Budget hopes for Wonthaggi
WITH Bass Coast Shire Council now on side, the Wonthaggi highball facility now relies on the State Government to show its support.
Specifically, the State Government must decide to fund the Wonthaggi education precinct in the state budget come May 2 if the highball facility is to go ahead.
Council voted to apply for two state grants to fund the highball facility at its recent meeting. These grants include $3 million from the Victorian School Building Authority 2016-17 Shared Facilities Fund, and $1.5 million from the Sport and Recreation Victoria Better Indoor Stadium fund.
However, the site of the stadium will be the education precinct, so it is crucial funding is made available for the new school.
“The facilities would be built in conjunction, so this was a crucial time for council to apply for funding,” Bass MLA Brian Paynter said.
“This facility could become the backbone of the community. Originally, only one basketball court was proposed for the education precinct, which was never going to be enough. Having the stadium built on the premises of the education precinct will be a huge asset.
“I am constantly advocating for the education precinct in parliament, and will continue to do so as much as possible. I believe the case is clear cut and the demands of the community are necessary. This funding will help this community take the next step.”
Mr Paynter said the news of council’s support was excellent, and the public was rapt with the outcome.
“It was a sensible decision that shows the community has a council that listens,” he said.
Cr Brett Tessari said he was happy with the result of the council meeting after councillors voted unanimously to treat the facility as an expense to council in the 2017-18 budget or the long term financial plan.
The cost to council is $1.5 million.
“It was a good result for the residents and I think the whole shire will reap the rewards,” he said.
“It will bring people in from all across the state because Wonthaggi will be able to host tournaments on courts that are up to standard.
“For now, we will just have to see what happens in the upcoming state budget. Hopefully we will be able to start our design strategy, and we could be seeing things start to happen as soon as 2018.”
Mr Paynter will be meeting with Shadow Minister for Education Nick Wakeling to discuss Wonthaggi Secondary College this Thursday.
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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Apr 26 2017. Filed under Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
