Zipline stance independent
Council closely involved in proposal
AN independent commissioner will hear any consent applications for a zipline activity at Oamaru Harbour, due to the Waitaki District Council’s close involvement in the project, council chief executive Michael Ross says.
A zipline, carrying users over the old quarry site and on to the breakwater, was first mooted by Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher in November 2015.
The council subsequently commissioned a $21,000 detailed business case, to determine if it would be an attractive option for a developer.
The business case was delivered late last year.
The council has not called for expressions of interest and no process has been put in place to consider any approaches.
This month, Mr Kircher stood down as one of five directors of Oamaru Adventure Park Ltd, a company established in March to advance the project.
He told the Otago Daily Times at the time he would also move his shares in the company to another ‘‘communityminded’’ investor.
Mr Ross said in an email Mr Kircher had several discussions with other councillors and was encouraged by them and Mr Ross to ‘‘step back from his involvement’’ in the zipline project.
‘‘As far as I am concerned, and provided [Mr Kircher’s] future involvement remains at arm’s length, then that should address any concerns [about the process] that council may have had,’’ Mr Ross said.
In December last year, Mr Kircher said he could not provide the business case by Canadian company, Select Contracts, to the ODT because it had not been given to councillors, but it had ‘‘come back and said ‘this is a goer’.’’
The original shareholders of Oamaru Adventure Park were listed as Mr Kircher and his wife Kerry Kircher, Select Contracts chief executive Christopher Sutton, former Waitaki mayor Alan McLay, Willowpark Investments Ltd, whose directors are Ian and Gloria Hurst, and Greg Martin, of Christchurch.
The Kirchers’ 20% shareholding is now held by Copper Road Investments Ltd, whose director is Oamaru restaurateur SallyAnn Donnelly.
Mr Kircher said while a director of Oamaru Adventure Park, he declared a conflict of interest and abstained from one council vote to allow staff to negotiate with parties about setting up a zipline attraction.
Before he stepped away from it, the company had held only preliminary ‘‘factfinding’’ discussions with the council about the project and he was ‘‘managing’’ the conflict of interest.
‘‘Overall, I was taking myself out of the decisionmaking loop . . . at the council level,’’ Mr Kircher said.
‘‘The last conversation I had with our property people was to let them know that I had this involvement.
‘‘And for me the benefits of being inside the tent and helping direct how things were being done was going to be beneficial — it was a winwin; that’s how I saw it.’’
He said he decided he could not continue his association with the company during this year’s annual plan consultation when he realised there were going to be ongoing discussions around concerns about a zipline’s impact on wildlife in the area ‘‘and I was going to have to try to keep some balance in the discussion’’.
Mr Ross said there was still some way for the zipline project to run.
Any company wanting to develop it would have to provide its plans, including how it would mitigate any concerns raised by community groups.
It would also need to apply for resource consent. The package of information with that application would have to inform the community exactly what was proposed.
An independent commissioner would reside over any hearings for such an application, given the council’s close involvement in the project so far.
‘‘Until we see what that [any application] is, it is too early to judge whether or not the community should be supporting this. There are definitely some possibilities here — there may also be some effects which need to be considered carefully.’’
A council spokeswoman yesterday confirmed the Select Contracts study was not yet available publicly, but would be attached to the mayor’s report for the next council meeting on May 10.