PROUD and with a long history, the Hastings Senior Citizens club was first formed in 1962 as a social outlet for the elderly. To stave off the loneliness and isolation that often comes with old age. The club went from strength to strength, and a purpose built hall was erected for the club on Herring Street in the early 1980’s.
Facilities aged over the years, but in 2019 the club received the “wonderful” news that Mornington Peninsula Shire Council and the state government would spend over $1 million refurbishing and extending the building to accommodate Hastings Senior Citizens club and Hastings U3A. At the time the shire said the new hall would be “designed to support the community to remain healthy, active and independent”.
The club moved out of the old building in 2019 in preparation for the rebuild. They would be without a home for two years. The new “learning hub” was opened in April 2021 with great fanfare and a ribbon cutting (‘Learning hub’ opens at Hastings, The News 27/4/21). The mayor at the time, Cr Despi O’Connor, described the hub as a “fabulous transformation”. “We’ve turned a rather dated facility that was not fit for purpose into a wonderful community resource,” said O’Connor. “We all know how important social connection and lifelong learning are for our physical and mental health. Hastings now has a one-stop-shop that offers just that. This hub will help our seniors stay healthy and engaged with the world.”
The club’s belongings were moved back into the building, but soon an issue was discovered with the floor at the entrance feeling “spongy”. The shire investigated the issue and discovered black mould. The building was closed in 2022; a year after the refurbished facility had opened.
The seniors were permitted to enter the building to remove “items for immediate use” with the understanding the shire would remove all their remaining belongings. Two shipping containers were located in the carpark for the shire’s removal works but sat empty for 12 months. Eventually they were removed after never being used. All the club’s belongings are still locked inside the building and are assumed destroyed by the black mould that has infested the interior.
“We have lost everything,” said president of the Hastings Senior Citizens, Andrew Morton. “All these years of building up membership. All these years of building up the trust of seniors. All these years of building up the chairs, tables, pool table, kitchenware and other items we need to run a functioning club. All of this has been destroyed and the shire don’t care. “Council suggested we make a claim through insurance. The insurance company advised they do not insure against black mould. “All we get is council-speak, but no resolution. No solutions to our problems.”
Members of the Hastings Senior Citizens attended the council meeting on 20 August and tabled a question asking “given the careless management of the black mould contamination, will council finally take responsibility and provide the senior citizens with alternative long-term, fit for purpose, accommodation and fully compensate the Hastings Senior Citizens for their possessions which remain in the condemned building?”
The Mornington Peninsula Shire Council CEO, John Baker, replied: “The shire has been closely working with both Hastings Senior Citizens club and Hastings U3A to provide alternative facilities as well as ongoing updates on the seniors learning hub facility. “Discussions with both impacted user groups resulted in services being relocated to several facilities in the area so groups could continue to provide their services for the community. “Shire officers are in regular contact with both user groups to provide updates as well as support to the clubs.”
The recent launch of a performing arts centre concept for Hastings (First steps towards a performing arts centre in Hastings, The News 29/8/24) further disheartened the group as the concept plan for the precinct showed their building had disappeared and was replaced with a carpark.
“It is quite alarming that no one in council bothered to discuss that they had no intention of rebuilding our purpose-built facility. Instead it will become a carpark for the performing arts precinct,” said Morton. “We’ve had enough. We are sick of being treated as second class citizens. We’re being shopped around with no real solution, and by the time they have one, it will be too late for this organisation.”
First published in the Western Port News – 18 September 2024
