Titahi Bay Lions may be sent packing

Titahi Bay Lions Club’s longstanding link with the Porirua Saturday Market could soon be severed.

A push to revitalise the market means the Lions club, which has organised the market since 1986, could be cut out of the deal.

Porirua City councillors were told last Thursday that a better deal was being sought by the council than what was currently on the table with the club.

The council was keen to ‘‘improve the market experience’’.

Several councillors felt it was a critical part of city centre revitalisation and had lost some vibrancy.

‘‘My impression is the [Lions] think the market is in a reasonable state,’’ councillor Litea Ah Hoi said.

Titahi Bay Lions Club president Chris Jones said the club was willing to work with the council to help return the market to its glory days, but would not accept a ‘‘master-slave type’’ contract.

Jones said the council approached the club in August last year, proposing to formalise the arrangement for running the markets.

The club suggested changes to the proposal, which the council would not agree to.

Discussions were delayed while the council focused on the Gigatown campaign, but had now resumed, Jones said.

Both Jones and the council confirmed they had sought legal advice.

‘‘Frankly, I don’t understand why they want to do it,’’ Jones said.

Sticking points were whether the running of the market should be open to a competitive tender process, and whether the club would still collect stall-holder fees or receive a fee from council for running the market, Jones said.

The club had always dealt directly with stall- holders and used cash collected for community projects, Jones said.

He said there had never been a formal contract with the council, although the club and the council had recently worked together to get better power and water connections to the area.

Jones said that while he was still keen to work with the council, the club had no control over external factors, such as competition from supermarkets and the cost of food regulations and licensing putting off food stall-holders.

Councillor Euon Murrell, chairman of the city centre revitalisation committee, said the market was an important part of city revitalisation.

‘‘There’s differences of opinion on the definition of improvement,’’ Murrell said.

‘‘We are committed to improving the market and if we can’t do that through the Lions then yes, we will be [looking for another organisation to run it].’’

Murrell acknowledged the work the club had done over decades running the market, but said it was now a business and required a certain level of professionalism if it was to boost the numbers and range of stall-holders.

‘‘ The climate’s changed. The commercial reality is that there’s a lot of competition.

‘‘We have to step up. It’s not always easy for volunteer organisations to provide what’s required in this climate.’’

Councillors were told last Thursday they could expect the issue to be resolved by the end of the year.