The planned development will span the whole block and be multi story higher on Station Street side and tapering down towards the back. It offers the opportunity to develop income streams not available to the Sub Branch at the moment and will help strengthen it to gradually lessen its dependence on gaming as the major revenue source. The proposal also means we will remain on our current site.

The proposal provides;

• A brand new custom designed and built RSL facility approximately equal in size to our premises.
• 100 dedicated car parks.
• Serviced offices/office hub complex.
• Conference and events centre.
• Retail outlets of approximately 200 square metres.
• Gym facilities and pool.
• Cash payment which will allow the Sub Branch to retire its existing debt which is secured by a mortgage over the property and increase its operating capital.

During the early planning phase the project architect and representatives from the Sub Branch will conduct a “needs analysis” which will form the design basis of the Sub Branch facilities.

The Committee has carried out due diligence investigations on the project and obtained independent advice as to the financial viability of the project both of which have been positive. In addition, the “Redevelopment Working Group” and the Committee have had extensive discussions and negotiations with the developers and analysed the project proposal as presented to ensure as far as it is possible at this stage to do so, it is a feasible proposition. As well, we have commissioned Charter, Keck, Cramer which specializes in (amongst other things) providing evaluations of project proposals to analyse the proposal and provide an independent assessment. This analysis delivered a positive outcome and identified a net benefit to the Sub Branch of $8.65M in fixed assets and cash.

The Sub-Branch has submitted a detailed proposal along with a draft “Heads of Agreement” (HoA) document that will be executed between the State Executive as Trustee, the Sub Branch and the Developer to the State President.

We continue to have discussions with the State Branch in its role of supporting the Trustee, and its legal Advisers (Williams Winter) to facilitate agreement on the wording of the HOA. Once this has occurred the developers can initiate initiate the planning and approval processes.

The matter of gaming licences will be addressed once the HOA has been approved and it is intended to seek separate legal advice on how best to proceed on this issue then.

The present project plan would see us continuing to operate during the construction phase although we may have to curtail some aspects at various times. We hope to be able to move into the redeveloped facility either late 2023 or very early in 2024.

We are holding back on any planning with the Maroondah Sports Club as this club is looking at its own trading operations and from our perception has stepped back from actively pursuing any form of shared future with us.

The Team members doing the detailed work on this project are all very experienced but the Team has the ability to call on external expertise whenever necessary. As well, the Sub Branch President and Treasurer are actively involved in the project. Details of the team are:

Des Myers – Working Group Coordinator

Des Myers was a member of the Victoria Police (Australia), with over twenty-six years of operational and specialist policing experience focusing on road and public safety, law enforcement and change management projects. He attained the rank of Chief Inspector.

Since leaving the police service, he has provided public safety management consultancy services in over 23 countries. He has held the position of General Manager for three International law enforcement technology companies – 2 in SE Asia and 1 in South Africa. He was Operations Manager for the International Red Cross for the Mekong Region of SE Asia and has also provided program management services for the WHO, ADB, UN and Save the Children.

He was a director (6 years – 3 years as Captain) of a Division 1 private golf club. During that period, the club undertook a complete rebuild of their clubhouse and the major refurbishment of the golf course itself.

He is currently providing public safety consultancy services – strategic, operational and tactical – to a number of governments, international NGOs and corporations. He is also developing Strategic and Operational Planning training modules for the University of Sharjah in the UAE.

Christian Bolog - Lawyer and Project Manager

He began his career in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in 1999 where he developed leadership skills and business acumen. Christian holds a five star Masters of Business Administration (MBA) as well as a Juris Doctor (JD) degree. In addition, Christian has a number of professional qualifications in Project and Risk Management.

In the past Christian has worked with Ericsson, Insurance Group Australia, Superpartners, Australian National University and DLA Piper as a Program Manager and consultant.

David Ridley BCom, ACA - Business Analyst at RSL Victoria

An experienced Commercial Manager with strong analytical skills and a proven track record in optimisation of portfolio businesses. David previously worked at Tabcorp as a commercial manager in gaming operations. He is currently a member of the RSL Victorian State Branch.

These team members are supported by Wayne Chisholm (Sub Branch Manager).