A bitter dispute is set to boil over on Tuesday night at the Harmonie German Club in Narrabundah.
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A management committee of five says it is set for a showdown with president Hans Stoehr, who dismissed them last month only to have his decision overturned in the ACT Magistrate's Court.
A spokesman for the management committee, Tony Millar, said he was airing the club's "toxic" internal conflict because of concerns over governance and ensuring the success next month of Oktoberfest, the club's annual festival, which attracts 9000 people and turns over about $370,000.
"We are a group of five people who want to see the club run legally. None of us have personal ambition, this is not a power trip. Someone has to stand up to the president," Mr Millar said.
Vice-president Joy Altmann and Mr Millar say problems surfaced months ago when a new committee was elected to take control of the club, only to find Mr Stoehr and his supporters undermining their legal authority to manage club affairs.
Mr Stoehr said the committee had been restored. The dismissal had been triggered by "spoilt brats" attempting to go their own way.
"They seem to think I want to run the place on my own, it's a load of hocus-pocus. You tell me, why is the club so successful?" said Mr Stoehr, who is in his second year as president.
He said airing the issues in the media was malicious and destructive.
"This is pure jealousy. They didn't like seeing a lot of people coming up to me and shaking my hand. As far as I am concerned, they are turning a small pebble into Ayers Rock."
Mr Stoehr said he was attempting to protect the club's integrity against people out to ruin it, and whose actions threatened to cause people to go elsewhere.
Mr Stoehr said the club was held in high regard in the community, complied with the law, and the allegations were false and misleading. He said the issues would be sorted out at a half-yearly meeting on Tuesday.
The club's solicitor, Uwe Boettcher, said the court action was unnecessary. Mr Stoehr's authority to relieve office holders of their positions required confirmation at a subsequent committee meeting, which was not held.
Both disputing parties had called for Tuesday night's meeting, which would be an informal discussion. Any resolutions would not be binding.
"I hope members express a clear view what they would like to see happen and the committee can implement that," Mr Boettcher said.
He said Oktoberfest would be on the agenda and 140 volunteers would be needed to run the event.
He said strong allegations had been made by both factions, including claims of intimidation and harassment
In a statement, Mr Millar said the club's failure to replace defective emergency signage created a huge problem and liability for the management committee.
"Not only was the club at risk of being instantly shut down by fire safety authorities but we were being forced into a situation where the committee was playing Russian roulette with the lives of patrons should a fire or emergency occur.
"These things do happen as the fire in Civic demonstrated recently, and my fellow committee members were simply not prepared to take that risk."
The management committee said the club had enormous potential. "It's a great venue for live entertainment and it supports an active dance community. It has the best auditorium of any club in Canberra," the committee's repair co-ordinator, Frederick Mack, said.
Founded 53 years ago by immigrants including Jennings Germans who came to Canberra to build new homes and shopping centres, the club has about 4000 members.