Funding for run-down pavilion

By Rebecca Fraser
A ‘TIRED’ Narre Warren North sports pavilion is finally getting some much-needed attention.
Casey deputy mayor Rob Wilson visited Kalora Park Reserve on Tuesday to present the sports clubs who call the ground home with a cheque for $5000.
The funds, from the council’s mid-year budget allocation of $20,000, will help fund some long-awaited renovation works at the dilapidated facility.
In February, the presidents of the Narre Warren Football Club and Narre North Foxes Junior Football Club called on council to repair the well-worn facility and Cr Wilson has also been vocal about the need to repair and update the facility.
Cr Wilson said the money would help tidy up facilities in the sports facility and he was hopeful that more funds from council’s maintenance budget would soon be spent on upgrading the Fox Road clubrooms.
The funding will help pay for the men’s toilets to be updated so senior players no longer have to use toilets designed for children and the women’s toilets will also be refurbished.
In February, Narre Warren Football Club president Kim McGill said he had been involved in the club since ‘day dot’ and had not seen any major improvements to the social or clubrooms for the past 20 or 25 years.
He said the clubrooms were really unworkable and the club has obviously outgrown the facilities.
Mr McGill labelled the canteen a ‘health hazard’.
This week he said he was pleased to see the reserve receiving some attention and he hoped council would allocate more funds in their May budget allocations to expand and improve the club’s netball facilities.
Mr McGill said the canteen would also soon be upgraded and he was hopeful that more funding would become available to pay for new lights on the pavilion side of the ground and a new line-marking machine could be purchased.
Cr Wilson said the reserve’s canteen also required urgent expansion to cater for the hoards of spectators the club attracted to each home game.
“Narre Warren seems to be the busiest of any football ground in the area and seems to have big followings at both home and away games,” he said.