Barrabool lives on! (with our help)

[Barra]

As secretary of the SMCC (Sporting Motor Cycle Club) I thought for those wondering an update on Barrabool is due.

Barrabool has now closed following an agreement between the owners (MA) and the neighbours. The land we call McAdam Park will soon be up for sale (3 lots of approx. 100 acres).
The agreement was / is a voluntary agreement by MA - the land and the SMCC retains the legal existing use rights for motorcycling until the end of 2017 and the only real reason it will be lost is because the SMCC can not afford to buy Lot 1 which is the block with the track on it.

MA must sell because of financial reasons - the club understands this, but for us that is not the issue. Keeping our home of 54 years is the issue - we want to keep Barrabool so in future we can run grass roots and vintage events but with an eye to the future through keeping the noise down. We know we can do this if we had a chance. We know, as a club (without MA involvement), we have a very good case to resolve issues with the local community.

MA will soon be putting out tenders on all 3 lots. They sold for approx. $1M each in 2009, anyones guess as to todays price but it wont be far off. The stories of subdivision are bullshit - no farm land in the shire can be subdivided into less than 100 acres. Anyone from anywhere in Australia buying these blocks can not lose as the views over Geelong, the bay and Melbourne are simply magnificent!

There are several ways Barrabool can be saved: 
1. MA can help the SMCC acquire Lot 1.   - A tough one! The new management at MA are a breath of fresh air and listening but legalities make it hard for them to alter the atrocious decisions made by the old guard at MA in 2014.   
2. The SMCC buys Lot 1.  -  Problem! Lack of cash!
3. We find sympathetic buyers to buy the land so that at least a window of opportunity exists until the end of 2017.

Option 1 is the best and the door is still ajar . . . . but!
The best option is a combination of Option 1 and Option 3 - we need motorcycle friendly owners for the other lots and for the club to get ownership of Lot 1.

MA still owe nearly $1M to the SMCC and Government which must be paid back if they sell. So even if they sell all 3 lots they must still give back nearly enough money to buy Lot 1. It makes no sense to give this money back (which was acquired through the clubs efforts, not MA's) when it could simply remain in the land at Barrabool which means our club could continue. Win, win.   With a couple more win, wins thrown in for good measure!

Just thought this information would be of interest to all and maybe spread the word at the Broadford BB.

Happy Easter everyone.       

 

[Gippslander]

Barra,  just to be clear are you saying that when MA sell all three lots for about $1 million each they have to give $1 million back to the Sporting Motorcycle Club?
And from that is it reasonable to say that the Sporting Motorcycle Club could be one of the tenderers and then have a round robin at settlement to keep the property? 
(and that sounds like a waste of stamp duty which on $1 million is  about $60,000  so surely  the transfer could be done "in-house")

[Barra]

Hi Gippslander,
Unfortunately all the funding raised by the SMCC and the government funding won through the efforts of our club was directed to MA, so they could be owners. (That is the point in history were it all began to unravel!)  Even though MA only came in at the last minute after the gov. funding was announced, they were handed around $1.6M of combined club / gov. funding.  Of that, approx half must be given back (to gov) if MA sell, they get to keep the other half.

The club is putting a case for our share - for years we were told "too bad, the money is gone", but now with new governance things we are at least able to have sensible discussion with MA.  So to answer your question, no the club right now does not have enough funds to buy.  You're right, in cases such as ours the stamp duty can be by-passed as I investigated this with the Minister some years ago - I have the letter in my file.

Our argument to MA is instead of wasting all that hard earned money by giving it back, the sensible thing is to keep it in the land. The $$ gap to then buy one block would be reachable. 

