Library funding in spotlight

29 January 2014

Commercial partners may be sought to help fund the new library planned for Te Awamutu.

Last year, Waipa District Council signalled its intention to spend $2.6 million and build a new library on Council-owned land on the corner of Mahoe Street and Selwyn Lane. The current library is sized well below national standards, leaving it unable to provide community and holiday programmes offered by most other libraries. Its design also makes it difficult for some people, particularly older people, to use.

But those building plans have been put on hold by detailed costings that now suggest $2.6 million falls well short of what's needed. Revised estimates indicate that around $4.4 million would be needed to build a modern, purpose-built building that would cope with projected growth in and around the town.

Mayor Jim Mylchreest said the $1.8 million shortfall was simply too big a funding gap to bridge without seeking further community input. Council would seek community guidance before deciding on its next steps, he said.

It's frustrating because it's obvious that the town has well outgrown the current library. But it's far better that we stop and rethink the project now - particularly its scope and how it's funded - than get it wrong and have to live with a poor decision for years to come.'

Certainly, I'm not prepared to commit to a project where red flags have already been raised, or commit to a more expensive building without having a strong community mandate to spend that money.

Over the next few months, as part of draft annual plan consultation, Council will seek feedback on three options for the library project. One option would see Council sticking to the original proposal and spending $2.6 million as planned. The second option would be to increase the budget to $4.4 million.

A third option was for council to form a partnership with a commercial developer, with private interests developing the site and Council becoming a long-term tenant renting library space. Council would retain ownership of the land that has been earmarked as part of a longer-term community hub development.

All three options would have an impact on rates and those impacts will need to be clearly detailed and well understood, Mayor Mylchreest said. Council and the community need to be crystal clear on final costs - including rating impacts - before any commitment is made to anything. We need to be cautious and get this right.

Mayor Mylchreest said there were a number of commercial options, all of which would need to be carefully scoped. There have been some early discussions with potential development partners but those discussions were commercially sensitive and therefore confidential at this stage, he said.

There is definitely some interest in a commercial partnership and it's an option Councillors have instructed staff to do more work on. But we'd need to go into any partnership with our eyes wide open and make sure any decisions we make are in the best long-term interests of the community.

Mayor Mylchreest said he accepted some people would be disappointed and frustrated at the project delay. He apologised but said it was better to front up and take the heat now.

The timing is difficult because, based on the original estimates, we would have started building the new library in the 2014-2015 year. Clearly, because we need to go back to the community on other potential options, that's not going to happen now. We'll have one chance to get this right and if that means delaying the project to get a better outcome, I'm prepared to live with that.

The draft annual plan, seeking feedback on options for the Te Awamutu library, will be formally released for public consultation and comment in early March. Submissions will close in April.

Media enquiries: Jeanette Tyrrell (on behalf of Council) 027 5077 599