AN independent review of Frankston Council’s handling of negotiations over a new lease for the Frankston Basketball Stadium has been ruled out of bounds while negotiations remain deadlocked.
Frankston mayor Cr Brian Cunial used his mayoral casting vote at last Monday’s public council meeting to stop the commencement of an audit of “the processes and negotiations of the Frankston Basketball Association building extension project” after councillors voted 4-4 on Cr Glenn Aitken’s notice of motion calling for an immediate review.
The mayor said the Frankston & District Basketball Association have been “very difficult to deal with” during lease negotiations.
“They don’t want any rent reviews,” Cr Cunial said.
Lawyers for council and the association are involved in lease negotiations and Sport and Recreation Victoria, a state Department of Human Services department body, is a party to talks between council and the FDBA.
It is understood that council and the association are now looking at annual lease payments of about $60,000 each year plus an additional $20,000 after stage one works to install four new courts taking the total number of basketball courts at the stadium to ten.
The association had previously accused council of “double dipping” by effectively wanting to raise rent to about $130,000 annually alongside $1 million of association members’ money being pitched in to the stadium upgrade.
Council initially committed $4 million of ratepayers’ money, increased to $5 million last month when council waived the association’s $1 million contribution offer, to the expansion.
The project also has $2.5 million of state government money and $5.2 million of federal government money from taxpayers.
Cr Cunial said he would support a review of the lease negotiations after a deal is agreed if that is supported by councillors in future.
He said it is customary for any mayoral vote to “maintain the status quo” and that would not include ordering an audit of the lease negotiations at this stage.
“I would prefer the council gets an independent party in to investigate this [process],” Cr Aitken said at the meeting. “Failing that, I would suggest the [state] government may investigate the matter of its own accord.”
FBDA president Greg Emery slammed the mayor’s latest public comments about lease negotiations.
“The FDBA is concerned that mayor Cunial’s comments may mislead the Frankston municipality into believing that the FDBA is responsible for the lack of progress with the current lease negotiations,” he said. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
