Olinda Pool Update #10
I was invited to attend a public meeting at the Olinda Town Hall, regarding
the Olinda Pool. Members from both Labor and Liberal were in
attendance, MP James Merlino, Liberal Candidate for
Monbulk Mr Mark Verschuur, and Federal Member MP
Jason Wood. Jason and James both spoke and was surprised and excited to hear a
labor commitment of $500,000 towards the Olinda Pool. Thank you
very much James. MP Jason Wood also stated that he would assist with any funding
federally. Councillor and Mayor Fiona McAllsiter was also there.
Approximately 300 people packed the Olinda Town Hall to both listen and ask questions about the Olinda Pool. A majority of people there expressed their desire to have the Pool reopened to it's "original" condition and went on to talk about the historical, and sentimental attachment of this pool to the Olinda community. We heard from a number of kids who expressed their desires to have the pool reopened.
Mr John Faull "President" of the "Friends of the Olinda Pool" group also attended this "public" meeting representing the group. He spoke about the importance of getting a submission in otherwise council wont be able record your voice.
FMP Jason Wood also explained that he would like to see this pool/area be enjoyed "all year round" and not just for the 2-3 months of the summer season.
I also spoke to the audience explaining that I do get where they are coming from, having lived in a community a lot smaller than Olinda and extremely remote, as a kid the only thing we had was the pool. So I do really understand the attachment to this pool. I asked all to put their submissions in even if they thought the survey was "misleading" and explained there are other ways to voice your comments than just the survey.
I tried to answer questions from the gallery some of them were:
Q: Why did I vote to not support the last Olinda pool motion to "expedite the reopening of the Olinda pool?
A: First and foremost let me say that I will represent the community as a whole and try to voice a "balanced" view of all my constituents. This motion I felt was in haste, and believed we were rushing into something we didn't really have a good understanding of. In my opinion money would have simply been wasted and to me that would have been irresponsible as a member of council to waste rate payers money on something that wasn't a complete fix. I wanted to ensure the Olinda community had something there that would be enjoyed for another 50 years not just 10 and be back in the same decision we are in today. I'm looking out for the best interest of both my constituents and the wider Yarra Ranges community.
I went on to say that if the survey and submissions come back showing an overwhelming response to reopen the pool then I would take this to the council and express that!
Q: What are the year maintenance costs for the Olinda Pool for the last 10 years and where did that money go?
A: As you can imagine I couldn't answer this or produce documents to say where that money went, but at last night's forum meeting of council, I put this to the Director of Engineering and asked for this information within a week so that it can be given to the community of Olinda.
Some members thought I wasn't representing the community properly and I have taken that on board and will ensure I display this better to the community. As you can appreciate I also have community's of Monbulk, Seville, Kalorama, Wandin, Silvan and Macclesfield to represent and at times I may not get to all of you. But, granted, I can ensure I will display my efforts better.
The audience was asked to respond by a show of hands these 3 motions and 1 question they were:
Motion 1: That this meeting declares its clear and unequivocal support for the Olinda Pool Site being repaired and re-opened by the Yarra Ranges Council as a swimming pool facility.
Response: A majority of hands went up, but not all hands.
Motion 2: That this meeting request the council to make good on its resolution of 28/01/2014 "that council officers immediately investigate alternative methods of repairing the Olinda pool to expedite it reopening", and that this work be undertaken immediately to enable the pool to re-opened for the commencement of the 201/15 summer season.
Response: A majority of hands went up, but not all hands.
Motion 3: That this meeting resolve to host an "open the pool party" event in December to coincide with the commencement of the summer season at the pool, and to celebrate the pool's contribution to community life in the Hills.
Response: A majority of hands went up, but not all hands.
There was also a 2 part question asked of the audience about the what they would like to see at the Olinda Pool site:
Q: Would you like to see the Olinda Pool repaired back to its original condition and nothing more?
A: A majority of hands went up but not all.
Q: Would you like to see something else at the Olinda Pool site?
A: 1 hand went up, (from what I could see) but there was no follow on to ask what that person wanted to see.
