ORC councillors adamant new HQ needed in face of setback

THE Otago Regional Council is going back to the drawing board over its new headquarters, but needs to address ‘‘substandard’’ conditions endured by its staff quickly, regional councillors say.

The call came after it was revealed last week the ORC’s bid to buy the Dunedin City Councilowned Dowling St car park, in central Dunedin, had been withdrawn.

Several regional councillors spoken to yesterday expressed disappointment at the news, including Cr Andrew Noone, who said Dowling St was the regional council’s preferred site and there was no obvious replacement yet.

‘‘We need to look at other options. At this point in time there isn’t an ‘option B’ that springs to mind.’’

Cr Michael Deaker said he was open to any suitable site now Dowling St was off the table, but one thing was clear — the ORC needed a new headquarters that was fit for purpose.

‘‘I have spent so many years on that regional council feeling very sorry for the people we employ working in substandard office accommodation.

‘‘I’ve been anxious for several years now to see us provide our staff with much better facilities than we have got.

‘‘Where those facilities turn out to be, I’m pretty relaxed about, to be perfectly honest, but we’ve got to do better than we have.’’

Others agreed, including deputy chairwoman Gretchen Robertson, who said a new building was ‘‘absolutely critical’’.

‘‘We just have not got the space. It’s actually getting, health and safetywise, quite critical with how tight things are in the current Stafford St facility.

‘‘It’s really crucial that we sort it out as soon as possible.’’

However, Dunstan ward’s Cr Michael Laws disagreed, saying the estimated $30 million cost would be an ‘‘obscene extravagance’’, and the money could be better spent on the environment and other regional needs.

Instead, he wanted Chalmers Properties, a subsidiary of ORCowned Port Otago, to build a new headquarters for the ORC, and lease it back to the ORC at a ‘‘market rent’’ of $1 million a year.

The ORC could recoup the money by way of an extra dividend from Port Otago, meaning it would cost ratepayers nothing, he claimed.

And, after previously criticising the ORC’s ‘‘Dunedincentric’’ focus, he renewed calls for more staff to be moved to the Queenstown Lakes area, where more of the organisation’s work was.

Cr Sam Neil, of Dunedin, was among those to dismiss the idea of a move inland.

‘‘You’d expect that from Michael, and good on him for having a crack at that, but I don’t see that as an option at all. I know that’s where the growth is . . . [but] Dunedin is still the big population base.’’

❛ We need to look at other options. At this point in time there isn’t an ‘option B’ that springs to

mind

Cr Andrew Noone

Cr Robertson said about a third of ORC staff were already based outside Dunedin, but the city remained home to ‘‘the bulk’’ of Otago’s population and many of the organisations the ORC dealt with.

Cr Noone was also ‘‘not surprised to hear that from Michael’’, but disagreed as well.

‘‘It may be that in many decades to come that may change, but over the next four or five decades, I would imagine that Dunedin and the surrounding area will be the predominant population in the region.’’

He also dismissed the idea of leasing a building, saying there were tax and other financial advantages to owning a headquarters.

He was also clear the ORC’s existing Stafford St building was ‘‘certainly inadequate’’.

‘‘We’re really pushed into a bit of a corner. We need to make a decision for the long term.’’

Other councillors could not be contacted yesterday.