SIMON’s SERMON - SEPT 2020
Hi Everyone,
It has been sometime since we have provided an update but since then there has been a lot going on in the background despite the COVID-19 Stage 3 and 4 lockdowns.
Since stages 3 and 4 have been in place Brendan has been very busy with
Maintenance of the field so that when the restrictions are lifted the field will be ready for flying.
Putting up stronger fences around the ATCO veranda and Transmitter Pound. Rolling the runways.
Cleaning up around the buildings.
Taking the scrap metal to the recycler and gaining some funds for the club.
Constant pumping out of the pit.
Assisting me with moving everything out of the ATCO and taking down the solar panels following the ATCO sale.
This has all been done safely under a Permitted Workers Permit and on behalf of the committee I would like to thank Brendan for his great work keeping the field in good shape.
I mentioned above that the ATCO has been sold and removed from the SEMAC field. The committee looked into having the building relocated onto the new field but due to insurmountable difficulties with access to the new field and the difficulty with the relocation the committee decided it was best to sell the building. Thanks to Geoff we were able to sell the ATCO to Magnet Towing in Lysterfield for $4500 and on Saturday 29th August the owner brought down two tilt trays and two semi-trailers to remove them. With a lot of clever and careful manipulation by Steve and the three members of his crew they were able to pick up and relocate the two halves of the building over the course of the day. Since the ATCO has been removed Brendan has now also put the veranda to good use and has fenced it off so that items can be stored without the sheep getting in.
Back in May we received a grant of a total of $5500 to go towards the purchase of a couple of 20' containers to use at the new field - a used one to house the mowers and maintenance gear, and a new customised one for the cookhouse. The total cost of the containers delivered and set up at Mulch express will be approximately $12k. With the grant and the sale of the ATCO we almost have the cost of the containers covered.
Once the new field has dried and we get a track put in we will be able to have the containers delivered and set up on the new field. Once in place the plan is to put up a roof between the containers to provide a covered area to set up our planes and eat our sausage sizzles! The roof will also be used to capture water for the tanks for use at the club and for the watering of the field.
The clean up of the field was well supported on Saturday 1st May with our full COVID-19 permitted workforce of 10 working hard to clean up the junk from in and around the buildings. This was disposed of in a skip supplied by Bingo which was full once the work was completed. Our thanks to those who we able to make it on the day.
Our lease with the owner of MulchXpress was formerly signed on June 6th thanks to the work of Len Smerdon. Lease costs at MuchXpress are very favourable. We are extremely fortunate to have a sympathetic landlord and need to repay him by looking after the field as well as we have done at Bangholme.
The permit from Dandenong City Council required to operate at MulchXpress was finally received on 14th July after a huge amount of work by John Julian. Only John would have the patience to work with council to get this through! This also included a plan for the layout of the new field which was required for the permit.
John has started work on the CASA permit for an extended height limit which unfortunately requires us to write to our new neighbours despite the fact that this has already been done by council as part of the Council permit.
Last year our Bangholme lease cost us $13k which, thanks to Len’s negotiations, was a large drop from what our landlord was original asking. Our lease expired on 31 August and we are currently attempting to negotiate with our landlord to have the current increase of $16k for 12 months or $8k for six months reduced to a more reasonable rent. We will provide more details as they are worked out.
Membership numbers for the current financial year are in the mid 50’s (compared with mid 60’s last year) which is providing SEMAC an income this year of $11k. With careful management of this and the rainy-day funds accumulated by the club over past years it will work towards us getting the new field up and operational as soon as we can get dry access to the field. We have also received a number of resignations including Andrew Sill, David Shearer, Pat Caia, Richard Wiggan and Warwick Bates.
Under the club rules anyone who has not yet renewed has until 30th September before they may be liable for another joining fee of $100. The cost of the move to MulchXpress is expected to put a strain on our reserves so if you have not renewed yet we would encourage you to sign up as soon as possible.
Click on the link (green) below to see my video of the new field taken from my DJI Mavic. Enjoy.
Simon Bole-Brown
SEMAC President