WESTERN Knights Soccer Club has to complete a $250,000 upgrade to its Nash Field clubrooms to get a three-year continuation of its lease after August 2018 from Mosman Park council.
At last month’s meeting, the club wanted to clarify the clause in its lease that sets out a three-year, followed by seven-year and 10-year lease options, at the site.
The club has a Department of Recreation and Sport grant of $250,000 for upgrades at its clubroom’s pavilion and changing rooms.
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The upgrade was proposed after several years of often contentious lease talks between the council and the club.
Council staff said clarification was now needed about what constituted “major renovation works” and whether the proposed plans at the current clubrooms qualified.
The staff said the new work and its timing was consistent with major renovations in the lease.
However, because there was no date for completion of the work there were concerns about whether council staff would become the project’s managers.
“We’ve spoken many times about the Western Knights having a project manager, and I don’t want one of our staff entering that role,” Councillor Zenda Johnson said.
It was agreed that to be able to activate the lease the club must complete options the improvements by March 31, 2017.
The council will also establish a formal agreement with the club to set out milestones and criteria by which the project’s progress would be measured before the deadline.