5 Infrastructure
and Asset Management Group
5.3 Oruru
Hall Options
File
Number: A2266844
Author: Ron
Boyle, Project Manager – Water & Wastewater
Authoriser: Andy
Finch, General Manager - Infrastructure and Asset Management
Purpose of the Report
The purpose of this report is to obtain approval for renewal
expenditure on Oruru Hall.
Executive Summary
· The Far North District Council published a Halls and Facilities
Strategy in 2015.
· Oruru Hall is currently in a poor state of repair and has been
closed for use on Health and Safety grounds.
· Seven options have been considered:
1. Do nothing
2. Demolish and rebuild
3. Demolish and not rebuild
4. Transfer the asset to Oruru Valley and Inland
Association (OVIA) in its current state
5. Do minimum structural repairs and divest the hall to
Oruru and Inland Valley’s Association
6. Do minimum structural repairs and provide weather
tightness and divest the hall to Oruru and Inland Valley’s Association
7. Undertake a full repair to the structure and fabric
of the building.
·
Option 5 is the recommended option at a cost of $196,724.
· The community have expressed a wish to take on the future
maintenance, renewal and operation of the hall, subject to Council undertaking
a minimum level of structural repair work.
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Recommendation
That the Infrastructure Network Committee:
a) approve
the expenditure of $196,724 excl GST on upgrading work to the Oruru Hall, the
work content and timing to be agreed with the Oruru and Inland Valley’s
Association (OVIA)
b) approve
delegation to the Te Hiku Community Board to reach agreement with the Oruru
and Inland Valley’s Association (OVIA) for divestment of Oruru Hall.
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1) Background
The Far North
District Council published a Halls and Facilities Strategy in 2015. This
encourages a sustainable approach to the management and provision of community
halls and buildings.
Council’s
vision for community halls is:
“A network of fit for
purpose, affordable community facilities that connect and support resilient,
healthy and vibrant communities.”
·
The strategy sets out Council’s policy for managing Council
owned halls that is an enhanced status quo. The strategy also provides
alternative options that will be considered on a case by case basis that
include:
1. Community
empowered management - with a greater role in managing the facility including
prioritising what repairs and maintenance or renewal work might be scheduled.
2. Community led
divestment - effectively selling the building but not the land.
3. Council
led divestment of non-strategic facilities.
The Oruru Hall (Swamp Palace) is in
a very poor state of repair as a result of a lack of maintenance and renewal spanning
a number of years.
On the 30th of May 2018
the Te Hiku Community Board considered a report on the refurbishment of the
hall. This report detailed the minimum works required to provide a safe and
usable community facility.
The Community Board resolved that
the item be left to lie on the table until the Board:
a) has
further information to make a well informed decision
b) a review of all halls
within the Te Hiku ward during year one of the 2018-28
LTP has been undertaken which includes a full break down of all depreciation
funds for each hall, condition assessment, and usage statistics where possible.
c) a communication and engagement
plan for the halls review has been
prepared and tabled to the Board.
d) no funds be spent in the Te Hiku
Ward on halls until the hall review has been completed and a recommendation has
been made by the Community Board.
Council had budgeted $250,000 in
the 2017/2018 Annual Plan to allow for the renewal of Oruru Hall. This was not
brought forward into the 2018/2028 Long Term Plan.
Various engineers’ reports
into the condition of the Hall have been undertaken over the years with the
most recent and relevant attached. The latest report recommended closure
due to serious concerns around the structural integrity of the building. It was
subsequently closed to users on 11 July 2018. The estimated cost to undertake a
full repair to structure and fabric of the building and provide the hall with a
further useful life of at least 20 years is $540,000.
The annual operational and maintenance
costs incurred on the Hall total $22,328.This covers Insurance, Warrant of
Fitness, Maintenance, with the majority being depreciation ($17k).
The capital expenditure incurred on
the Hall over the last 10 years totals $58,036. This is mainly professional
fees and the cost of undertaking numerous condition and other surveys.
The Oruru and Inland Valley’s
Association (OIVA) have expressed an interest in the long term ownership of the
hall in line with Councils Halls and Facilities Strategy. They are a small not
for profit organisation, committed to the preservation and improvement of Oruru
Hall.
OIVA, through their not for profit
status, have the ability to raise funds for improvements and other works
through not for profit funding channels.
A community meeting held on Sunday
11 November 2018 reiterated the communities’ commitment to a viable and
sustainable hall. They also expressed a strong wish to take over the
responsibility for the future maintenance, renewal and operation of the Hall,
subject to Council undertaking a minimum level of structural repair work. They
were concerned about the implication on rates should the Council fund and
undertake all required repair and renewal work identified.
2) Discussion and Options
Five options have been considered for the future of the hall
based on policy for managing halls contained in the Halls and Facilities
Strategy:
Option one – do nothing. $2,200 ongoing annual Fire
Inspections
This is not considered to be a practical option as the
building is already in a significant state of disrepair, requires immediate
renewal work of both a water tightness and structural nature and has been
closed in the interim due to Health and Safety issues. Doing nothing will
not resolve the H&S issues.
