​Council enters lease to house staff

Around 70 Waipā District Council staff will move into a leased building in Te Awamutu early next year.

The staff were evacuated last month from their office in Roche Street following an independent seismic assessment. That report found the building, which also houses the Te Awamutu Museum, is at 20 per cent of National Building Standard and vulnerable in an earthquake.

Council today confirmed it had leased the 55 Rickit Road building from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa at a market rental. Council has a lease for 18 months with two rights of renewal, with funding coming from Council’s cash surplus.

Chief executive Garry Dyet could not confirm how long the Rickit Road building would be needed for.

“What is clear is that no-one will be moving back into the Roche Street building anytime soon,” he said.

“In the meantime, we’re grateful to have found local space quickly. It means we can get staff back with their colleagues because at the moment, they are either working from home or are grabbing a desk where they can.”

Council is still assessing its options and looking at how the seismic issues at Roche Street might be fixed, he said. But that would take some time and means the Te Awamutu Museum would also remain closed.

“We’re continuing to look at potential pop-up options for a museum in Rickit Road but there’s a lot to work through.”