Yesterday, the South Otago Athletics Club, based at Balclutha’s Centennial Park since 1965, sent a formal letter of complaint to the Clutha District Council regarding the council’s meeting on February 20.
During that meeting, the council voted 9-5 against reviewing a long-standing plan by the Clutha Parks Trust to build a pump track at the park, on a site also used by the athletics club for training.
The club went into recess from 2016-20, during which time the council and trust made plans to develop the area, which also includes the athletic clubrooms.
The club had asked the council to pause plans for the pump track while it considered allowing it to integrate a 400m running track into the space.
In its complaint, the club said it was "appalled" by council "bias" and accused it of engaging in "unfair" process in making its decision.
The letter said a conflict of interest existed as three councillors had been, or remained, on the parks trust, and could not be expected to vote impartially.
It named them as Crs Ken Payne, Alison Ludemann and Wayne Felts.
"Given their prior involvement with the parks trust, it is difficult to see how they could have made impartial decisions on the matter at hand. Their involvement in the vote ultimately resulted in a decision that benefited the [trust], raising serious concerns about the fairness and transparency of the decision-making process.
"We are appalled by the lack of fairness."
The letter also said the council had not given the club a reasonable hearing, and suggested its decision was predetermined.
"The council was made aware of our concerns during the December meeting. Despite this, none of the Balclutha representatives made any effort to engage with the athletics club.
"No councillor reached out to us, accepted our invitation to observe our club activities on a Tuesday night, or took the time to communicate with us in any meaningful way."
Yesterday, club president Veronica Paulin said the letter was a formal registration of its complaint, and the club would not rule out escalating matters to the ombudsman, if required.
"The letter explains how we and the South Otago athletics community felt about this process, which was completely unfair.
"We’re still seeking a new ground for our club, and council is involved in that process, so we’ll see how they respond to this letter, and take it from there."
The council said it would not comment on the complaint until it had been investigated.
