'Brave decisions' for our RSA

The Rotorua RSA may have to temporarily close its doors.

Rotorua's RSA is not closing its doors, contrary to rumours, but it may be forced to temporarily cease trading.

Rotorua RSA president William McDonald said that did not mean it would close for good and would remain open for its members.

In April Mr McDonald revealed the association was "significantly in the red" and had brought in valuers in the hope they could sell some of the items in the RSA's museum. The club held an extraordinary general meeting on Saturday with around 250 of its 1277 members in attendance. The purpose of the meeting was to change the club's constitution and for the committee to have the mandate to "quickly explore options" to see the RSA through its current troubles," Mr McDonald said.

"We're one of a number of RSAs around the country who are going through difficult times," he said. "It is the intention of myself, our committee and our members that we will overcome our financial issues.

"Next year, Rotorua RSA will celebrate 100 years. We will reach 100 years, and beyond. What that will look like and where we may be might be different, but we will not let our RSA slip away from us."

Until Saturday's meeting only Returned and Services members had voting rights, which equated to 35 per cent of the total membership. A motion was passed that the constitution be amended to allow all members to have voting rights. Mr McDonald said the club's financial position remained unchanged since it revealed in April that it was in dire financial straits. "We find ourselves having to make some difficult and brave decisions," he said. "In order to quickly improve our financial situation we're working through a number of options. One option, if accepted, will require us to temporarily cease trading. However, the club facilities will remain open and available to our members. We'll keep members and the community informed as we progress."

On Sunday, a message was posted on the RSA's Facebook page, stating "to clear up a wee bit of confusion following yesterday's Extraordinary General Meeting ... We haven't closed the doors and we're still trading."

Mr McDonald said commercial sensitivity prevented him from discussing what options there were for the club. But he confirmed membership had been climbing "steadily" since its troubles were made public.