By Candice Boyle
CITY of Maribyrnong councillors are expected to vote on the future of the Yarraville Community Centre next week without one of the centre’s most vocal supporters, mayor Michael Clarke.
Cr Clarke will be out of the country when it is expected councillors will vote on the recommendation to resign from the committee of management for the Yarraville Community Centre building.
If the council does resign, the committee of management role will be placed back into the hands of the building’s owners, the State Government.
Centre users fear such a move will spell the end of the centre as it now operates.
The centre’s manager, Christine McCall, said the building, home to a range of community activities, would no longer belong to Yarraville residents if the responsibility was handed back to the State Government.
“The centre will be dispersed and lost; if we are taken out of here without a promise to renovate, the services will be disbanded,” she said.
The deterioration of the 118-year-old building and the failure to attract funding for the repair bill, estimated in the vicinity of $5 million, is the basis for the council’s recommendation to stand down from the management role.
As the committee of management, the council is responsible for the safety of centre users and the liabilities surrounding the deterioration of the building.
If any further deterioration is detected and the building is declared unsafe, the onus is placed on the committee of management to close the building for centre use and find a new home for the services.
From Page 1.
The item was deferred at last month’s council meeting due to the absence of ward councilor Janis Rossiter, but it is expected that the centre’s future will be handled by councilors next week.
Despite fervent campaigning by centre users to attract the support of councilors, the future of the centre’s building is in doubt.
The majority of councilors expressed their support for the centre when contacted by Star last week, but without the confirmation of state government funding, it is unlikely many will vote against the motion to resign from the committee of management.
Since 2001 the council has injected more than half a million dollars into building maintenance, a contribution that is likely to end if they resign for their role and responsibility to carry out maintenance works.
Ms McCall said there would be a big question mark over the services offered by the centre if councilors vote to resign.
The lead up to next week’s controversial vote has been punctuated with letter drops, emails and rallies for community support, a fighting spirit that has not been overlooked by supporter Cr Clarke.
Despite the building being owned by the state government, Cr Clarke said the council must be prepared to make a significant contribution to help to restore the building.
“Government is about more than just keeping an eye on the money. Education and health doesn’t have a financial return, this is a qualitative issue.
“This is one of our most important community services. It is not a party particular thing, it is a community issue,” he said.
While Cr Clarke said the council should reach into their pockets to help fund the centre and the building’s future, he is one of the few councilors prepared to pick up the bill that has been labeled as a state government responsibility.
Yarraville ward representative Cr Rossiter said it is a sad situation, but the council “has got enough on its plate”.
“I don’t think council should put another penny into it,” she said.
Cr Rossiter said if the council resigns, centre users would be given more leverage to appeal to state government for funding.
This is not the first time the community has fought to retain the National Trust listed building. Prior to the 1875 erection of the building, community members campaigned and won the right to have the school built in Yarraville.
Again, 100 years later community members went into battle to prevent the school from closing, and now community members are again confronted by the chance that the historic building might be closed for good.
Yarraville resident Tina Soumbassis said centre users were not prepared to let the building go without a fight.
“We want residents to write to councilors and the state government, to tell them we want this building and the centre to stay,” she said.
Ms Soumbassis said the centre’s users do not know what will happen if funding is not found and the building is handed back to the state government as the council had not been open with the plans for the future of the centre.
“They are treating this community with disdain. We trusted the council and basically they have let us down.
“We want to know how and why it has come this far without us being able to question what was happening,” she said.
Ms Soumbassis and a number of centre users are expected to attend council’s Community Access and Strategic Policy meeting tonight to appeal for support prior to next week’s decision.
