THE peninsula's community radio station 3RPP is returning to Mornington, where it first started broadcasting in 1986.
Radio Port Phillip's board voted last Thursday to accept an offer from Mornington Peninsula Shire of four classrooms at the former Mornington Secondary College site in Wilsons Road.
Its lease at the Moorooduc Coolstores, where it has been since 1990 after moving from Octavia Street in Mornington, expires in October.
3RPP has been lobbying Frankston Council and the shire for a new home.
Frankston offered part of the former Milpara Park aged-care centre on the fringe of the bayside city's CBD, but wanted $90 a square metre, close to a commercial rate, for about 200 square metres.
Choosing Mornington will give the station about 300 square metres, almost half of the last remaining classroom block at the school, which was moved to a new site on Nepean Highway, Mornington, in the early 1990s.
The shire bought about half the eight-hectare school site in 2001 for $2.5million. The former Findlay Hall had earlier been refurbished by the shire and renamed Peninsula Community Theatre. It also renovated the former library as a centre for performing arts and general community use, known as Studio @ PCT.
The shire always intended to refurbish the classroom block for community use and had drawn up plans to spend about $500,000 for this.
It was not prepared to spend the money in time for 3RPP to move after its October lease expires, but eight peninsula Rotary clubs have put up their hands to co-ordinate a community renovation program.
Rotary spokesman Dick Cox of the Rotary Club of Somerville-Tyabb said the clubs would start a $200,000 community fund-raising campaign to pay for materials.
"Rotary will supply the labour and renovation expertise," he said. Clubs involved are Somerville-Tyabb, Hastings Western Port, Mornington, Mt Martha, Dromana, Rosebud, Rye and Sorrento.
Chairman of the fund-raising campaign is Rye area councillor and Rotarian Bill Goodrem.
Work started last weekend when pest controllers moved in to seal off a walkway and the toilets to keep out pigeons.
This work is being done at no charge by shire councillor Graham Pittock's Dromana-based pest control company.
Next step is to gain planning and building permits from the shire. The building will be renovated to meet national electrostatic discharge standards and provide access and toilets for the disabled
One idea is to have a huge window allowing visitors to watch broadcasters at work in their studios. The centre will have a view over Port Phillip.
Furniture is unlikely to be a problem as items replaced when the shire renovated its Queen Street, Mornington, offices in 2005 are stored in the classroom block.
The shire has allocated $50,000 in this year's budget for the renovation project.
3RPP president Graeme Kniese said the Mornington site was a fantastic location with a minimum cost to the station.
"All shire councillors support the move and we have eight peninsula Rotary clubs keen to get stuck into renovating the building," he said.
"We've been in the back blocks of Moorooduc doing our own thing for 20 years and it will be great to move to a high-profile site and build stronger connections with the community."
He said the rent was substantially less than the Frankston offer.
The Mail believes 3RPP will pay $5000 for the first five years, rising $5000 every five years over a 20-year lease.
The move to Mornington could provide a boon for young people thinking of pursuing a career in media.
The station already allows schools and youth groups to gain experience as program presenters and producers, audio technicians, outside broadcast support staff and in other roles.
3RPP broadcasts on 98.7FM, sending its signal from a tower atop Arthurs Seat.
It rebroadcasts into Frankston and further north on 98.3FM from an ancillary tower near the top of Mt Eliza.
Retiring station manager Maria McColl (see story page 6) said: "We have more than 280 community group and individual members from many community, sport, arts and service organisations.
"There are more than 85 members who broadcast 18 hours a day, seven days a week. This equates to 10,000 hours a year of volunteer-produced content covering the arts, sport, disability support, faith and philosophy, music, the environment, local affairs and events, five migrant communities, health and wellbeing, women's affairs and six schools.
"We broadcast, at no cost, more than 15,000 community service announcements each year."
Anyone interested in joining the station or helping with the Mornington project can call 3RPP on 59788200.
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