Members of the public gallery applaud the council's decision on Wednesday. Photo/Stephen Parker
I have just attended the council meeting (February 28) considering the motion to return the decision of future management of the Aquatic Centre to the drawing board.
Outsourcing management or keeping it in-house, run by Rotorua, for Rotorua.
I was intrigued about two facets of this meeting. One was
its apparently scripted format and secondly, there were two options on the table but only one was afforded time (over one hour) to present its case verbally to the full council.
In spite of this anomaly, the meeting progressed with heated discussion and finally a vote of 6-5 passed the motion. More work needs to be done. Outsourcing is not a given. I applaud those councillors who want more information before making a decision.
It was not a decision with winners and losers, of little fish v sharks or of losing face. It was an intelligent decision that puts the Rotorua public first. We must thank the union, Aquatic Centre staff, RDRR and other interested parties who put many hours into preparing the alternative proposal to keep the management of our Aquatic Centre in-house, the revenue staying in Rotorua. It was an uphill struggle.
