Recreation & Open Space Strategy Wagga Wagga City Council
15.2. Conditions For Use of Council Sports Grounds 15.2.1. Background Council has developed a document, Conditions For Use of Council Sports Grounds, that requires all seasonally allocated sports clubs/associations to agree to and to abide by as part of their tenancy agreement. Upon review, the document is reasonably comprehensive and covers most of the key areas of responsibility of both Council and the tenant group.
15.2.2. Proposed Additions/Alterations The following additions/alterations are recommended to the Conditions For Use of Council Sports Grounds. (Please note that the numbering below correlates with the numbering in the current Conditions of Use document). (Note: Some of the proposed additions and alterations will be dependent on Council adopting all or part of the recommended fees and charges system outlined in Section 15.1).
1. Duration of Season The current document in its definition of the “summer” and “winter” seasons allows for a 2 week period in April where no user group is allocated sports grounds. Presumably, this time is used by Council’s outdoor Parks team to undertake ground maintenance. It is suggested that a period of no less than 3 weeks be set aside in September for ground maintenance, particularly as this is the time of the year when it can be reasonably expected that most ground repairs will need to be made (i.e. following winter sport). Further, clubs/associations requiring grounds in September for finals matches or for training for finals matches, should have to apply for their use separately to the allocation of the ground for the “home and away” season (April – August). 3. Sub Letting It is recommended that clubs/associations allocated grounds not be permitted to on-hire or sub-let grounds, and that all requests for use of allocated grounds be managed by Council (as per recommendations in “On-Hire and Sub-Letting” in Section 15.1). 4. Deposits It is recommended that a security deposit be collected for each sports ground allocated, with the amount dependent upon the level within the hierarchy that the ground is classified. This deposit to be held as security against damage to assets and/or costs which may be incurred by Council for cleaning up litter. 7. Marking of Playing Fields All marking of playing fields shall be [insert] the responsibility of the user group. Line markings must be made with an approved water based product – no weed herbicides or chemicals are permitted. 9. Keys to Grounds and Buildings It is noted that the document prescribes a deposit amount of $10.00, however, the Council’s 2004/05 Fees and Charges Schedule nominates a key deposit amount of $63.00 (incl GST). Final Report.doc
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