15thDecember 2020

‍Re: 6.1 NOTICE OFMOTION – 305 – RECONSIDERATION OF ELSTERNWICK PARK OVAL 4 – RECONSTRUCTION,LIGHTING AND PAVILION

Dear Mayor and Councillors,

My name is Jarrod Hall and I am currently the President of the East Brighton Vampires Junior Football Club. I along, with the rest of our Committee were elected to their honorary positions at our recent Annual General Meeting held on Monday 16thNovember 2020.

Despite the season for 2020 not proceeding as planned, our Club registered 898 players from our local community.

Community sport has, is and will continue to be an intrinsic part of the fabric of the Bayside area. Nearly all our members attend local schools, play sport at other Clubs in the area and utilise the wonderful passive and active recreation facilities that Bayside have to offer.  

It is for this reason, that our Club needs to express our serious concern relating to:

·       Notice of Motion – 305 – Reconsideration of Elsternwick Park Oval 4 – Reconstruction, Lighting and Pavillion that has been proposed by Cr. Hanna El Mouallem of Dendy Ward and will be considered by Council at a Special Meeting scheduled for Thursday 17th December2020.

While it is encouraging to see that the re-construction of EP#4 sportsground will continue as per the Council decision in 2018, the proposal to not proceed with the construction of a pavilion, access road and lighting is perplexing at best. What is being proposed is that consideration will be given to the construction of a public toilet to service EP#4.

A public toilet.

This is a wholly unacceptable and would overturn the previous Council decision made in 2018.

These are some of the issues, amongst many, that Councillors will need to reconcile when considering the proposed motion that overturns the decision made by the Bayside City Council in 2018.

·       Do Councillors expect our coaches to give their half time team address next to the urinal?

·       Do Councillors expect that the defibrillator is going to be stored in one of the cubicles? Will there be a defibrillator available in a proper medical room?

·       Do Councillors know what happens if one of our players is injured during a game - do they lay on the ground exposed to the elements?

·       Do Councillors know where the goal post pads are going to be stored during the week?

·       Do Councillors know how an ambulance, if required, will get access to the ground during winter without a paved access road?

·       Do Councillors know how members will train in the dark without lighting?

This motion appears to lack any understanding of how community sport works. As parents and members of our community, the experience of watching junior sport is only enhanced by the facilities our Council provides.

On behalf our Club we hope that the majority of Bayside City Councillors will respect the decision made in 2018 and reject the Elsternwick Park Oval #4 Notice of Motion - 305.

Please continue to do the right thing by the community of Bayside and provide dedicated spaces, with the necessary amenities, to participate in organised sport. 

On behalf of the Committee and the Club, I would also like to take this opportunity to thankyou all for contributing to the local community through your work as a Councillor.

If you would like to speak to me directly, please don’t hesitate to call me on 0437 091 984.

Kind Regards

‍

Jarrod Hall

President

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