Can I thank all those who spoke:
Narelle Everard (Chair)
John Faull (President of Save the Olinda Pool Group)
Andrea Mikulic and number of other kids (sorry I couldn't write your names down quick enough)
Tim Moore
Annette Muir
MP James Merlino
MP Jason Wood
Cr Fiona McAllister (Mayor)
Cr Noel Smith (Streeton Ward)
Liz Filleul
Janne Morton
The meeting has represented a considerable view of the Olinda Community to re-open the pool and has been taken on notice this response by me. As I said previously if the submissions and survey displays an overwhelming response for the Olinda Pool to be reopened then I will take this to council and voice this to the other 8 councillors.
I will post some further information about some comments made on the night in another page.
Cr Jason Callanan - Chandler Ward
"On a side note, as I left the meeting, I was accosted by a community member who was quite argumentative and resorted to insulting me, I found this unhelpful and somewhat offensive. I hope that this is a isolated view and not that of the audience there.
I am committed to ensuring I represent my Ward which includes many other townships, all of them having issues facing them. I try to ensure I give a balanced view and also voice the "minority" who may feel hesitant to speak up publicly and there were some who attended this meeting.
Approximately 300 people packed the Olinda Town Hall to both listen and ask questions about the Olinda Pool. A majority of people there expressed their desire to have the Pool reopened to it's "original" condition and went on to talk about the historical, and sentimental attachment of this pool to the Olinda community. We heard from a number of kids who expressed their desires to have the pool reopened.
Mr John Faull "President" of the "Friends of the Olinda Pool" group also attended this "public" meeting representing the group. He spoke about the importance of getting a submission in otherwise council wont be able record your voice.
FMP Jason Wood also explained that he would like to see this pool/area be enjoyed "all year round" and not just for the 2-3 months of the summer season.
I also spoke to the audience explaining that I do get where they are coming from, having lived in a community a lot smaller than Olinda and extremely remote, as a kid the only thing we had was the pool. So I do really understand the attachment to this pool. I asked all to put their submissions in even if they thought the survey was "misleading" and explained there are other ways to voice your comments than just the survey.
I tried to answer questions from the gallery some of them were:
Q: Why did I vote to not support the last Olinda pool motion to "expedite the reopening of the Olinda pool?
A: First and foremost let me say that I will represent the community as a whole and try to voice a "balanced" view of all my constituents. This motion I felt was in haste, and believed we were rushing into something we didn't really have a good understanding of. In my opinion money would have simply been wasted and to me that would have been irresponsible as a member of council to waste rate payers money on something that wasn't a complete fix. I wanted to ensure the Olinda community had something there that would be enjoyed for another 50 years not just 10 and be back in the same decision we are in today. I'm looking out for the best interest of both my constituents and the wider Yarra Ranges community.
I went on to say that if the survey and submissions come back showing an overwhelming response to reopen the pool then I would take this to the council and express that!
Q: What are the year maintenance costs for the Olinda Pool for the last 10 years and where did that money go?
A: As you can imagine I couldn't answer this or produce documents to say where that money went, but at last night's forum meeting of council, I put this to the Director of Engineering and asked for this information within a week so that it can be given to the community of Olinda.
Some members thought I wasn't representing the community properly and I have taken that on board and will ensure I display this better to the community. As you can appreciate I also have community's of Monbulk, Seville, Kalorama, Wandin, Silvan and Macclesfield to represent and at times I may not get to all of you. But, granted, I can ensure I will display my efforts better.
The audience was asked to respond by a show of hands these 3 motions and 1 question they were:
Motion 1: That this meeting declares its clear and unequivocal support for the Olinda Pool Site being repaired and re-opened by the Yarra Ranges Council as a swimming pool facility.
Response: A majority of hands went up, but not all hands.
Motion 2: That this meeting request the council to make good on its resolution of 28/01/2014 "that council officers immediately investigate alternative methods of repairing the Olinda pool to expedite it reopening", and that this work be undertaken immediately to enable the pool to re-opened for the commencement of the 201/15 summer season.
Response: A majority of hands went up, but not all hands.
