A LACK of commitment from the State Government to help fund a $5.5 million redevelopment of the old and overcrowded Jorgensen Park Pavilion is placing the project under threat say supporters of the project.
The pavilion is used predominantly by the Kalamunda Community Learning Centre and New Building Committee chair Ian Tarling urged members to lobby Premier Mark McGowan to commit to its election funding promise of $3 million.
“To date we have received funding commitments from Lotterywest for $2.5 million and the Federal Government for $1 million,” he said.
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READ NOW“We also received a funding promise of $3 million from the WA Labor Party prior to the (2017 State) election which was confirmed by our elected member Kalamunda MLA Matthews Hughes.
“However for the first two funding commitments to be fulfilled we need a letter of confirmation that the $3 million from the State Government will be forthcoming within the next two years.
“If we do not receive that commitment, the other funding commitments will lapse and we will not be getting a new building.”
However Mr Hughes said the pre-election pledge for $ 3 million was for a community hub in the City of Kalamunda, not the Jorgensen Park Pavilion project.
“The request for the Jorgensen Park Pavilion upgrade project to be deemed the community hub has complications in that the original funding pledged from the State Government for the community hub was not attached to the pre-existing timeline for the pavilion project,” he said.
“The State Government is working on the request by the City of Kalamunda for the funding to be allocated to the pre-existing pavilion project which is currently at an advanced stage of planning.”
Mr Hughes said he was working closely with the State Government, the Premier and the Treasurer to deliver on all the election commitments in the Kalamunda electorate.
A City spokeswoman said the current pavilion was ageing and no longer fit for purpose.
“There are fantastic plans in place to replace the pavilion with a new multi-purpose community hub to enable many groups to meet there as well as allowing the Kalamunda Learning Centre to continue to offer its wide variety of courses,” she said.
“We are now just awaiting confirmation from the State Government on whether it will fund $3 million of the project.”
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