FUNDING TO finish the long awaited Fingal Rovers Surf Life Saving Clubhouse was approved by Tweed Shire Councillors last week in what many locals believe has been a long overdue start for the Fingal Rovers.
Tweed Shire Councillors cast a unanimous vote to approve $16,700 (including GST) to supply materials and fittings for Stage 1 of the fit out of the club during Council’s General Meeting on Thursday, September 15.
The building is complete minus the crucial fit out which has delayed any proper use of the facilities and amenities.
The approval came at a tipping point for the club with Council’s conclusion stating: “the absence of these basic facilities threatens the retention of the patrolling membership base of the Club, threatening the sustainability of the Club and potentially waste the investment already contributed to the building”.
The Rovers will also need an additional $15,000 (including GST) contribution to supply materials and fittings for Stage 2, however those funds will come from the 2015/2016 Surf Life Saving Budget.
It was a challenging start to the year for the Fingal Rovers who without a complete clubhouse have still managed to operate and maintain a membership base. Council’s discussion notes recognised the vital nature of finishing the Rover’s Club.
“It is to the benefit of Council and the community to have strong, sustainable surf life saving clubs operating within the Shire,” the document reads.
“Council’s partnership with surf life saving clubs in the Tweed Shire has been to provide support to develop the clubs to a level where they are sustainable, and then coordinate the volunteer services with Council’s contract lifeguard services to optimise the level of service provided to the community with available resources.
“Fingal Rovers Surf Life Saving Club faces unique challenges to other surf life saving clubs in Tweed Shire in that it relies heavily on ‘out of Shire’ members to provide volunteer lifeguard services.
“Without the provision of basic member facilities, the Club is challenged in recruiting and retaining the support of both local and travelling members.”
Fingal Rovers Surf Life Saving Club president Steve Kudzius (pictured inset below) said the clubhouse should be completed by February 2017.
“With the growing demand on surf lifesavers and the critically low number of patrolling members at Fingal, having the completion of the surf club within the foreseeable future gives hope that new members will join,” he said.
“We are expecting to have the much needed toilets and showers completed in another two weeks. The remainder of the works will continue on and an expected finish date of late February 2017 for the remainder of the works.”
Mr Kudzius said the Rovers were putting out an “urgent call for anyone that wants to get involved at Fingal surf lifesaving club to come forward”.
“There are many ways to get involved from assisting with running raffles and sausage sizzles to being a patrolling member. We will be running a bronze training in the coming months so please get in contact with me,” he said.
To find out more email president@fingalroversslsc.com.au or follow Fingal Rovers Facebook page and use the links to join or message the club.
Meanwhile, the Fingal Rovers will host their 2016 Annual General Meeting on Saturday October 15 at 4pm (NSW time) at Fingal Rovers Clubhouse.
A notice and copy of the agenda has been posted out to all members. Join online here: https://sls.com.au/join/
The club is also looking for new people to join its Executive and Management Committees. Anyone interested in getting involved with the club behind the scenes can download the agenda and list of available positions, along with a nomination form from the website: http://fingalroversslsc.com.au/programs/