Community sports clubs could be slugged thousands of dollars extra in annual venue-hire fees under a draft Brimbank council policy.
Clubs now pay a flat $160 annual fee to lease Brimbank’s 46 sports pavilions, 94 playing fields and 40 courts.
But an updated lease agreement policy, released last Thursday, could lead to fees skyrocketing for some clubs.
Council community well-being director Neil Whiteside said the new guidelines would bring fees into line with industry standards and help pay for the maintenance of sports facilities, which costs the council up to $2 million a year.
Mr Whiteside said local sports clubs had up to now had it easy and said a new “shared approach”
between the council and clubs was required. “Costs have been set at a very low mark,” he said. “Council spends millions of dollars on maintenance [on these facilities].”
The biggest proposed hike is for the exclusive annual lease of the Churchill Reserve social rooms in
St Albans at $5059 a year.
Clubs could also face a $2000 annual fee to hire some shared pavilions and a $1000 fee for some shared sporting grounds.
But the council will offer combined discounts of up to 80 per cent in some cases, including for new clubs. An eight-week consultation period about the changes ends on May 21.
Sunshine Baseball Club president Glenn Letts said he feared the increases could greatly affect programs.
The club could face an annual fee of $1500 to hire two grounds, while a pavilion could cost $3698 to exclusively lease per year.
‘‘It’s hard enough [running a club],’’ Mr Letts said.
‘‘Kids won’t play [if fees go up].’’
The council will hold two information sessions at the Visy Cares Hub in Sunshine on April 10 and 14 from 6.30pm.
