THE Surf Coast Shire says it cannot and will not fix the problems with Winchelsea’s Leisure Time Centre (LTC) by itself but is still waiting on an engineering report to determine the best course of action.<\/p>\n
Local resident Tony Phelps submitted a petition with 620 signatures to the shire in July urging the council to finish the repairs to the LTC and re-open it as soon as possible, and councillors considered an officers’ report about the petition at their meeting on Tuesday this week.<\/p>\n
The facility, on the grounds of the Winchelsea Primary School, has been closed since May after the school noticed further movement in the floorboards from moisture levels underneath the floor and deemed the facility unsafe for use.According to the officers’ report, this was another recurrence of a problem that had tried to be fixed in 2017.<\/p>\n
“It is not within council’s power to re-open the facility”, the report states.<\/p>\n
“Council, via its insurer, has sought to assist the school in dealing with building failures in recent years.”<\/p>\n
The report notes the council has supported the school’s principal in liaising with the Victoria School Building Authority (VSBA), which, in partnership with the school, had commissioned an engineering report to determine the scope and cost of works to re-open the facility, but this has not yet been provided to the shire so “council’s options are unclear”.<\/p>\n
“Officers continue to assist the school to advocate for interim solutions to enable school use, at a minimum, to resume.”<\/p>\n
Petitioners had argued the shire could fix the LTC’s problems because the building itself and surrounding land was owned by the Department of Education but the shire was responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the facility.<\/p>\n
The shire continues to uphold the position there is an existing joint use agreement with the school and the Department of Education and Training about the LTC, which designates a 70\/30 split between the school and the shire for maintenance responsibilities. However, this could change in the future, as this agreement expires in December.<\/p>\n
The officers’ report states the repairs to the LTC could range anywhere from “low complexity”, costing less than $50,000 and finished within three months; to “high complexity”, costing more than $250,000 and finished within 12 months; to “full redevelopment”, costing more than $1 million and with an unknown timeframe as “VSBA commitment to redevelopment is unclear”.<\/p>\n
Cr Adrian Schonfelder said it was a real shame that neither the school nor the broader community could currently use the Winchelsea Leisure Time Centre due to ongoing issues with the flooring.<\/p>\n
“Council has been supporting the school principal in liaising with the VSBA to address the problems, and we currently await the engineering report, which will provide a clearer picture of the issues and the next steps,” Cr Schonfelder said.<\/p>\n
“We continue to work closely with the school and VSBA with the aim of seeing this important community sport and recreation facility reopened as soon as possible.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Surf Coast Shire says it cannot and will not fix the problems with Winchelsea’s Leisure Time Centre (LTC) by itself but is still waiting on an engineering report to determine the best course of action. Local resident Tony Phelps submitted a petition with 620 signatures to the shire in July urging the council to […]<\/p>\n