By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Greater Dandenong Council is set to draw into its reserves to ensure the Dandenong Community Hub is ‘shovel-ready’ by 2025.
At an at-times heated 11 April meeting, the council opted for a single-storey design at the corner of Stuart Street, Clow Street and Sleeth Avenue.
It will be home to a kindergarten, childcare, maternal and child health, community activity rooms and cafe.
Outdoors, there will be a community outdoor space, community garden and childcare playground as well as a large retained tree.
The single-storey option was overwhelmingly supported by community feedback.
Cheered on by the public gallery, Cr Jim Memeti moved successfully for the council to allocate $680,000 of its major projects reserve to push ahead with a $2 million detailed design.
The project would then be “shovel ready” and more likely to attract federal and state funding ahead of elections in 2025 and 2026, he said.
The major projects reserve would be “reimbursed” using any capital works budget savings during 2023-’24.
“This will not affect our operational budget,” Cr Memeti said.
‘This is a major project in the city – that’s why we use major project reserves.”
He said the hub was needed in a growing, disadvantaged community, with similar facilities in Noble Park, Dandenong North, Springvale and soon in Keysborough South.
“My residents are telling me ‘where’s Dandenong?’
“Are we second-class citizens?”
Cr Rhonda Garad said the hub was “critical” for a suburb with high numbers of overseas-born residents as well as disadvantage.
It was an “intergenerational hub where all levels of the community can meet, learn, grow and connect”.
“That is what this hub is about.”
In opposition, Cr Bob Milkovic said a council report showed there was no money for detailed design in the coming year’s budget.
He said the project was going to happen, but detailed design should be put off until 2024-’25 – as recommended by council officers.
Also opposed, Cr Tim Dark said the council had to be “fiscally responsible”.
“I’m not willing to put this much ratepayers’ money on the line … hoping that we’ll be able to secure some level of funding from the state or federal government.”
He said he was “100 per cent” supportive of the hub but not in order to “raid funds and raid reserves” while projects in other wards were missing out on funding.
Cr Sean O’Reilly voted in favour, but questioned putting full-time childcare and kindergarten in a congested area near Dandenong Market.
“(Councillors) should have advocated for a bigger community hub in Dandenong, one with community meeting rooms.
“Rather than a smaller one that’s not as good as Springvale Community Hub.”
Dandenong Community Association spokesperson Silvia Mastrogiovanni said it was “great news” that the project was not “put on hold”.
“It was a relief that other things that would have put the project off course like combining it with the State Government Multicultural Services Hub and exploring public-private partnerships were now off the table too.”
The group will press for certain “flaws” to be fixed ahead of the detailed design stage, including a common foyer between children’s services and the community wing as well as a “significantly larger” playground.
Ms Mastrogiovanni questioned why it was going to take another six months to finalise the concept design, given community consultation was conducted in November.
“The concept design should be able to be wrapped up this financial year and detailed design started in July.”
