Western Port
Features inside
Western Port
realestate 23 July 2013
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WESTERN PORT SCOREBOARD
PAGES 65–67
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Daybreak THE early morning sky over Hastings often presents a picture of peace and tranquility, and Wednesday 17 July was no exception. The reflected colours of the sky were a reminder of nature’s beauty after a torrid weekend that had left the town in shock and mourning the loss of jeweller Dermot O’Toole. The search for the robber who allegedly stabbed Mr O’Toole and his wife Bridget began at about 5pm on Friday and ended the following day with the arrest and charging of a 26-year-old Crib Point man. Police last week offered counselling for shocked residents as family members prepared to farewell their much-loved father. Hastings author Fran Henke, a member of the Cloud Appreciation Society, took this shot of the sky over Hastings Inlet just after 7am. A town farewells Dermot O’Toole on Page 5.
Cafe padlocked By Keith Platt THE Waterfront Cafe near Hastings pier closed for business last Tuesday. The doors were locked and the entrance sealed by a padlocked steel chain. The cafe is part of the financially stressed Pelican Park Recreation Centre and customers from the swimming pool and gymnasium were unable to buy after-workout coffees or breakfasts. Waterfront Cafe proprietor Scott Elks said he called in receivers and locked up the cafe after being unable to reach agreement with the building’s
owner, Mornington Peninsula Shire, to reassign his lease. The dispute has led to the loss of four full-time jobs and six to 10 casual positions. Mr Elks said health problems and flagging sales had left him no option but to leave the business, which he had been running since last July. His plan to hand control of the cafe to its chef Patrick Jacob had been rejected by the shire. Mr Elks believes he has the right to reassign the 20-year lease (five years with ongoing five-year options). He said his repeated pleas to coun-
cil officers for a reduction in the more than $8000 a month rent had fallen on deaf ears. He had “invested” $70,000 in the cafe, “which I don’t expect to get back”. The balance of a $30,000 bond and liquidated assets should cover rent owing as well as staff payouts, Mr Elks said. A series of meetings and exchange of emails with the shire’s recreation and leisure manager Peter Gore and property and valuations manager Yasmin Woods since January failed to find a way for Mr Elks to make a shire-sanctioned exit.
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ness is now in liquidation.” Mr Elks said the cafe’s interior had been “left clean and tidy; we were preparing for a health inspection”. “I feel terrible and am disgusted with the council. “The council always said [by having a cafe at Pelican Park] it was acting in the best interests of the community. But is this in the community’s best interests? “The staff have lost their jobs and the cafe is closed when it could have gone to a local person.” The shire did not respond when asked for comment by The News.
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“I often left messages and they didn’t get back to me,” he said. The final straw came last Monday when Mr Elks was expecting the matter to be decided by councillors. “But it was not listed on any agenda and that’s what tipped me over the edge,” he said. “I always try to work with people and find a solution, but it’s obvious the officers at council have a completely different agenda. “I called my lawyer and then called the liquidator to arrange removal of equipment owned by my business. “I’ve closed the doors and the busi-
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