Basketball stoush goes into overtime Neil Walker neil@baysidenews.com.au
Home sweet home: Personalised keyrings were handed over to new residents in the presence of their families.
Housing shared and supported NEW shared and supported disability accommodation opened in Frankston North recently was motivated by the “critical lack of suitable housing for people with high complex needs”, according to Community Housing Victoria chairperson Dennis Clark. “We are committed to doing more as there are a large number of people with a disability wanting suitable accommodation, not only in this region but all across Victoria.” The six-bedroom home designed, built and managed by Community Housing Vic Ltd, contains two semi-independent units. It will support six people aged 17-27 with complex support needs. Funding of $1.4 million was provided under the state government’s Innovative Accommodation and Support Initiative to CHVL with Karingal Inc which supports and advocates for people with special needs, securing ongoing funding to support those living in the home. Frankston Council provided the land on a long-term lease. The project is a partnership by CHVL, Frankston Penin-
sula Carers Inc, Department of Health and Human Services, Frankston Council and Karingal Inc. “Community Housing Victoria has been providing innovative housing options for those with a disability for more than 23 years,” Mr Clark said. “We have over 1800 people living with a disability in our housing across Australia. CHVL are pleased to be a part of this unique project which will be a terrific resource for the community. Frankston Peninsula Carers’ Berryl Gibb said a not-forprofit group supporting parents and carers of children with a disability was “instrumental in raising awareness of the shortage of disability housing with Frankston Council, and in initiating the project by lobbying [the council] to provide the land”. A common area including raised garden beds, landscaping, seating and a gazebo is offered for the use of residents and their families.
NEGOTIATIONS over a lease for the Frankston Basketball Stadium in Seaford remain deadlocked in the wake of a march by about 500 people demanding Frankston Council rethink a controversial rent proposal. Marchers demonstrated disquiet on Monday 10 April over council’s plan to raise annual rent paid by the Frankston & District Basketball Association from $30,000 to about $130,000 after a $12.7 million first stage upgrade of the stadium. It is understood that council and the association are now looking at annual lease payments of about $60,000 each year plus an additional $20,000 after stage one works to install four new courts taking the total number of basketball courts at the stadium to ten. Lawyers for both parties are involved in negotiations and Sport and Recreation Victoria, a state Department of Human Services department body, is a party to talks between council and the FDBA. A council push to review the operations and management of the stadium by March next year is a major sticking point amid FBDA fears council will try to “take over” operations of the building situated on council owned land. The stadium’s construction was originally funded by the association. The FDBA currently has nine years remain-
ing on its existing lease with no review. An increasingly bitter war of words has seen Frankston mayor Cr Brian Cunial accuse the FBDA of “holding ratepayers to ransom” during negotiations by “refusing a future council the opportunity to conduct and objective review of the rent payable”. Association president Gary Emery says council has not negotiated in good faith and the not-for-profit FBDA will fight to ensure increased costs are not passed on to families playing basketball at the stadium. “The council appears to not want us to be the custodians of the building. They want to take it over themselves.” Council initially committed $4 million of ratepayers’ money to the expansion to include four new basketball courts alongside $2.5 million of state government money and $5.2 million of federal government money from taxpayers. The association was prepared to pitch in $1 million of members’ money to stage one of the stadium upgrade but council waived this offer after the FDBA said council was “double dipping” its members by also tripling annual rent. Labor state MPs Paul Edbrooke (Frankston) and Sonya Kilkenny (Carrum) have called on council to resolve the dispute so the stadium upgrade can proceed. Children’s basketball games often need to be played late in the evening due to courts often being fully booked during earlier hours.
Frankston Times 1 May 2017
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