Council meeting venue moved from Flinders to smaller Rosebud chambers
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council has confirmed a last-minute relocation of its Tuesday 20 May Community Council meeting from Flinders Civic Hall to the Rosebud Council Chamber, citing infrastructure and convenience.
The budget session, expected to draw significant community interest, was initially scheduled for Flinders Hall. However, Council announced on Monday that the venue change was necessary due to the Rosebud facility’s fixed infrastructure and greater car parking capacity.
In a public notice, Council stated:
“The Rosebud Chamber… is better equipped to support the comfort and convenience of our community including greater car parking amenity.”
Despite this reasoning, some residents have voiced frustration, noting that the Rosebud Council Chamber offers a smaller public gallery than the Flinders Civic Hall. Critics, particularly within the arts community, allege the move was designed to reduce the visibility of protests planned over recent changes to arts funding.
Mayor Anthony Marsh addressed the issue in an interview with RPP FM earlier in the day, warning attendees that attempts to revisit the creative arts fund debate during the meeting would be unsuccessful.
“The performing arts fund – that was resolved and adopted last week, so we won’t be looking at that again,” Mayor Marsh said.
Council recently voted to realign its arts funding strategy based on community survey results, replacing the former performing arts fund with a broader, community-wide model. Mayor Marsh defended the change as a transparent response to current economic constraints, insisting the money had not been removed but redistributed.
“The main budget is the capital and operating projects – paths, pavilions, playgrounds, drainage – all very important infrastructure,” Marsh said.
“We’ll also be dealing with beach cleaning, which has been under discussion for some time, and moving forward with climate emergency planning.”
The evening’s program will begin at 5.30pm with a community presentation, followed by light refreshments at 6.00pm. The official meeting is scheduled to start at 6.30pm and will be streamed online.
The meeting will take place at:
Rosebud Council Chamber
90 Besgrove Street, Rosebud 3939
It seems that this elected Council are really investigating Council obligations to ensure that ratepayers funds are allocated effectively for all!
Don’t worry about what the community wants, just do what Marsh wants, sack this guy