Following on from a successful community engagement session on Tuesday, another chance for feedback is happening on Monday at the Portland Municipal Offices from 3pm to 5pm.

Glenelg Shire’s project planning and facilities manager David Hol said the first session attracted plenty of interest, particularly from fishermen.

“We had a constant stream of people … and had really good feedback,” Mr Hol said.

The huge project features construction of an inclusive playground and a multi-storey multi-purpose building, replacement of the old town jetty, improvements to the recreation and play space design, upgraded amenities, greater pathway connectivity, and the integration of public art.

“It’s going to take a number of stages and a number of years to develop (but) some of the elements we could see sooner (rather than later),” Mr Hol said.

“The playground will be one of the early stages, but we can’t just do that in isolation – there’s no point having an inclusive playground and not having the pathways. 

“We’ve got some ... funding applications (and) most of these are 50/50 arrangements, so council in this budget had money to match government funding.

“If there’s no government funding, we still have the option of using council funds to commence the first stage.

“That’s likely to involve the playground and pathways. The playground is still in consultation but once we get through the next month, if the playground plan doesn’t change too much, we’ll get to the next stage.

“I’d like to see it commenced hopefully in this financial year.

“The replacement of the town jetty will be specialised funding we have to apply for. But we’ve got the specifics and contracts ready, so if we got the announcement today, theoretically we could call for tenders next week.

“There’s a lot of conversation about the replacement of the town jetty. It will be a jetty primarily for recreation, for a summer walk, or a place for the kids to drop a line.”

Plans will be displayed at the Kyeema Fair on October 14. You can also visit yoursay.glenelg.vic.gov.au to say the plans and have your say.