A DECISION by Kingston councillors to split three licences held by the Pompei family estate has failed to quell troubled waters at Mordialloc Creek.
After a long-running expression of interest campaign councillors decided last month to award a Pompei’s Landing licence for a slipway and boat maintenance area to Leon Pompei and a boat ramp licence to the Mordialloc Boating and Angling Club (‘Pompei creek leases by councillors’, The News 25/2/15).
Council will take over a third licence for moorings in the area.
Mr Pompei, son of the late “Mr Mordialloc” Jack Pompei, said he is unhappy at council’s decision to effectively take two licences out of his family’s hands.
His business plan for the area submitted to council outlined a proposal for apprentices to learn boat building in partnership with the Boating Industry Association of Victoria and GoTAFE.
“My business plan created jobs,” Mr Pompei said.
“They [council] don’t have the authority to do what they’re doing.”
He said he will take his concerns to the state government and is taking legal action against Kingston Council.
Kingston mayor Cr Geoff Gledhill said he, councillors Rosemary West, Ron Brownlees and council CEO John Nevins had met with all stakeholders at the creek last week to “walk through” council’s decision on the three licences.
“We had a general chat and we’re at pains to emphasis that if someone wants to use the ramp to pull a boat out that has to be fixed then they can do that … or put a boat in to go fishing,” Cr Gledhill said.
“We’ve got a long-term vision for that area [under the Mordialloc Creek master plan] and hopefully … they want to be part of it in the future.” Cr Gledhill said “there’s no hiding the fact there’s been disagreements there”.
“If we can make changes and facilitate an outcome that dissipates that level of disagreement then that’s what we want to do.”
Cr West told The News she had voted for “the compromise motion” on the creek licences as “it kept alive the possibility of a more collaborative outcome”.
“It was not because I thought we had had a fair or necessary process, nor because this was the best possible outcome,” she said.
“I would like to see the GoTafe proposal for boatbuilding apprentice training … given further consideration by council.”
Cr West was reluctant to vote “to take the Pompei moorings from Leon Pompei” but “this seemed a better and fairer outcome than the officer report recommendation for a winner-take-all approach, giving all of the Pompei leases to another party”.
Council is proposing the three licences are split between each party on a three-year term basis.
