Rising floors, split floorboards and lifting walls – that’s how Melton Basketball Club senior men’s head coach Julie McCallum describes the Melton Recreation Centre
Less than a fortnight ago, home venue matches were cancelled because Melton council deemed the courts unsafe.
“This is the fourth time [in 10 years] that the floor has lifted on court one due to drainage problems,” Ms McCallum said.
“There’s a split down the middle of the court, a section that’s lifting away from whatever is supporting it and when you walk or jump on it, there’s incredible movement.
“There’s all this glue coming off the floors on various parts of the court, and Melton council has said it’s not safe to play on.”
Ms McCallum said while Melton council had “re-done” the floorboards several times, “they don’t fix the problem; they Band-Aid it”.
She believes there are drainage issues, which haven’t been adequately addressed by the council. Following periods of heavy rainfall, cracks begin to emerge, Ms McCallum said.
Two weekends ago when court one was deemed unsafe, the club was forced to cancel four games and rearrange its match timetables one day before they were due to play.
“It was just a logistical nightmare and we’re kind of sick of it,” Ms McCallum said. “We have over 1000 participants and we get nothing, no proper facilities. It’s not adequate for the population that uses it.”
Ms McCallum said many residents had expended “blood, sweat and tears” to get the club running while working with young people to get them off the streets.
But the club felt “betrayed” by Melton council. “We need to start making some noise and I don’t know what the answer is, but please give us some land, give us a grant or build us a stadium,” Ms McCallum said.
“It has to happen at some point.”
Melton council recreation and youth manager Adrian Burns said the council had replaced the flooring on court one three years ago.
He said there were no plans to upgrade the facility as it wasn’t a council-owned asset but was simply managed by council. Mr Burns said about $330,000 was spent over the past three years on upgrades, maintenance and utility costs for the centre.
“Council recognises the current growth of the Melton township and will consider the future provision of additional indoor court facilities in light of this growth,” Mr Burns said.
“The Melton Indoor Recreation Centre is now 37 years old and heavily utilised by both the community and Melton Secondary College.
“As could be expected of an older building, council receives occasional complaints regarding the condition of the facility, in particular roof leaks and issues with hot water, as well as comments about the age of the centre. Each complaint is responded to promptly.”
Mr Burns said prior to replacing the floors in 2013, major drainage works were undertaken, including landscaping works to the south and west ends of the building, and all drains around the building were upgraded.
