Town hall revamp plans afoot

By Shaun Inguanzo
PLANS for the future of Springvale’s Town Hall could be shown to councillors by the end of April, with provisioning for major funding expected to be made in the 2006/07 council budget.
Greater Dandenong CEO Carl Wulff this week responded to concerns voiced by Springvale Central Ward councillor Youhorn Chea, who after the opening of Dandenong’s Drum Theatre and Town Hall has become frustrated that little progress has been made on Springvale’s own civic hub.
Mr Wulff said council was exploring options for the future of the hall, and while he did not divulge any explicit ideas, mentioned that the town hall would most likely continue to function as a ‘flat-floor’ facility to continue serving its purpose.
He said the flat-floor function space was ‘something we don’t have at the Dandenong Town Hall … they will complement each other rather than compete’.
Cr Chea this week told the Star that council should invest largely in the town hall, estimating up to $500,000 per year over the several year period of refurbishment.
Greater Dandenong mayor Peter Brown said an allocation in the 2005/06 budget of $250,000 had not yet been touched, prompting him to question what was being done with the funds.
Mr Wulff said the money would be used to replace and update ‘soft furnishings’ such as chairs, tables, public announcement systems, and other items used on a daily basis by community groups.
“It is not enough money to do any major structural changes or refurbishments, but it is enough (for soft furnishings),” he said.
Mr Wulff said he would not ‘hazard a guess’ at the refurbishment costs because they largely depended on the option chosen by councillors.
“The work council is doing will inform the budget and councillors on options to consider for major works they want to see proceed on city hall,” he said.
“One thing is for sure, any guess (on cost) I give you will be wrong…there are too many unknown factors to hazard a guess.”