subterfuge.
The second part of this secrecy concerns the roles played by Burke and Newton and the lack of vigilance by councillors. Whether or not councillors actually knew what was in store and what the so called business plan was, is now a moot point. They should have known and supervised their employees far better than they obviously have. It’s now cost ratepayers at least another $5000 according to the answer to one public question and this will surely escalate even further. Add on to this officers’ time and the entire cost is embarrassing.
This makes me wonder about other tendering processes that occur within this council and exactly what councillors are, or aren’t told. I notice that the same names keep popping up time and time again for major million dollar contracts. I think that some of these need full explaining as well.
October 18, 2011 at 11:17 AM
Burke and the gang should reimburse residents for these bills out of their own pockets. Then they just might respect how they’re spending my money.
October 18, 2011 at 12:24 PM
Smart Aleck could you explain to us in detail what Paul Burke is guilty of. Is this another stupid comment without foundation?
October 18, 2011 at 12:47 PM
Take a bex Noel and stop sucking up – you’ve done enough of that in the past. The answer to your question is damn simple! He made the decision. Did he tell councillors first or just go ahead off his own bat like gawd almighty?
October 18, 2011 at 1:42 PM
This is the one that may finish Burke off. He didn’t see it coming and thought he backed a winner. Figured he could spin his way out of it. Some of the Councillors are thick but they may have trouble swallowing his story. He has been overcome by politics in that he got the Council between two rival basketball comps. If they fail to reach a comprimise and the facilities are not used to the maximim then Councillors will be entitled to go looking for a scalp.
October 18, 2011 at 7:55 PM
It should also finish Lipshutz off good and proper. The public records of assembly for the Pools Steering Committee are a joke. He is in charge and yet with less that two months to go to an opening there wasn’t any report in the last council minutes. I just keep asking myself -what other horrors are they hiding? Would also be good to know if Lipshutz finally remembered when the next meeting was supposed to be held and whether Penhalluriack was actually informed! Lipshutz wouldn’t want this bloke around. He asks too many embarrasing questions one assumes that would blow the cover off liphshutz’s bull shit. We’re also still waiting for a report which is supposed to compare the melbourne acquatic centre prices with those of gesac. No sign of this as yet if I remember rightly. But the request for a report to get the car park extended was delivered quck smart. That’s how this mob work with the help of Lipshutz. Get him to move the motion cos Newton has ordered it and then get the other suckers to vote it in. After all, what’s another 450,000, the destruction of a few more trees and then another 391,000 for moving a playground. Chicken feed to ambition and covering up mistake after mistake like the basketball balls up. Get rid of them all. They cost us dough and are basically not fit to run a 50 million dollar project that wasn’t planned down to the tiniest screw, nail, and yup – car parking spaces.
October 18, 2011 at 2:15 PM
Just wondering why we are paying big bucks for a Director of Community relations when he exceeds his authority on the basketball allocation and enters into an agreement which requires more bucks flowing to lawyers and then involves the Basketball Victoria to sort out his mess.
As for Esakoff and Hyams – no surprise Maggie is silent, she refused to speak to the press on the last 4 issues that have been reported by the media. The fact that Hyams, who is always voice for silent Maggie, is also refusing to speak means fasten your seatbelts folks çause this is going to be one heck of a ride and landing.
October 18, 2011 at 10:03 PM
The Recreation Staff chose the Warriors because they offered the best Return to our Ratepayers. They are not to blame for this weak group of ball less Councillors who want to give away an Asset that cost us a fortune, for nothing.
October 19, 2011 at 6:19 PM
The way allocation is proceeding the stadium will make a good frisbee venue!