HBRC chambers re-vamp put on hold

Hawke's Bay Regional Council chairman Rex Graham said the council chambers looked like East Germany. His proposal to create more "mana" was put on hold.

A proposal put to the Hawke's Bay Regional Council yesterday to upgrade the council chambers, starting with an outlay of $13,000 to convert the councillors' room into a chairman's room, was rejected yesterday in favour of further discussion before any commitments were made.

Councillor Rex Graham spearheaded the idea, which was considered at yesterday's full council meeteing, and included re-painting and new furniture, as well as the installation of carvings and artwork to represent the tangata whenua, and introduce more "mana" to the council facility.

Provision to spend $70,000 on furniture and fittings for the regional council buildings had been made in the 2016/17 budget, $40,000 of which had already been spent on audio-visual equipment, leaving $30,000 in the budget.

On top of $13,000 to convert the councillors' room, a further $54,000 expenditure was suggested being spent to upgrade the chambers and the Ahuriri Room.

Mr Graham said that although the upgrade was already underway with the funding that had been allocated previously, he wanted to ensure the job would be done properly.

"I want councillors to think not just about the upgrade but the facilities reflecting the mana of this organisation.

"I had this concept before Christmas and talked to staff members about it. This place looks likes East Germany at the moment - there's no recognition of who or what we are and who we represent."

Under questioning from councillor Alan Dick, who was concerned that the councillors would lose the room to the chairman who currently had an office on the first floor of the Dalton Street building, Mr Graham said that concept arose from a desire to create a clear line between management and governance.

"I don't intend to spend all my time in that office, I have a computer and can work anywhere, I wanted a separation of governance and management."

Other councillors questioned the best use of space in the building, and the types of artwork that would be considered.

It was decided to leave the matter on the table for now, in order to have more discussion of the issues before a decision was made.