A MEETING has been conveyed for tonight at JJ Clancy Reserve at 6pm, with community input crucial towards the future of the opening brick wall gate at the ground.
A recent 4-2 vote in favour of making changes by widening the entrance point off Kellys Lane between the JJ Clancy Committee of Management stakeholders on June 1 has led to further meetings between the member clubs, however, it is the wall that has been a sticking point between various clubs at the reserve.
Kilmore Football Netball Club life member Peter Thomas says there can be changes made without the need to pull down the wall.
“They say it needs to be widened, that’s fine. The ticket box on the south side is not necessary, which is opposite to the brick wall, which can be removed or widened. There are alternatives but pulling it down for the sake of pulling it down, there’s history there,” he said.
“I’m a life member of the football club, and I was on the social club presidency for 10 years. Back in those days, we didn’t get any handouts from councils, everything was done from volunteer work, including the old social rooms that were pulled down recently. We built that from our own money that we raised, and same thing with the brick fence at the front.
“It’s the passion that people back in the day had. They spent days and weeks of their own labour and money to put up these things. You look for progress, but I see people in their great big four-wheel drives come flying through the entrance. If they pull the wall down, it will create a problem.”
Mr Thomas, while saying he doesn’t mind progress, says there needs to be a good discussion over what to do to improve the entrance without a significant cost to the history of the wall.
“It makes things a lot easier for the patrons too, you do have to go with the times, there’s no doubt about that, but to pull a heritage brick wall that’s been there for at least 40 years, why?”
Former Kilmore president Bernie Hede believes the wall should stay as it is, saying it hasn’t been a major issue for commuters entering and exiting the ground.
“Over the years, since the wall has been there, there hasn’t been one accident at all in about 40 years,” he said.
Kilmore life member David Saunders confirmed the club’s position wanting to keep the wall, while open to making small changes to accommodate entry.
“There’s other options that can happen, including retaining a large majority of the gate while still being widened,” he said.
“The club’s position is for the wall to be preserved as much as possible.
“In past meetings, since I’ve been the rep for the football club, I’ve strongly opposed it and for the club, strongly opposed it being knocked down.”