Rotorua Lakes Council has agreed to underwrite costs for a "stunning" sculpture at Rotorua's southern entrance, but there are hopes ratepayers may not end up paying a cent for the 12m high artwork.
Councillors today voted unanimously to underwrite a possible shortfall in funding for the stainless steel artwork to be installed in the middle of the Hemo Gorge roundabout, currently under construction opposite Te Puia.
They were also updated on estimated costs for the sculpture and were assured safety concerns had also been taken into account, in that there were plenty of places for people to park near the roundabout and that walkways and cycleways would ensure people could get close to it without having to cross the busy road.
The revised estimate for the cost of the sculpture, designed by New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute artist Stacy Gordine, had also gone down, according to the council's strategy and partnerships group manager Jean-Paul Gaston.
He said initial estimates for a total cost of $570,000 had been reduced to $500,000, that also included a $50,000 contingency for cost overruns, but did not include a pledge from a local person or organisation of $15,000 that was yet to be confirmed.