Tasman District Council will get a new building but it’s up to the community as to whether that’s on the existing Queen St site or somewhere completely different.
The bones of the current building, which currently houses some 300 council staff, was originally built in the 1960s but has been added onto four times since, the most recent being 2012.
However, after inspection, it was found that the building now falls below New Building Standards, meaning it’s prone to earthquake risk and must be brought up to code by 2033.
Group manager community infrastructure, Richard Kirby, says a range of options have been looked at including keeping the status quo and bringing it up to scratch.
He says strengthening the building is going to cost $12-14m plus the ongoing maintenance costs which brings it up to a cost of $21-24m over the next 30 years.
“Because it’s been piecemeal and is essentially five buildings put together, it’s totally inefficient and it’s an absolute rabbit warren.”
Richard says “there’s halls all over the show” in the building.
“When you look at it from an office perspective and you work out the percentage of floor area that’s dedicated to hallways vs offices, this would be one of the highest. It’s just crazy we’ve got all of this hall space so it’s totally inefficient anyway.”
Council decided last year that they wouldn’t spend the money strengthening, just to get the same building with the same inefficiencies.
They also decided that rather that altering the current Long-Term Plan with an amendment and consulting the community on the options now, they would develop the plans further ready for the LTP 2024 and consult from next year.
“One thing is clear, the money has to be spent either way, so having a new building that’s fit for purpose is the preferred option,” Richard says.
He says, in 30 years’ time the estimate is that council will need a building size of 4500sqm compared with the 3700sqm it has currently.
“So that would raise the question, even if we strengthen this we will still need more space anyway. It’s just a waste of money – it’s a no-brainer at this point.”
Richard says it is likely that the current building would still need to be pulled down if they were to build on a new site.
“The property itself is probably worth quite a lot of money, this could be quite an ideal property for a commercial development, so in moving out it’s not a cost as such there’s still an investment here that could be realised.”
Various sites have been considered for a new build including near Network Tasman in Hope, on space at Berryfields, and various sites around Richmond’s town centre. Private developers have also been approached who have come back with viable options for a lease-scheme.
Council is also in early discussions with other government entities about possibilities of leasing space in any new building.
Richard says the important thing council wants ratepayers to understand is that every option creates opportunities and whatever decision is made, it will not be a sunk cost, there will be return of some sort.
Residents will have a chance to have their say from next year.
