Dear Beagle Editor
Today was a very sad day, as it was our last day of dancing at the Batemans Bay Community Centre. Apart from four weeks over the summer holidays, we have been dancing every week at the Community Centre for the last 20 years.
It had ideal facilities, a good dance floor, clean toilets, a kitchen and ample parking. And the staff in the office were always lovely.
The council even came and photographed our dance class and used the photo in a brochure to promote exercise for the older members of the community.
Now, thanks to the Mayor and her gang, we have been evicted. None of the other council venues are suitable, mainly because the flooring is not suitable
Above: Mayor Liz Innes and Councillor Lindsay Brown at the Batemans Bay Community Centre on the 26th of August, National Meals on Wheels Day to recognise the dedicated volunteer workforce who stepped up to help protect the health and wellbeing of vulnerable Australians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Little did the volunteers of Meals on Wheels Batemans Bay know of Council's backroom intent to close their facility down as the Mayor, Liz Innes, presented vouchers of appreciation from BP Australia. The smiles on the councilors faces above fail to reveal that Council was investigating the potential for leasing the community centre to a third party and that they had been briefed on an EOI process.
The next time I hear the Mayor bleating on the radio about “our wonderful community” I hope whoever is interviewing her will remind her that she and her fellow councillors have ripped the heart out of the community, by their actions.
The Olympic sized pool is gone, the mini golf is gone. The children's playground in Clyde St West is now an accident waiting to happen, as the new bus turnaround and the car park spaces are now too close to the play equipment. The leasing of the Community Centre and the eviction of all the community groups that used it must stand as their “finest hour”!
That’s without mentioning The Pav debacle, and the Araluen Road mess.
I hope people will remember at the elections who is responsible for all of the above.
Yours sincerely
Heather Cox
