Kiama Sports Complex is getting an upgrade which could provide new opportunities for athletes and clubs. Photo: Region Illawarra.
It’s back to the drawing board for Kiama’s sporting facility upgrades, with council now looking to reinclude items and combine elements from three proposed masterplans, after many community members rejected all options which went on public exhibition.
Plans for the Kiama Sports Complex will be reviewed and reworked after feedback from the community showed dissatisfaction with the proposals presented.
One hundred and twenty-two of the 171 submissions received chose not to select a preference from three masterplan options created for the site, with an overwhelming 95 per cent of respondents against the relocation or removal of the skate park which was included in all plans.
Concerns were also raised that there was not enough parking, there were not enough netball and basketball courts and not enough female amenities.
Staff will now revise the plans to incorporate feedback to be presented to council later in the year for adoption, which will help guide a strategic approach to the future of the site and documentation for seeking funding opportunities.
But with the importance of the project front of mind for sporting clubs and athletes, community members and users group representatives Natalie Allen and Ryan McBride presented the idea to councillors at the public access meeting that a formal council committee should be established.
“This is a really significant project,” Natalie said. “It’s multi-staged – it’s going to have to be. It’s going to demand close coordination between council, government and community, and it will stretch resources and require discipline.
“As we work towards a masterplan outcome, the committee would also provide a consistent pathway for enquiries and information flow, and that’s going to help reduce duplication of communication and improve efficiency for both council staff and the community feeding back into you.”
Natalie said the project would involve the interests of many stakeholders, sporting groups and volunteers, and it was vital to manage those demands through consistent communication.
“The committee could provide regular bimonthly or quarterly updates to councillors, it could offer a formal mechanism to guide the staging, the funding and the delivery of the project over many years; it would streamline stakeholder enquiries and information sharing, creating a consistent pathway for council staff and community members to access updates,” she said.
“It would reduce the time and effort required from staff and volunteers while ensuring the community receives clear, accurate and timely information.”
At the council meeting following the presentation, when the Community Engagement Report was accepted, Kiama Municipal Council CEO Jane Stroud outlined some challenges associated with the idea of establishing a new committee, including crossover with the existing work of Kiama District Sports Association (KDSA) and internal council committees.
“I want to be really respectful of the role of KDSA, and what is in their terms of reference and their constitution,” Ms Stroud said. “That’s an entity that we actually provide $60,000 worth of ratepayers funds to, so I definitely don’t want to be standing on anybody’s toes in the KDSA.
“We also have a couple of our own committees that we need to take into consideration – the major projects and finance committee, I really think will want to play a strong role in that.
“We’ve worked hard as an organisation to improve our actual project management framework and this will be deemed a major project.”
She said refining the masterplan would better inform how working groups and committees fed into the project but a communication strategy was already being explored.
“Part of our project management framework for major projects is to develop a community engagement strategy, and we will actually bring that to council so you can see it all mapped out,” Ms Stroud told councillors.
“In the background we will start developing that, so we will probably create the bones of it and then sit down with KDSA and a couple of those other key sporting groups up there to make sure that they’re happy with it before we bring it to you as well.”
The revised masterplan is expected to return to council in either the October or November meeting.