Motion 3: That this meeting resolve to host an "open the pool party" event in December to coincide with the commencement of the summer season at the pool, and to celebrate the pool's contribution to community life in the Hills.
Response: A majority of hands went up, but not all hands.
There was also a 2 part question asked of the audience about the what they would like to see at the Olinda Pool site:
Q: Would you like to see the Olinda Pool repaired back to its original condition and nothing more?
A: A majority of hands went up but not all.
Q: Would you like to see something else at the Olinda Pool site?
A: 1 hand went up, (from what I could see) but there was no follow on to ask what that person wanted to see.
Can I thank all those who spoke:
Narelle Everard (Chair)
John Faull (President of Save the Olinda Pool Group)
Andrea Mikulic and number of other kids (sorry I couldn't write your names down quick enough)
Tim Moore
Annette Muir
MP James Merlino
MP Jason Wood
Cr Fiona McAllister (Mayor)
Cr Noel Smith (Streeton Ward)
Liz Filleul
Janne Morton
The meeting has represented a considerable view of the Olinda Community to re-open the pool and has been taken on notice this response by me. As I said previously if the submissions and survey displays an overwhelming response for the Olinda Pool to be reopened then I will take this to council and voice this to the other 8 councillors.
I will post some further information about some comments made on the night in another page.
Cr Jason Callanan - Chandler Ward
"On a side note, as I left the meeting, I was accosted by a community member who was quite argumentative and resorted to insulting me, I found this unhelpful and somewhat offensive. I hope that this is a isolated view and not that of the audience there.
I am committed to ensuring I represent my Ward which includes many other townships, all of them having issues facing them. I try to ensure I give a balanced view and also voice the "minority" who may feel hesitant to speak up publicly and there were some who attended this meeting.
By when he says "Response: A majority of hands went up, but not all hands" he is referring to over 300 hands going up and about 20 not. I don't think toddlers understand the issue so probably should be excepted from the count.
ReplyDeleteI suppose "over 100 people" is technically correct, given there were around 300 people in the hall - but it does seem very misleading. Had I not been there I would have taken "over 100" to mean around 110!
ReplyDelete"Over 100 people attended" How about 300 people?
ReplyDelete"A majority of hands went up but not all". How about an overwhelming majority?
Why so negative Jason? It was a positive experience for all, except for you maybe. It is OK to say "I was wrong" you know.
Maybe you are upset because many were criticising you for not representing us. But that is politics, you need to get over it and start representing us and defend our position to the council.
Cheers,
John.
"The meeting has represented a view of the Olinda Community ..."
ReplyDeleteTwo 'Save the Olinda Pool' members made independent head counts on the night and each arrived at a figure of 300. (The evidence is there in the photo.) This is quite an extraordinary turn out for a community that you acknowledged in your address to the meeting is a small one. It seems highly disingenuous then to suggest that 300 committed souls constitutes only "a view" from this community.
In all the work the Save Olinda Pool group has done in recent times - leafleting, speaking to residents, approaching store-owners - we have barely encountered a soul who is opposed to the re-opening option, and this was reflected in the attendance at last night's event. But from your correspondence, it seems that you are as much interested in this imaginary 'minority' position than the overwhelming voice of the Olinda community. This frankly is a serious concern.
Hi all, Im sorry if I have got the numbers wrong and I have adjusted my post to reflect what has been commented.
ReplyDeleteFirstly I would like to thank you Jason for staying until the end, even though you bore the brunt of the majority of the crowd's frustration. May I suggest that, as an elected counsellor, you are given a position of influence by our wonderful democratic system, which essentially means you get to make decisions on behalf of those that elected you. It can be easy to lose sight of that fact. You may consider Olinda to be a minuet in your electoral landscape, however I can sense this community is strong of voice and long of memory. I for one would not like you to suffer support at the next council elections because you were not willing to spend a poultry $100K to keep such a wonderful community asset. Thankyou.
ReplyDeleteCraig E.
Thank you Craig for your comments. You are right Olinda is a small part of my electorate but that makes no difference to my constituents in Monbulk or Seville! I try to represent everyone equally. Now people have told me that my responses at the public meeting may have been non convincing but as you said I have a duty to represent those who elected me. I will do this and ensure my community has a clear voice at council.
