By Callum Ludwig
Right in the aftermath of the Powelltown Football Netball Club winning their first Senior Football premiership in 33 years, the Powelltown Reserve could be set for a major upgrade.
Yarra Ranges Council approval was sought at the September 13 Council Meeting for the Construction contract for the proposed new Powelltown Reserve Community and Sporting Pavilion.
Former Powelltown Football Netball Club president Peter Podolinsky was a guest speaker to the motion and said he has lived in Powelltown for decades and is very involved in local sport and what it brings to people.
“The current building was built back in 1979, totally funded by local residents with the help of a council loan which was repaid. That was back when we had two football sides and no netball, and the way sport was trained and played back then was much different. Nowadays it is an atmosphere or place where people learn a lot about life and not just about sport,” he said.
“When the building was built, it was sufficient for its needs then. It has been used for much more than just the sports site with residents even evacuating there during the Ash Wednesday fires. We now have five netball sides and the building in no way is built was built to accommodate netball or female participation in sport and is outdated in many ways. We’d like to be able to have female football as well.”
The proposed building layout has been formally endorsed by external project funding partners, including Sport and Recreation Victoria, AFL Victoria, Netball Victoria and the Powelltown Club representatives.
Mr Podolinsky said Powelltown want to be seen to be creating a place where people like to be seen to be having facilities that are equal to what other clubs have got.
“The umpires room is very inadequate, it’s actually at the back of the change rooms of the home side which is all well and good when we’re winning, but not so much when we are losing,” he said.
“There are also the kitchen facilities, back then they just trained and maybe had a few beers after the training and went home but it’s become a real community little hub where we provide meals and sometimes have up to 60 people every Thursday night, and it’s difficult to do that in what we have.”
Yarra Ranges Council were successful in securing a $1.5 million Federal Government Local Roads Community Infrastructure grant to support the delivery of this project in addition to other grant funding already secured for the project.
Yarra Ranges Council Mayor Jim Child moved the motion as per the recommendation and said the Podolinsky family are a solid base beyond the community asset that is the Powelltown Football Netball Club.
“To be there on a Sunday night after they won that premiership and to see the inclusiveness of families, this was a celebration. I said on the night, ‘Here we are in probably one of the most remote communities in our municipality of a couple of hundred people and it is a drawcard in sporting and community events,” he said.
“To see what has happened there over the years with that can-do attitude and Peter is so modest about that. To me it’s, it’s a great outcome to have this written recommendation in front of us tonight.”
The project will source 80 per cent of goods, services and materials proposed for this contract from within Yarra Ranges Shire as per a commitment from the recommended tender Melbcon Pty Ltd. They also employ six staff from the region.
The motion was seconded by Councillor Johanna Skelton and was passed unanimously.
