St Martins Church

Record of the meeting held at 3pm on Sunday, 13th December 2015 in St Martins to explore future options for church and cemetery preservation and use following deconsecration on 4th November 2014.

1) Introduction

John Saul gave a brief historical introduction to the attendees emphasising the community desire to see the church continuing to function as a place for wedding, funeral and possibly other ceremonies, and for the cemetery to be available for internments.

2) Update on Anglican Church Position regarding St Martins (Helen Philips)

Helen made the following points:
i) The church wishes to support community ownership of St Martins, however cannot wait forever for the community to make an offer on the property.
ii) The church is in the process of preparing the property for sale and expect the property to be on the market by early February.
iii) The church, cemetery and hall are on a single title. The Rectory is on a separate title and will not be considered further here.
iv) There has been no decision made on splitting the land on the St Matins title.
v) No formal valuation of the property has been made as yet.
vi) Government legislation prohibits the destruction of the cemetery.
vii) There are (as far as Helen is aware) no other covenants on the property.
viii) The cemetery is currently “non-functional”. I believe this means that bookings for internment are not being taken.
ix) The church has prepared a building audit which includes items needing maintenance. This has been provided to John Saul.
x) There are areas of asbestos in the buildings, much of it stable and painted, therefore not requiring replacement.

3) Community Discussion

This centred on:
General community dissatisfaction with the decision to deconsecrate and sell the church.
The possibility of Federal, State or Local Government funding to support a bid for purchase and ongoing maintenance.
The opinion that, as the property was likely zoned as rural residential land, subdivision of the Title was unlikely to occur.
The possibility of a long-term lease rather than purchase of the property was raised and generally supported.
The need for a ‘Not For Profit’ entity such as a trust to both purchase (or lease) and manage the property.
It was suggested that a working committee be formed to explore these issues, however agreement on the makeup of such a committee was not reached.

The following list of questions for the church was recorded:
1. Is the church open to leasing the buildings to a communitygroup?
2. What Council rates are payable?
3. When will the property be offered for sale?
4. Is the church heritage listed?
5.What is the Council valuation?

4) Recommended Actions Prior to Next Meeting

1. Enact a working committee
2. Obtain a legal opinion and documentation of the requirements for establishing a trust.
3. Obtain a Valuation of the property.
4. Obtain an assessment and quote for maintenance and repairs to the site.
5. Raise general community awareness by distributing information about these proposals.
6. Explore individual and governmental sources of financial support for purchase or lease.
7. Formally request the church to consider a lease arrangement.
8. Formally request the church to defer putting the property on the market until after the next meeting.
9. Forward the above question list to the church.

5) List of Attendees - Attached

6) Date of Next Meeting - Early Feb 2016?