A STEERING group formed to help Frankston Football Club negotiate choppy financial waters says community support for the Dolphins’ continued existence is rising. Club record games holder Peter Geddes says the group is urging members and supporters to “keep your feet” and not stumble in backing the beleaguered club after AFL Victoria stripped its VFL licence for next season. “We have been inundated with a tide of support for the Dolphins over the last week and are confident that we can put together an effective business plan to guide us through the next few years,” Mr Geddes said in a…
Author: Neil Walker
THE state government has backed two regulators’ right to decide an upgrade to a children’s playground at the Langwarrin Hotel is “a social benefit” to be taken into consideration when approving 10 more pokies machines at the venue. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) in August overruled Frankston Council’s refusal of the Langwarrin Hotel’s bid to increase the total number of machines at the pub to 62 (“Child’s play for more pokies at pub”, The Times 19/9/16). The VCAT decision followed a Victorian Commission for Gaming and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) ruling earlier this year that also took into account…
DOCUMENTS related to councillor code of conduct arbitration hearings will not be released after deputy mayor Cr Colin Hampton requested they be sealed from public view forever. At last month’s public council meeting councillors voted for the documents and hearing outcomes to be brought into open council but a subsequent notice of motion at the same meeting by Cr Hampton stated: “The arbitration reports … remain in closed council indefinitely”. Crs Glenn Aitken, Brian Cunial, James Dooley, Sandra Mayer and Michael O’Reilly voted to release the documents but then backed Cr Hampton’s notice of motion ordering the documents be sealed.…
THE Saints are definitely marching back in to Moorabbin. Councillors at a special public council meeting last month unanimously voted to approve the planning application, after much debate, for the $28.4 million redevelopment of the club’s Linton St premises. The approval followed council’s decision to approve a 50-year lease at Linton St including an 84 per cent reduction in building rent (“Saints go cashing in with discounted lease”, The News 29/8/16). Objectors to the redevelopment of the oval and function centre at Linton St have concerns over increased traffic, the impact of lighting towers on nearby homes and the loss…
A LONG-RUNNING dispute over maintenance costs for Waterways residents has finally been resolved after Kingston councillors decided council will now pick up an annual tab of $310,000 for mowing and upkeep of shared areas in the suburb. Homeowners in the sprawling 46-hectare suburb that includes vast tracts of parkland and manmade lakes have long argued they should not pay for council services provided elsewhere as a matter of course. At last month’s public council meeting outgoing councillor John Ronke successfully proposed the time had come for Waterways homeowners to receive the same services from council as ratepayers elsewhere in Kingston.…