Church sale finalised
A HISTORIC Golden Plains church has been sold to private buyers in the face of a campaign to re-open it for worshippers.
Contracts were exchanged on Thursday after the Uniting Church selected a Kangaroo Ground couple as the preferred buyers of the Rokewood church — one of six to submit formal expressions of interest to purchase the 155year-old building.
Charles Stewart agent Anthony McDonald said the Uniting Church took several days to decide on the buyer for the property at 60 Ferrars Road.
Mr McDonald couldn’t disclose the price, but confirmed it exceeded the mid$400,000 expectations listed during the campaign.
“It was a good result. They intend to leave the church basically intact,” he said.
“They may look at building some sort of dwelling at the rear, but essentially leave the building alone as it is.
“I consider that to be a very good outcome. The church is pleased with the result.”
The sale came as a new twist emerged in the campaign to stop the church falling into private hands.
Former Golden
Plains
Shire mayor Owen Sharkey has submitted a notice of motion to rescind a council resolution from an emergency meeting last week to write to the state government, asking it to compulsorily acquire the property and give it back to the original denomination, the Presbyterian Church of
Victoria, as a place of Christian worship.
Mayor Helena Kirby, a Rokewood resident, convened the meeting in response to a change.org petition calling on the council or government to stop the church falling into private hands.
Cr Sharkey labelled the emergency meeting ill-prepared and the resolution as fundamentally flawed as it didn’t meet relevant tests in terms of compulsory or public acquisition of property for public purposes.
He said rescinding the resolution would grant councillors more time to consider the issue, including whether it was legally possible.
Cr Sharkey said two councillors weren’t present at the emergency meeting (deputy mayor Ian Getsom’s phone connection dropped out before he could vote), and councillors didn’t understand the proposed motions.
He also said Cr Kirby should have declared a conflict of interest because she had promoted the petition across the shire.
At last Friday’s meeting, Cr Kirby said the council had a quorum, and councillors were allowed to share petitions that were in the public realm.
Cr Kirby, who operates the Rokewood Takeaway, said the petition was put in the shop and other businesses in the town.
It was reported that a handful of regular worshippers attended monthly services at Rokewood before the church closed last year, some who now travel to Cressy.