By Candice Boyle
THE future of the Buckley St occasional child care centre is likely to be decided by City of Maribyrnong councillors tonight following an emotional plea by parents to delay the closure.
The issue has been added to tonight’s council agenda in response to an emotionally fuelled presentation at last week’s community access and strategic policy meeting.
Parents pleaded with councillors to step in and postpone the closure until Christmas when they would have a better chance of making alternative arrangements.
The centre’s users were informed of the planned closure late last month and have since pushed to have the closure delayed.
If councillors do not vote to change the decision made by the council’s operational staff, the centre will be closed on Friday 21 September in preparation for construction works scheduled to begin in October.
The former Footscray Swim Centre site has been reserved for the construction of a youth centre, a move that has angered the parent action group formed to save the centre’s services.
Yarraville resident and centre user Bruce Atherton said while the group supported the establishment of a youth centre it would not condone it at the expense of the child care centre.
“If we look at the situation, unfortunately, that is the position the council has taken. It is placing one before the other.
“If the Buckley St closure goes ahead, it will be a cut to services. There is no other way to look at it,” he said.
The closure has been fast tracked because of a promise made to the State Government to begin construction of the youth centre in October. The government made funds available for the centre a number of years ago and they have not yet been used.
General manager for community wellbeing Jenny McMahon said while the State Government would not revoke the funding, the council had made a commitment to begin work this financial year.
The closure decision also took into consideration the under utilisation of the centre, the additional unbudgeted running costs incurred by the council and proposed changes to child care service’s regulations.
“We were putting all the pieces together and not focusing on any one in particular when making the decision,” Ms McMahon said.
In addition to the construction of the youth centre, part of the site sold to the Salvation Army will be developed into a 120-bed aged care facility for poor and marginalised older people.
The aged care development was a factor that was also considered by the council’s operational staff when they decided to close the child care centre.
Attempts by the council to find an alternative site for the service to have been unsuccessful which has resulted in the need to transfer more than 50 families who regularly use the service.
Council’s community learning and libraries manager Michael Byrne said so far council workers had successfully relocated 17 families to alternative child care providers in the 10 working days following the closure announcement.
Mr Byrne said council staff would continue to work with parents who would be impacted by the closure.
Centre user Liza Bishop said the council needed to make a commitment to occasional child care to provide families with an equivalent service to the one they access in Buckley St.
Ms Bishop said council staff had agreed with parents at a meeting last month that the city’s childcare services were already under extreme pressure.
“Less than six months ago, council promised us an alternative site.
“Now they are telling us we have to move out in 10 weeks,” she said.
Ms Bishop said there is room for further consultation and compromise to ensure the needs of the families could be met.
Council staff officers are expected to have prepared an urgent brief to present to councillors before they make a decision on the future of the centre.