DeleteJason, firstly i'd like to thank you for attending the meeting. It was very good to see you in person and meet with the public. However, i do believe that you misunderstood the very nature of the meeting. Instead of saying "A majority of hands went up but not all", i feel a more appropriate phrase would be, "all but but 10 hands of the 400 attendees were raised"? I believe that would be a better representation of how the community actually felt!
ReplyDeleteAlso, you missed out on a crucial part of information. Jason Wood talked about reopening the pool as an indoor pool that would be open all year as you correctly wrote. However, what you missed was that after he finished his speech, a show of hands was taken to see how many people actually wanted the pool to be refurbished into that altered state. The result was around 10 or so hands of the 400 attendees.
Lastly, the fact that you said "over 100 people" attended the meeting is a total farce. While it was impossible to note with accuracy how many people were actually present, phrases like, "a packed Hall" or "so full that people were actually standing outside, trying to get in" are far more suited to your blog than what you have written.
I do hope that you were sincere when you said that you would take on board the position of the community as from what i can tell, and i'm only 16, is that the community is united in its resolve to get the pool back opened for this summer. We do not want a wifi park, skate park or an indoor heated pool! We just want the old pool back, restored to as it was when it was at its greatest!
Please take on board the suggestions of the pool because is you do not, then it may be said that your ability to listen to the community needs improving.
Once again, thankyou for attending the meeting
Thanks Jason for attending this community /public meeting organised by STOP..
ReplyDeleteCan you pleae ócorrect your blog re the "President of Save the Olinda Pool group" _ this is not correct. John had done a large amount of good work with Fotop not STOP..
I also note the negative tone of your blog and that this open public meeting may not represent the overall community_ I am not sure how this can be the case?
The number of attendees ( at an awkward time for many) was truly astonishing and unmatched on recent history in the Shire.
oc
Hi Oc, thank you for your comments. I have corrected the comments. You are right the attendance was a strong show of unity and I don't deny that. Im sorry if you feel that my blog appeared negative.
DeleteJason, Can you confirm that council staff have extended the response date for submissions and are aware of the councillors intention to support the early reopening of the pool. There appears to be a lack of communication to staff of your intentions.
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard that the consultation process will be extended, remember if this happens this will delay any decision of council on the future of the pool. Council officers are fully aware of my intention to support my community!
ReplyDeleteA recent meeting of Fotop and stop with a council staff member occurred and they stated they were still following on in exactly the same direction. Are you aware of this?
ReplyDeleteWhere was this meeting? Who attended? and also following on in what direction? Please email me this info: crjasoncallanan@yarraranges.vic,gov.au
DeleteMr Callanan I must have been at a different meeting to the one you reported on at Olinda Hall on Tuesday 7th October.
ReplyDeleteHow can you possibly say, originally, there were about 100 people there and that hands stayed down when the motions were offered to the crowd? This is a gross misrepresentation of what actually occurred. It seems you are trying to downplay what happened.
The hall was packed to capacity and people were standing outside unable to get in. There was a minimum of 300 people there, closer to 400 in my estimation. The three motions were, overwhelmingly and unanimously voted for by the crowd in a significant display of the Hills community’s intention. I did notice your hand didn't go up.
This meeting sent a very clear message to the council that the people of Mt Dandenong want the Olinda Pool re-opened and with haste. Among this crowd were business owners, School personnel, various sports club people, CFA people, the kids, the mums and dads and the grandparents. This is a fair cross section of the community.
I can only assume you will report your underwhelming and innacurate information back to the council. Therefore it is no wonder the council, with such misleading information at its’ disposal, is so apathetic towards us and out of touch with the wishes of our community.
Mr Callanan, from the way you spoke initially I believe you are a fair minded person at heart but is also someone who has become conditioned to spruiking the council party line. May I suggest you get a grasp of the reality served up at this meeting and properly represent the people of Mt Dandenong and not try and shove council spin down our throats. The people have made it clear. WE WANT OUR POOL BACK.