Larry Baldock on a council committee's move towards building a $55m museum in Tauranga.
Tauranga's on-again, off-again museum is on again with a council committee voting yesterday to push forward with a $55.65m facility at Cliff Rd.
But there's a catch on cost: the committee is expecting other funders - central government, trusts, philanthropists, sponsors, iwi - to stump up more than 60 per cent of the build price.
If external funders did not come to the party, mayor Greg Brownless predicted the project would eventually fall over or be dramatically shrunk.
The committee voted to cap Tauranga City Council's contribution at $15m, plus $5.65m for the new roads, parking and so on needed to make the historic hilltop site accessible.
To build and operate the museum will cost a ratepayer with a $500k property $69 a year or $1.30 a week. That may come down with the committee also voting to get staff to look at ways to lower museum operating costs.
The $50m budget the committee proposed for the actual museum building was $8.4m under the lowest cost estimation for the architectural ideas put forward for the 4000sqm Cliff Rd facility to date, so there will have to be compromises in design or brief to meet the proposed budget.
The city transformation committee's recommendation will go before the full council on December 19 and if supported, out for community consultation next year in the Draft Long Term Plan 2018-28.
Yesterday the museum vote was seven to one. Provided no one flip-flops it has the numbers to pass through the full council even with three councillors yet to have a say.
Gail McIntosh voted against, saying an integrated library and museum on Willow St was all the city could afford right now.
City transformation committee chairman Larry Baldock, who put forward the recommendation, was confident the project could attract the level of outside funding planned for.
Baldock acknowledged the recommendation went against the results of a representative survey of 403 Tauranga residents, a majority of whom favoured the integration option.
He said many of those who picked integration said they thought it would save operation costs, but said he had seen no evidence of that.
"When people do surveys they have not had the opportunity to have as much information in front of them as we have."
The proposed museum site on Cliff Rd. File photo
Supporting Cliff Rd as the location, Baldock emphasised its historic credentials as a site of significance for the arrivals of both Maori and early Europeans to Tauranga, the views across the Tauranga Harbour to Mauao, the strong support from tangata whenua, and eight-minute walk to downtown.
He was supported by councillor Max Mason, who said he hoped the decision would be a balm for the community "outrage" over the last week - a reaction to higher cost estimates.
Mason said combining the library and museum would constrain the growth of both and eventually cause conflicts.
Yesterday's committee vote was not a final decision:
December 19: Committee's recommendation goes to full council for a vote December/January: Council finalises its Draft Long Term Plan 2018-28, a budget that will include the museum, if supported by the full council March/April 2018 - Draft Long-Term Plan goes out for community consultation Mid-2018 - Long-Term Plan signed off.
How they voted
To recommend to the full council they budget $20.56m towards a $5.65m museum in the Long Term Plan 2018-28:
For: Larry Baldock, Mayor Greg Brownless, Deputy Mayor Kelvin Clout, Max Mason, Steve Morris, Leanne Brown, Terry Molloy.
Whether the council should build a new central library to replace the current one - deemed too small and prone to leaks and mould - was also dealt with yesterday.
The City Transformation Committee was evenly split on whether to follow chairman Larry Baldock's recommendation to budget $25m towards a $30m new library, with $5m to come from external funders.
Baldock cast the deciding vote and the recommendation for a $30m new library will go before the full council on December 19.
Quotes from the debating chamber
Deputy Mayor Kelvin Clout
Kelvin Clout
Tauranga is New Zealand's fifth largest city and frankly its embarrassing we don't have a museum. I put some of the blame on previous councils who have been timid."
"We've had that $10 Tauranga tag for such a long time. We need to get rid of that. We need to do something a bit brave, a bit bold."
Councillor Gail McIntosh
Gail McIntosh
"The good news I've changed from being no way would I support this. I am pushing for integrated because it's all we can afford at this time. I'm weighing this up against…boring **** like water and roads."
Councillor Leanne Brown
Leanne Brown "Because a library needs to be functional and a museum needs to be unique I believe colocation and integration isn't an option."
