Do more with less … that’s the message from one of Wyndham’s newest councillors, who wants the council to do an inventory of all vacant and underused spaces in the city, whether owned by council or not.
Walter Villagonzalo, responsible for council’s new future focused economy portfolio, believes Wyndham should be doing more with what it already has before it starts crying over what it hasn’t got.
He said existing Wyndham venues, such as Victoria University’s trade training centre, which has been vacant for three years, and the former Melbourne University student housing on Sneydes Road, which has been empty for 20 years, should be re-purposed, not left to rot.
Cr Villagonzalo said other places, including schools, are not being used to their full potential, and could house community and sporting groups after hours and on weekends.
He questioned why new community centres and other public facilities are being built when existing, unused buildings are available, with only minor, if any, touch-ups needed.
“What can we do with the opportunities available to us now? With the resources available to us now?” he asked.
“We would love more resources from the state government, but what are we doing with what we already have?”
Cr Villagonzalo said he had already flagged the matter with council officers, and plans to introduce his idea for an inventory as a notice of motion at an upcoming council meeting.
Cr Villagonzalo, who migrated to Australia from the Philippines 30 years ago, was named Wyndham’s 2015 citizen of the year.
The father of five and grandfather of four has dedicated the past 20 years to serving his community, most notably as founder of the Migrant Hub – a social enterprise that has been running since 2009, helping newly arrived migrants find their ways into mainstream Australian society.
