PLANS to build a new public jetty at the Patterson Lakes Harbour Plaza have fallen through amid a stoush between Kingston Council and the state government over who would pay for ongoing maintenance of the jetty.
The Labor state government offered a $120,000 grant late last year to build the jetty and replace the existing dilapidated docking area for boats but the money is no longer on the table after a deadline lapsed for council to sign the agreement.
Carrum MP Sonya Kilkenny said council did not sign the agreement and council CEO John Nevins wrote to the state government in May advising the jetty was “not in its financial or strategic plans”.
Councillors had voted in December last year to accept the funding but some expressed concerns about paying for the upkeep of the new jetty (“New jetty to be ship shape”, The News 23/12/15).
Council decided to establish a committee of interested parties, possibly including representatives from the community, to be responsible for the jetty’s maintenance.
Maintenance of the jetty was estimated to cost about $10,000 per year and Cr David Eden, who pushed for the jetty’s construction at the meeting last year, believed the Water Police and the Coast Guard could contribute too and bring the cost to ratepayers down to “about $5000” annually.
The jetty would be open to the public so all boat owners could use the new facility.
Ms Kilkenny said she would continue to work to find funding for the jetty and if council had accepted the $120,000 grant before a February deadline known late last year then it could have been built and the state government would now be looking at stage 2 funding.
Kingston Council did not respond before publication deadline to questions about its policy on the new jetty and progress on forming a committee of management as mandated by councillors last year.
“I will continue to work with residents and traders to build the jetty,” Ms Kilkenny said.
“Hopefully, Kingston Council will work with the local community this time around.”
Council elections were held last weekend (22 October) and the provisional results to elect councillors will be announced by the Victorian Electoral Commission this weekend between Friday 28 October and Sunday 30 October depending on the closeness of the votes count.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 26 October 2016