Option two - Demolish and rebuild the hall
at current or alternative location. $750,000 (very approximate estimate).
Current and future demand may not support this option.
Repayment of loan funding may not be achievable. Also the hall itself has
significant historical importance to the community who are very keen to see it
preserved.
Option three - Totally demolish the hall and not
rebuild. $40,000.
This is not an option that the Community would support.
Option four – Transfer the asset to OVIA in its
current state.
This option is not considered viable as there is H&S
Risk and Liability to Council
Option five - Do minimum work to provide a structurally
safe, usable building with no further repairs or improvements so that the hall
can be divested Community Ownership (Recommended). Maximise use of available
budget $196,724.
Structural fix including foundations at a cost of 196,724
(including 5% contingency) and provide technical support to community for the
replacement of cladding. This would address the current structural issue. It
would provide the ability for the interested community group to leverage third
party funding for hall improvements and ongoing maintenance.
Option six - Do minimum to provide a structurally sound,
safe and usable Facility, completing weather tightness to divest Oruru Hall to
Community Ownership. $272,000 (Estimated on basis of recently received
quotation)
Option seven- Undertake a full repair to the
structure and fabric of the building. $540,000.
This would provide a further useful life of 20 years.
This option would require additional loan funding of
$343,276 to supplement the available renewal funds of $196,724. It results in a
Ward based rate increase of $3.50 or targeted 5 kilometre rate increase of
$113.50.
Option 5 is the preferred option and
would provide a mutually acceptable compromise for Council and the Community
through a combination of Council bringing the hall up to a sustainable level
then passing its ownership onto a passionate and capable community group.
This option would not include any improvements, such as
addressing water tightness issues, Health and Safety issues relating to Fire
Egress, and relocating toilets. These would be left for the community to
address.
Divestment of the Hall would remove ongoing liabilities from
Council and empower the community to take the lead in managing the Hall more
effectively. However, there is still a risk that community cannot raise the
required funding to repair the Hall to allow it to reopen.
This option is in line with Council’s Halls and
Facilities Strategy.
Reason
for the recommendation
Option 5 is a mutually acceptable
compromise for Council and the Community.
It provides for urgently required
major structural and renewals to occur now and eliminates further risk/cost to
ratepayers along with providing opportunities for fundraising by a group
responsible for ongoing improvements and maintenance.
It is a significantly lower cost to
ratepayers than the currently estimated upgrade cost of $540,000.
The community are passionate about
the renewal of the hall and are best placed to look after the hall moving
forward.
3) Financial Implications and Budgetary
Provision
Council funding for the Halls are
not rated individually but as part of the overall ward rate. The Te Hiku ward
rate is $308.80 per SUIP (GST Incl) for 2018/2019.
There is currently $196,724
aggregated over a number of years through depreciation funding available for
renewal work on Oruru Hall.
There will be no rate impact if
Option 5 is adopted. It is proposed to maximise the full budget available to
undertake repairs.
It is envisioned with an
appropriate divestment there would be no future financial costs to Council
therefore the above maintenance and capital investigation costs would be
potential annual savings to Council, and the general community.
Attachments
1. Building
Compliance and Fire Safety Assessment - Frank Burton and Associates - August
2014 - A2267124 ⇩ 
2. Structural
Assessment - Haigh Workman - October 2014 - A2267129 ⇩
3. Proposed
Repairs to Oruru Hall - Draft Concept Estimate - Stellar Project Delivery
Specialists - October 2018 - A2267136 ⇩ 
Compliance schedule:
Full consideration has been given to the provisions of the
Local Government Act 2002 S77 in relation to decision making, in particular:
1. A
Local authority must, in the course of the decision-making process,
a) Seek
to identify all reasonably practicable options for the achievement of the
objective of a decision; and
b) Assess
the options in terms of their advantages and disadvantages; and
c) If
any of the options identified under paragraph (a) involves a significant
decision in relation to land or a body of water, take into account the
relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions with their
ancestral land, water sites, waahi tapu, valued flora and fauna and other
taonga.
2. This
section is subject to Section 79 - Compliance with procedures in relation to
decisions.
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Compliance
requirement
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Staff
assessment
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State the level of significance
(high or low) of the issue or proposal as determined by the Council’s
Significance and Engagement Policy
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Low Significance.
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State the relevant Council
policies (external or internal), legislation, and/or community outcomes (as
stated in the LTP) that relate to this decision.
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Halls and Facilities Strategy in
2015
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State whether this issue or
proposal has a District wide relevance and, if not, the ways in which the
appropriate Community Board’s views have been sought.
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Te Hiku Community Board
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State the possible implications for Māori
and how Māori have been provided with an opportunity to contribute to
decision making if this decision is significant and relates to land and/or
any body of water.
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None
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Identify persons likely to be
affected by or have an interest in the matter, and how you have given
consideration to their views or preferences.
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The Oruru and Inland
Valley’s Association
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State the financial implications
and where budgetary provisions have been made to support this decision.
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Covered in report
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Chief Financial Officer review.
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The Chief Financial Officer has
reviewed this report
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