In this thread title I said "with our help" - meaning us, you lot, motorcyclists.  What our club desperately needs is for everyone to get in MA's ear.  Next time you bump into key MA personnel, MA board members or your state body councillors, tell them you're not happy Barrabool is being lost for no good reason. Ask them what is MA's business model - to support motorcycling or close down club facilities? Ask them to show you the documents that prove that VCAT said Barrabool must close - because that is what MA said. Fact is those documents don't exist as VCAT said the opposite, that MA should vacate and the venue revert to being a low key club based facility! But hell, the old brigade from MA would never let the truth get in the way of a good story!

The SMCC is more than happy to talk to any potential buyers, we could do with some new bike friendly neighbours!
   

[bazza]

Sell 2 lots
re pay debt
Sell track but
lease and keep track part of sale agreement??

How many junkets have MA staff had while they were in this mess?

[KTM47]

I'm not in Victoria so don't know all the ins and outs, but is there a chance to get some help from M/CVic?

[Barra]

KTM47 yes MV have expressed interest in helping save Barrabool but time is running out . . . . ??

[Gippslander]

hello Barra, thanks for that explanation.
Makes me wonder whether or not the club should be making representations to the government so that the government can "leave the money where the original grant was intended to go", and that should be achievable because you not asking the government to spend any money to just asking them to assist in keeping the money where they originally wanted it to go – and given the political scene down Geelong way perhaps the government would be keen to help because as I understand the local seats in that area are always on a knife edge.
Also – the local gun club here in Sale/Gippsland – the field and game of which I am a member – has just received a $100,000 grant from the Labor government to assist in improvements to the local shotgun range, so the government can help and they do have their hand in the pocket at the moment so perhaps just as much effort needs to be put to them as is being put to MA

[Nathan S]

What bazza said.
What gippslander said.

It really sounds like MA screwed the pooch on this one.

[Barra]

Thanks guys. Yes that is the logical solution to retain Lot 1 / talk to pollies etc.;  but there is a further complication - MA has 'committed' jointly with local councils to find an alternate site somewhere around Geelong. This is stymieing any discussion with pollies /councils about getting Barrabool back.  A land study is being conducted by City of Geelong which has been running for 12 months now - no suitable land has been identified and none in sight.  While all this time wasting is going on Barrabool will soon be sold and then we will all be left looking the fools as TWO horses will have bolted and our region of 300,000 people will have no legal track whatsoever! 

The only option left for MA then is to give the government back its money - what a great outcome after our 10 year battle to save Barrabool! No money, no track.

The ONLY way to avoid disaster is for MOTORCYCLISTS to convince MA to hold onto Lot 1 until such time as things settle down.  Our club cannot do this alone. We need help.

The purpose of this thread is to educate everyone so that you will feel inclined to LOBBY MA to do the right thing.  Because in the end MA could achieve their outcome of recouping money and motorcyclists will be able to continue riding Barrabool - if sense prevails. 

Who's in for it? 

   

[KTM47]

Sorry I hate to say this but it seems to me it is a MV fight.  Get them to help.

Keeping one block doesn't solve things if the buyers of the two other blocks don't want you there.

[Barra]

MA. MV. The responsibility lies with both.

Neither will act if no-one says anything.  Riding spots like Barrabool really belong to the people - say nothing, get nothing.   

[Gippslander]

Barra, is it correct to say that the land has "long user rights" for a certain number of club meetings a year (a form of de facto planning permission) which means if the club retained the block where the track is but the other two blocks were sold off to private buyers then those private buyers could not stop the club running that certain number of club meetings a year?
  If that is the case then it's easy to understand why MA do not want the club to retain the one block under any circumstances because it would greatly devalue those two neighbouring blocks, perhaps by as much as 25% – a total of say $500,000 if the purchaser knows that next door to them is an ongoing motorcycle race track.
(a fine old mess!)

[Barra]

That's pretty right, but MA has a responsibility toward motorcycling and our club. At what cost does supporting motorcycling come?

[Nathan S]

The more I read, the more it feels like there must be certain individuals within MA who should resign.

[Rossvickicampbell]

I think the entire board was changed out Nathan - can't get much more brutal than that.