By Shelby Brooks
Two community committees in the hills have been folded due to a lack of volunteers.
Cardinia Shire Council will take over the management of the Mountain Road Recreation Reserve and Clematis Hall after it was decided to dissolve the existing committees.
The president of the committee for the Clematis Hall was the only remaining member and wanted to resign.
Clematis Hall has been closed to the public for the last 12 months and currently has no regular hirer.
Therefore, the hall will remain closed to the public in the interim and the council will undertake a maintenance audit and determine the best management options going forward in consultation with the local community.
As for the Mountain Road Recreation Reserve, committee member Andrew Morris said it had been difficult to find more volunteers to take the burden off the few who were devoted.
“We’ve had enough basically,” he said.
“The council has come up with a really good plan to maintain it with input from the user groups still so that works for everybody.”
The council has invested $26,000 to bring the oval surface back up to playing condition but has since been declared unfit for use.
It is Gembrook-Cockatoo Football Club’s secondary ground and is also used for Little Aths and junior cricket.
Mountain Road Reserve was Cardinia Council’s largest reserve (21.8 Hectares) managed by a Community Asset Committee.
Additional funds are required for the council to directly manage this reserve and have been allocated.
