Northern Grampians Shire Council decide on old North Park clubrooms future

Councillors gathered virtually to discuss and vote on the outcome of the old North Park clubrooms after the Council received an expression of interest from the Stawell Fire Brigade to occupy and manage the rooms.

In the meeting the councilors voted to keep the existing North Park clubrooms and enter into an agreement with the Stawell Fire Brigade.

Cr Lauren Dempsey initially moved a motion for the council to commit to the North Park multipurpose precinct development plan, which involved demolishing the old building.

This motion was seconded by Cr Eddy Ostarcevic, but when put to a vote the council voted against the motion, four-two.

Mayor Murray Emerson moved an alternative motion for Council to enter into a lease agreement with the Stawell Fire Brigade to lease the old North Park clubrooms for the specific purpose of the Fire Brigade using the building for training purposes with the following conditions:

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The motion was amended by Cr Ostarcevic, and stated that any agreement will be for a period of time through negotiation and for no more than two years at a time.

The motion was passed, with a four-two vote, with Cr Dempsey and Cr Ostarcevic voting against the motion.

Mayor Murray Emerson recognised the sensitive nature of the decision Council made and said he believed the Council have made the right decision.

"The old North Park clubrooms will probably not live forever," he said.

"There will be some people who aren't happy with the decision, but there will be some organisations who are reasonably happy with it as well.

"From my point of view I think it is a good decision and I congratulate my fellow councillors who are supporting the motion.

"The motion is a reasonable motion that deals with all aspects of our community who not only use North Park, but are part of our community.

"The feeling that I get is that the best outcome for the old North Park clubrooms is for them to be retained for a period of time.

"This is not a change of direction recently. This has been discussed since day one and everybody has been more than kept up-to-date with the process to try and satisfy everybody."

Cr Kevin Erwin declared a conflict of interest and was not involved in the vote.

Through the completion of the new North Park Community Sports Centre, the old North Park clubrooms are now vacant.

The council had two options to decide from in the meeting, with option one to demolish the old North Park clubrooms and consider options for the space within the North Park Master Plan.

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Option two involved retaining the old North Park clubrooms for the purposes of the Stawell Fire Brigade and undertake minor maintenance to bring the building back to serviceable condition.

As background, the following options and their costs have been indicatively accounted for (maintenance costs do not include utilities, cleaning, and essential service checks):

On December 2 2020, the Council received a letter from the Stawell Fire Brigade advising that the brigade held a meeting on 1 December 2020, where it was moved that they express interest in taking over the North Park clubrooms to enhance their training facilities at North Park.

The brigade also offered to pay the costs of upgrading and maintaining the building with no cost to council.

The Stawell Fire Brigade are interested in the clubrooms as a "lifeline for the future of the club" and to help in the club's potential bid for the senior state championships in in 2023 or 2024.

However, the Swifts Football and Netball Club, the previous lessees of the old clubrooms, submitted a letter on 1 March 2021 to Council outlining their thoughts on what should be done with the facility.

In the letter the Swifts expressed their "disappointment" if the facility was to remain.

This is because the club believed the club continued to advocate for this funding with the understanding that when the new building would be complete that the old building would be demolished and that area used to retain parking at the precinct.

"We feel that if the old clubrooms were to remain, it would take away from the new building, which will be one of the best sporting facilities in the Wimmera, along with the surrounding areas in the North Park Precinct being the Athletic Track, Oval and possibly new netball courts," the letter said.

"This was also mentioned as a possibility throughout the process and at various recreation committee meetings, in which the CFA had representation. If we had known that it would be considered for them to remain, we would have voted for the new facility to be built where the existing one is.

"We would not object to the CFA advocating for their own funding to get a fit for purpose facility closer to their track for specific activities when required but the idea of the new building was that it could be hired by users when available for any events they would like to hold."

The North Park Master Plan is under development, with the council's decision to determine how the space is considered in the final plan.

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