In Council, business has become quite hectic of late with concentration on budget planning for 2024/25 and beyond being the major focus. Much consideration is being given to ensuring that proposed new projects and ongoing operational services are in line with Council’s Long-Term Plan and Strategic Objectives as can best be achieved. The management of debt continues to be a high priority in all budget considerations, and Mitcham Council’s conservative approach in this regard continues with the recent decision to align the level of debt assessment in line with other Councils for more practical comparison.

Locally in Gault, the proposed development of Mortlock Park and associated licences and leases remains the major ‘hot topic’ despite the extensive community consultation process undertaken over recent months. From community feedback, the main issue of contention relates to the use of the main western oval during the summer months by the Goodwood Baseball Club as part of its current licence. There have been several deputations to Council expressing varied points of view, the most recent on February 13 providing a Power Point presentation indicating the hours allocated to the Club within its current licence. The presentation indicated that through its licence, the Club had access to much of the western oval on most days, and in particular, on Tuesdays and Thursdays for training, and on weekends for matches. The point of the display was to indicate that from the presenter’s perspective, there were limited oval hours left for general community use and casual play.

Unfortunately, what was not presented, is that based on statistical information provided by the Club, the ‘actual’ use of the western oval area, is only a fraction of the total licenced hours, on average in the order of 42% over the past 3 years The Club has further advised that the total licenced hours requested are to allow flexibility in programming for the League, other councils and other clubs if needed. As I indicated through my comments after the presentation, I have visited Mortlock Park on many occasions over the past few months and attended training nights and match days. I have observed a few occasions when the western oval has been used for pre-match warm-ups when both diamonds are in play, but generally there has been more than ample room for people to walk their dogs or play casually and on many occasions, the oval has been completely free.

Council will be deciding on the options for Mortlock Park in the near future, with a view of maximising the value from State and Federal funding provided for development. The challenge remains about how communication and interaction with the local community can be improved regarding the actual hours required for Club operations. Equally important is to determine how the entire park can be enhanced and softened with more community friendly facilities such as seating, public amenities, shade cover, plantings and easy access. These are the type of suggestions which strongly and consistently came through the community consultation processes.

This article may contain personal views or opinions held by individual Council Members, and may not necessarily represent the formal position of the Council