Casey councillors farewell old civic centre in emotional video ahead of move to Bunjil Place digs
CASEY councillors have farewelled the crumbling Magid Drive Civic Centre with an emotional video.
South East
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CASEY councillors have farewelled the crumbling Magid Drive Civic Centre with an emotional video.
Councillors will move into the new Bunjil Place civic centre at the end of the month and Tuesday night’s council meeting, which was sworn in with a town crier in ceremonial garb, was the last one held at the 40-year-old building.
The video, set to the Counting Crows’ piano-heavy 1999 ballad Colorblind, includes anecdotes from Cr Wayne Smith about a former councillor who became stuck in the building’s lift and an officer who accidentally tried to leave the chamber through a cupboard then refused to come out because he was embarrassed.
Cr Smith said he had spent 20 years in the building and had seen many things in that time including the arrest of former councillor Paul Richardson in 2012, numerous instances of gallery members yelling at councillors, and a local singing group thanking them with a rendition of Hallelujah when a new community centre was approved.
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Mayor Sam Aziz said the building was particularly meaningful to him, when in 1986 he and his parents became Australian citizens there.
“It was also in this room that I had the privilege to have sworn the oath three times and elected mayor as three times,” he said.
Cr Amanda Stapledon said Bunjil Place was 10 years in the planning and would make council meetings more of a community affair.
“I have never liked having my back to the gallery; I think they should be able to see the expressions on our faces,” she said.
Chief executive Mike Tyler, who said he had spent 36 years in the building, said it was built when the former Cities of Berwick and Cranbourne were home to just 145,000 people compared to the 350,000 the City of Casey represents today.
When the building was commissioned in 1977 it cost $2.79 million and 1500 people showed up to its opening.
The old civic centre and library will be demolished.
The council said in September it is unlikely to sell the site and was looking at its options.
Bunjil place cost $125 million and is the biggest project completed by a council in Victoria.