During Tuesday’s meeting the council voted 5-4 to formally accept ownership of the school site from the state government, and to subsequently endorse Teen Challenge as the preferred tenant. 

A lease agreement will now be drawn up, which will include clauses that Teen Challenge covers all stamp duty and costs associated with the transfer from crown ownership to the council, as well as all ongoing upkeep costs. 

Teen Challenge will not be provided with access to the site until a lease agreement has been finalised. 

The lease will be a five year lease with a five year plus five year option. 

Meander Valley mayor Craig Perkins said Tuesday’s council meeting had attracted a large amount of community interest, with up to eight community members speaking on the Meander school agenda item on both sides of the debate. 

“The community sentiment seemed to be that … Teen Challenge have a lot of support for what they do, but there was obviously some concern about it being in Meander Primary School,” Cr Perkins said.

 “That’s what it came down to, it was more about being at the Primary School than the work that Teen Challenge undertook, and I think that was where it was challenging.

 “At the end of the day five councillors considered that in terms of all the options we were looking at, and the process we’d been through ...here is an opportunity to allow Teen Challenge to take access of the building and get on with it.”

According to Tuesday’s council agenda a survey of 138 Meander and Jackeys Marsh residents provided no conclusive endorsement of either the Teen Challenge or Butterfly House rehabilitation options. 

Exactly 50 percent of respondents supported the Teen Challenge option, but 40 percent of respondents thought it would have a bad impact on the area.