Cash withdrawn over messy track process

Andrew Mathieson
GEELONG’s council was tricked into committing ratepayers’ money to a dirt-bike track outside city boundaries, according to councillors.
They blamed misleading information from Motorcycling Australia for forcing them to scrap plans to spend $660,000 on land at Barrabool for a regional riding facility.
Cr Jan Farrell summed up council’s predicament in the first three words of a debate this week on the funding.
“What a mess,” she said.
Earlier this year council voted to give the money to Motorcycling Australia, which needed $3 million to buy McAdam Park.
Motorcycling Australia, State Government, Surf Coast Shire and local riders’ fundraising activities provided the rest of the funding.
Geelong’s council sought title over part of the site as a funding condition.
But this week councillors said they now had doubts over Motorcycling Australia’s business plan for the track, which projected annual profits of $500,000 and were angry to discover the organisation was a corporate entity partly operated 17,000km away.
Motorcycling Australia had also told council it would not have title to any of the site.
Cr Farrell said the funding process had been “wrought” throughout.
She also caned City Hall officers for failing to give council information about Motorcycling Australia’s involvement in the track bid.
Cr Barbara Abley said “alarm bells started ringing” when two eminent legal firms gave conflicting advice on whether council should hand cash to Motorcycling Australia.
She also criticised Surf Coast Shire saying it used local media to “drip feed” selective news to residents.
“I just think it stinks,” Cr Abley said.
Cr John Duoll said he thought Barwon Recreational Motorcycling Council would run the Barrabool track, not Motorcycling Australia, when council promised its money.
But Cr Bruce Harwood said council had made a commitment to ensure Geelong Motocross Club had a place to ride after kicking it out of Breakwater nearly three years ago.
Cr Harwood wanted council to provide an interest-free loan to Motorcyling Australia.
“We might be saving ratepayers a lot of money by not having to develop another (dirt bike) home,” he said.
Cr Andrew Katos reminded councillors the City was “not a bank”, saying the proposed loan would set a precedent.
Motorcycling Australia had not returned the Independent’s call for comment before the paper went to press.