Senior council staff member Linda Nieuwenhuizen chaired the meeting last Thursday which will be a forerunner to a public meeting at the community hall on Wednesday.

Cr Peter Lawless was an observor at the meeting where users were given the chance to spell out how the planned demolition would impact on their activities.

“It’s a bit like opening the gate after the horse has died,” Jeanette Wilson, the spokeswoman for the group formed to fight the community hall demolition, said.

“Council has passed a motion to demolish the community hall, but I still hold out some hope.

“It was a bit late to find out why people and how people actually use it.

“I agree modern libraries aren’t just repositories for books.

“But for community meetings and certainly for suppers and lunches for dances and other functions, you don't want to have people dining in an area that holds books.

“Any new facility that is going to replace the community hall is going to have to have a large separate area and doesn’t include books, computers or valuable equipment included in a library.”

Ms Wilson confirmed the motions to be presented to those attending the public meeting on Wednesday in the community hall at 5.30pm.

They are calling on council to rescind the motion to demolish the community hall and negotiate with the state government to return the former school site to public land for development of a community hub.

“They are long shots,” she said.

Member for Ovens Valley Tim McCurdy has indicated he will attend.