The meeting was chaired by Nambucca Valley Mayor Gary Lee and State MP Michael Kemp, with Nambucca Valley Council General Manager Bede Spannagle in attendance.

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A representative from Federal MP Pat Conaghan’s office also attended the meeting, as did several members of the Nambucca Senior Citizens Club (Nambucca Seniors).

Throughout the course of the evening, it became clear the Nambucca Seniors members were the only people in the room who believed the sale of the clubhouse was the best way forward for senior citizens of the area.

On several occasions, Mayor Lee and Mr Kemp attempted to get Nambucca Seniors Committee Secretary Vera Nichols and Committee President June Boag to agree to postponing actions on the potential sale of the building, in light of the injection of community support being promised by meeting attendees.

On Tuesday, Mayor Lee told NOTA the Committee had contacted him but had offered little to appease community concerns the building may be sold, committing only to “suspend advertising” for two months.

Nambucca Seniors offered to hold an open-day on 14 January and said they would welcome new memberships at the event.

One of the criticisms levelled at the group is that they have had a stop on new memberships for some time.

“But membership doesn’t pay the bills,” Ms Nichols shouted over the crowd’s mutters of discontent.

“All talk! These 70 people who said they would help, they are all talk,” she maintained.

The Mayor doggedly pursued a commitment for the Committee to open their books to new membership immediately or to suspend the sale, however it appears the way is still clear for a potential sale of the building.

The meeting was remarkable for the amount of Nambucca Valley community leaders present, many with decades of volunteer service in the local area behind them.

Representatives of community groups such as 2NVR, U3A, Lifetime Connect and the Orchid Society spoke against the sale and begged the Seniors Committee to reconsider its options.

Paul Coe, a past president of three years with U3A, spoke as a private citizen to remind those present that at least five members of an incorporated association such as Seniors would need to vote on any major decisions such as selling the property.

Without this the organisation would be dissolved and its assets given to other similar community groups.

“With only five committee members, membership could fall below five tomorrow,” he emphasised meaningfully in his prepared address to the room.

“I appreciate the upkeep costs of the building are significant and I don’t see any great competitive value over other facilities in the area,” he acknowledged.

Mr Coe suggested that new business models be explored and a subcommittee elected, warning the Seniors Committee of the possibilities if their numbers fall below the current five.

“You will lose control of the building and faceless bureaucrats will decide the future of the club,” he said.

Many new ideas for the space were presented including a permanent youth-oriented studio under the control of 2NVR and a space for Lifetime Connect to utilise to bring more services to the area.

At one point, Vera Nichols accused U3A of wanting to get the building without paying for it and there appeared to be several in the room who believed the Nambucca Seniors had acquired the building for $1 when in fact they had worked tirelessly to purchase the building in a process beginning in 1994.

Current U3A President Mark Bagster said his group of over 300 members was not interested in owning Ivy Pacey House, however said they were “prepared to pay to make use of the building”.

An emergency general meeting has been organised for mid-February.

In the meantime, community members are likely hoping that no buyer for the property can be found.

By Ned COWIE