Kinder’s proposal fails to attract council funding

A LONG-awaited plan to redesign the garden at Torquay Kinder has made no further progress, with the Surf Coast Shire not yet matching the kinder’s $56,250 contribution.

The proposal – which will provide a universal design for all abilities, with a less structured and more natural sensory play environment with rocks, timber, and planting – was one of several projects detailed in the latest recommendations for the shire’s Community Project Development, considered by councillors at their September meeting.

The report’s recommendation, which was agreed to by the council, was that the redesign of the front area of the kindergarten be referred to “future project prioritisation and budget processes”.

Speaking during question time, Torquay Kindergarten committee joint president Melanie Walsh said planning for the redesign stretched back to 2012 and she hoped to see work at least start in the 2018/19 financial year, otherwise momentum would be lost when the committee changed over.

“We feel it is time for the Torquay kinder community to finally see its legacy come to life.”

In response, Chris Pike said the council had to “balance the worthiness of several projects with its capacity to fund those different projects”.

He said the garden redesign was one of 13 projects assessed as worthy but waiting for a collective $900,000 worth of council funding commitments, and there were another 29 projects still waiting to be investigated.

Cr Heather Wellington supported the recommendation but she was concerned that the community project process was “raising expectations that we probably can’t meet”.

“I can’t see any other pathway for these projects at the moment, but I think what we’re getting is an increasingly long list of projects that we all think are great and that we’re presumably putting a lot of resources into build up, looking at feasibility – and then they just sit there; we can’t do anything with some of them.”