A huge crowd witnessed the sale of The Alma Club for $7.94 million this afternoon. The buyer will have the opportunity to deduct $330,000 if he wishes to retain the telecommunications pole which is presently sitting on the property. The terms of sale were the handing over of $1 million upon purchase and the rest in June 2013.
Council has once again let the community down badly. Not only has it forsaken an absolute real estate bargain when the asking price was basically $3 million, but they have again shown what a sham the continual cry of lack of open space means to these decision makers – absolutely nothing! Residents need to be asking some very serious questions –
- why were no real discussions entered into?
- who made the decision to say ‘no’?
- why wasn’t this conducted in an open council meeting?
- is council that cash strapped because of its poor financial management? If so, then how much credence should residents place in the financial statements and budgets?
- when will these councillors really start taking charge of this municipality and perform their mandated duties instead of leaving practically everything to unelected ‘fat cats’?
Glen Eira Debates 
August 29, 2012 at 4:49 PM
Newton has never been a visionary except when it comes to developers. There never was any intention by him and his cronies to purchase this property and turn it at least in part into open space.
The new open space strategy should be another joke that he puts together with his lackeys. I’d bet my life that once you extract the bullshit there will not be any vision or anything worthwhile in it.
August 30, 2012 at 4:42 PM
This would amount to a pocket park. It would hardly be used. Lets hope it is a well designed housing development.
August 30, 2012 at 5:16 PM
Nothing wrong with pocket parks if they’re well designed and in that area with nothing else around it would be used all the time. Anyone know how many pocket parks Newton has got rid of in his tenure?
August 29, 2012 at 5:13 PM
Any truth to the rumour that the developer who purchased the property was Akehursts son?
August 30, 2012 at 4:35 PM
i heard it was his brother.
August 30, 2012 at 7:28 PM
Doubt even Akehurst would be that dumb (of course I could be wrong).
August 29, 2012 at 6:27 PM
Nth Caulfield desperately needs more park land and better facilities. It’s also a great pity that a club has to die after years and years of servicing the community. Lack of vision is a good call from Anonymous 1. The other obvious reason why no-one accepted the offer is that all the books are cooked and with huge debts still to be paid off there isn’t any room to move. That in my opinion goes back to original planning and financial overseeing. Gesac is going to be a millstone around the next council’s neck for a decade. It won’t pay for itself as all the spruiking tells us and we still haven’t finished with lawyers if Hansen and Yuncken aren’t ready to forego the liquidated damages. It’s been an inept project from day one and should never have been undertaken on the scale it has been.
The lack of available funds is pretty clear when the budget for Booran Road doesn’t kick in for years and years and the Duncan MacKinnon grandstand is over a year behind schedule. But none of this doesn’t stop Newton and his gang from spending half a million on Penhalluriack.
No other episode I believe discloses the incompetence of this council more than the Alma club issue and its related financial matters. The authorities have to go through this council with a fine tooth comb and root out all the inaccuracies and make those responsible for what’s been happening fully accountable.
August 29, 2012 at 7:09 PM
Now that the MRC/Southwick/Pilling/Hyams/Lipshutz/Esakoff centre of the Caulfield Racecourse Agreement has embarrassingly collapsed, can Council be honest and remove the racecourse from any open space calculations. Based on my back of the envelope calculations, Glen Eira rates the lowest in open space in the whole of Australia. What a dubious honor! If you remove the Council depots located in parks such as the mulch facility at Glenhuntly Park, parking at GESAC and depot at Caulfield Park, it would have to rate lowest in the world. $3m for a great central facility-I would have thought it a no brainer. Even if the bowling club land purchase was fully borrowed, the $15k interest bill per month is less than Newtons salary. I know what I would rather have in Glen Eira.
August 29, 2012 at 9:55 PM
Council’s abysmal performance over the Alma Sports Club is a clear cut demonstration of the difference between Council’s words and actions. This difference is not new, it’s just yet another instance of telling the residents what they want to hear then doing what you always intended to do regardless of how contrary it is to what you have told the residents or their expressed wishes.
It’s a sad day for the Alma Sports Club but it’s an even sadder day for Glen Eira … a never to be repeated opportunity gone to waste. Council (Councillors and the Admin) have a lot to answer for on this one.
August 29, 2012 at 10:02 PM
Newton & Burke wouldn’t have a bar of this only cos Penhalluriack and Forge wanted it. That’s it in a nutshell. Great way to run a place – petty, stupid and vindictive and doesn’t give a stuff about residents.
August 29, 2012 at 10:20 PM
Dudded again. Fair dinkum, I’ve got no idea why we spend about 300,000 on these councillors when they don’t do a damn thing. They never make a decision that’s worthwhile and isn’t in agreement with the boss and they have no respect for residents or their views. They’re taking money under false pretences. Let’s give it to charity I say rather than to the likes of the gang.
August 29, 2012 at 10:39 PM
I’ve read the Glen Eira Residents report on this matter and found plenty of food for thought. The response to Mr Dolan’s public question was nauseating at best, and at worst, totally misleading in light of the open space sell offs to various other clubs in the municipality. Worse still is that the whole process has been dismissed out of hand, and in secret. I would also have to agree with the comment put up by GlenEira about the records of assembly only being conveniently published at the same time that the answer to Mr Dolan’s question is made public. Nothing is coincidental in Glen Eira. All is minutely planned and carried out with military precision I’m sure. That leaves the question of why? Now I think we all know the answer.
August 29, 2012 at 10:52 PM
In light of this rejection of potential open space, we bring to readers’ attention this latest media release from the Minister for Planning. Despite the positive spin, one element is deliciously ironic in light of the Alma Club debacle – the stated intent to enable councils to obtain more open space and the decision to raise the 5% open space levy – something that our council is deliberately loathe to do and doesn’t have anywhere this percentage for its subdivisions. See: http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/4742-less-red-tape-more-local-open-space-for-communities.html
August 29, 2012 at 11:03 PM
Glen Eira what were the Conditions attached to the Offer to Council to purchase this $7M+ property for $3M. We all would be interested in the answer.
August 29, 2012 at 11:05 PM
Have a read of the GERA website – they’ve covered it pretty well.
August 30, 2012 at 12:10 AM
Glen Eira likes new parks like the one we have been “given””swapped” down traded” by the MRC deal for a 15million dollar site at the station and the Melbourne Water disused dam dam with BIG HIGH FENCES TO KEEP EVERYONE OUT. And if there is a park then it has usually needed to have a multi million dollar building put on it to destroy the sense of freedom from city clutter and definitely destroy the opportunity to view the setting sun and then of course rob more green grass to park the motor cars upon it so it is double barrelled park robbery. Then there is the fact that developers have been escaping paying for the open space levy and the biggest disappointment that the C60 there will not be even enough open space for a horse trough or a park bench but we’re planning for 1500 residences, plus many more on the former garage site and thousands (maybe ten) of other patrons daily for the great C60 shops, theatres, hotel, holiday apartments, offices, medical suites, hairdressers for the venture to be economical but no fresh air anywhere!1
That’s progress in Glen Eira for you!!!!!
Thank you to tHe BIG FOUR DECISION MAKERS!!!!!!
Dont forget they were CRS ESAKOFF, HYAMS, LIPSHUTZ,& PILLING(a pro-developer in green’s clothing)
PUT THEM LAST.
August 30, 2012 at 7:33 AM
The Alma Sports Club is the first of many casualties (missed opportunities) because of GESAC. (Score 1 to GESAC, zero to residents). No doubt there will be many more over the next ten years it will take to repay the $25m borrowed.