MIRANDA RSL Club will hold an extraordinary general meeting next Wednesday to discuss leasing part of the club's premises as a gymnasium and the possibility of redeveloping its car park as high-rise.
The club went into administration just over a year ago after sustaining almost $1.3 million in losses.
At the time, creditors voted unanimously to proceed with a deed of company arrangement for the club to continue trading for 12 months while the administrator considered options for restructuring.
Club members will be asked to consider three resolutions at next week's meeting.
The first is whether part of the club's lower ground floor licensed premises should be declared non-core property.
A letter circulated to members said this would allow the club to lease out this section to a gymnasium.
The second resolution is to declare the club's car park a non-core property.
This will include the air rights and any building constructed above the car park.
If passed, this would allow the club to outsource the operation of the car park, including the possibility of introducing timed parking.
Members will be exempt from paying for timed parking if using the club's premises.
The club will also have the option of leasing or selling the air rights for any building constructed on the car park.
Any development would be subject to the club retaining its 150 car spaces.
The club's administrator, Robert Brennan, of RT Hospitality Solutions, said the club's trading performance had improved but it needed to borrow an additional $1 million.
"There has been a significant improvement in the club's financial trading performance and we are looking to further improve its trading results," he said.
"Under the deed of company arrangement, the creditors gave the club a year to sort itself itself out financially and to come up with the funds to pay the creditors.
"We have made improvements to the trading results. But the turnaround has not been sufficient to convince the current financier to lend the $1 million required to satisfy the deed of arrangement.
"In order to secure the borrowing of an additional $1 million we need to be able to offer the non-core part of the club as security."
A third resolution to be considered at the meeting will be whether to allow members to be notified electronically of future meetings. Members will still be notified by post if they wish.
To be passed, each resolution must receive 50 per cent of the vote plus one extra.
Proxy voting is not permitted under the Registered Clubs Act.
CONCERNS ABOUT LACK OF INFORMATION BEFORE MEETING
MIRANDA RSL Club member John Brett is concerned about aspects of the extraordinary general meeting.
Mr Brett has been a member of Miranda RSL Club Limited (known as Diggers) for 25 years but stresses he was not talking on behalf of other club members.
‘‘Since the Miranda RSL Club Limited purchased the premises from the Miranda RSL sub-branch in 1999, the Club Limited has been, generally speaking, operating at a loss and selling club assets, the most recent being the car park now occupied by Aldi,’’ Mr Brett said.
‘‘I’m concerned with the format of the extraordinary meeting and the lack of information.
‘‘Firstly, the notice of meeting was not signed, so we don’t know who has authorised it. It lacks information on the club’s financial position since the administrator was appointed by the creditors.
‘‘We haven’t got details of the financial situation during the period of administration.
‘‘The notice of meeting contains no business plan. The proposal means that some of the facilities currently available to the members and classified as non-core will no longer be available to them. The members will lose a significant amount of their existing space.’’
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