Shire’s sports ‘slug’: Council to hit clubs with new user-pays charge

ERIN PEARSON
A NEW council recreation strategy forcing Surf Coast sport clubs to pay for facility upgrades will price children out of sport, club officials have warned.
They fear the strategy’s user-pays scheme will drive-up membership costs as clubs scramble to finance upgrade projects.
Under previous arrangements clubs paid power and water costs and some maintenance at home grounds. The shire covered upgrades and new facilities.
Council adopted the strategy at a meeting late last month but has yet to set charges for the user-pays scheme.
The strategy could affect more than 100 sport and recreation groups on the Surf Coast.
Jan Juc Cricket Club president Andrew Wright said clubs would be unable to cover the additional costs because they were already grappling with skyrocketing utility bills.
“The shire pays no portion of our electricity or water now and they say that’s because they don’t charge for the rooms they maintain,” he said.
“We don’t believe clubs should pay.”
Mr Wright feared the new shire charges would force children out of sport.
“Eighty per cent of our members are juniors and that’s the same across Torquay Football Club. Added costs would be guaranteed to put kids off playing sport.
“Kids who play both football and cricket might not be able to do both if membership fees rise but it would be out of our hands.”
Lorne Football Netball Club president Michael Balderas said finding enough money was already “hard enough” without additional costs.
“We live hand to mouth with our footy club and roll around to local businesses each year to get us through. Having to then find money somewhere else for capital works would be near impossible,” Mr Balderas said.
“To ask members to fund capital works on a facility that’s not theirs, that they just get to use, is quite ridiculous.”
Consultants developed the recreation strategy modelled on a similar scheme at Glen Eira City Council, which has 45 sporting fields in some of Victoria’s wealthiest suburbs.
Surf Coast Shire officers and councillors are under instruction not to speak to the Independent.