The latest round of Capital Development Grants was approved at the Tuesday 9 September Yarra Ranges Council meetings with a number of local recreational clubs to benefit.
Recipients have shared in grants totalling $181,040, ranging between $1300 and $30,000 to cover half of the cost of a project.
Billanook Ward Councillor Tim Heenan said it’s great to see good diversity of the $181,000 that’s being spent over the Shire on very worthy projects.
“These are projects that can only be endorsed up to $30,000 with the balance having to be undertaken by the club and looking at some of those projects, I know a little bit about some of the places, but certainly I have to hone in, zone in, or whatever the word is on Mt Evelyn (Football Club),” he said.
“The little players’ huts there, which I think were probably built in about 1923, and they’re certainly not fit for purpose anymore, so I’m very pleased to see that in my ward, as I am in all the Councillor’s wards,”
“If you’re not successful one year, that doesn’t mean to say you are not going to be the next year and it’s not an infinite bucket of money, so we have to make sure that we can keep it and rein it in when the time comes.”
Here are the projects that have been funded:
$1300 has been awarded to Belgrave Heights Tennis Club for outdoor seating area repair and an accessibility enhancement project.
$3750 for retractable shade blinds in the outdoor seating area at Yarra Glen Bowls Club.
$6568 for a safety fence at the Mooroolbark & District Miniature Railway & Steam Club.
$9070 to Monbulk Pony Club for repairs and upgrades of the cross country course.
$10,000 for cross country course repair and a water jump upgrade at Doongala Pony Club.
$15,000 for the replacement of the players/coaches boxes the Silvan Football Club uses at Silvan Recreation Reserve.
$21,041 for cricket nets resurfacing at Mooroolbark Cricket Club.
$24,311 for coaches boxes replacement at Mt Evelyn Football Club.
$30,000 for a court and seating access pathway at Montrose Tennis Club.
$30,000 for drainage synthetic turf works at the Kilsyth Centre of Excellence for the Eastern Ranges Football Club.
$30,000 for a digital scoreboard at Kimberley Reserve for the Chirnside Park Football Club.
Walling Ward Councillor Len Cox said he’s been going through all of these grants, and they’re all so well deserved.
“One in my ward, the Mooroolbark & District Miniature Railway, if anybody hasn’t been down there, you should, it’s just a wonderful spot, they’re open the fourth Sunday of every month, and it’s full of kids, and the little railway goes around all day long, taking young children around, and the kids just, shouldn’t say just kids, but the kids just love it,” he said.
“It’s just such a wonderful help to these clubs who really don’t always get the money that they need to improve their facilities and these grants give them that money and give them the ability to do what is needed for further enjoyment from everybody that’s involved.”
Funding was not provided through the program for clubroom upgrades and security lighting at Hoddles Creek Cricket Club (security lighting will be delivered by the Minor Works team), for a disability-accessible ramp at the 1st Selby Scouts Group (Council exploring alternative ays to support full DDA compliance), clubroom upgrades at Upwey South Tennis Club and kitchen upgrades and blinds at Wesburn Junior Football Club (alternative funding for kitchen upgrades, blinds to be done by Minor Works team).
Lyster Ward Councillor Peter McIlwain and Streeton Ward Councillor Jeff Marriott were also both positive about the impacts of the program.
“I think this is one of the most successful things that Council does, what we’re able to do is mobilise the energy in our community for outcomes that, you know, if you look at it, measure way beyond just the dollar value…it has impacts right across the board in terms of community engagement, health and wellbeing, even environmental outcomes if we’re talking about community grants,” Cr McIlwain said.
“When we’re looking at a lot of the budget expenses and considerations of what we talk about on council, these aren’t huge amounts… I remember we got a $1,200 grant for the purchase of life jackets in our scout group back in 1986 and that made a huge difference to our program,” Cr Marriott said.
