Irrigation Member Update #2
Posted on: 20 June
The Irrigation Project Team has made significant progress since the last Member Update in
February. Toro & Rainbird, the two leading irrigation suppliers, presented their latest
offerings, which demonstrated there has been significant improvements in the technology
over our current system. A Site Survey was also completed by Ways with Water, the
external contractor facilitating the Design and Tender process.
Draft tender documents have been drawn up, thoroughly scrutinised, amended where
necessary, and finalised. The following five companies have been invited to submit a bid for
the installation of the new Irrigation System: A & M Watering; Superior Green; Smart Water
Melbourne; Shawcross Turf & Irrigation; D & A Irrigation.
Tender documents were issued on Thursday 8th June, with a closing date of Monday 3 July.(delayed to July 10th).
Over some months, the club has investigated funding sources including government funding,
bank loan, private investment and a member levy. Our workable options include a bank loan
over 10-15 years. Investigation of government support continues.
In order to service this debt, it is expected that a member levy will be introduced in due
course. The details of these options will be determined once tender submissions have been
received and the full extent of the financial requirements becomes known. There will be a meeting (date tbc) with the members when we have finalised the cost of the project and the funding model.
Lee Govan and his team continue to improve and maintain our course in top condition. It is a
well-known fact that the current system is many years beyond its use-by date (having been
installed approximately 50 years ago), and there is a false economy in trying to fix the
unfixable.
Think of the golf course as a very large garden. Without water, it will die. A new Irrigation
System is a huge undertaking and is necessary to take us into the future. The project is
exciting; it’s manageable – and it is imperative. The benefits to the club’s continued
development will be enormous.