Feasibility study funding sought

THE Waitaki District Council’s community and culture committee has baulked at spending $20,000 of the council’s Whitestone Contracting Ltd dividend on a feasibility study for a ‘‘community hub’’ in Oamaru.

The committee has instead recommended the council help a community hub steering group apply for outside funding.

Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said he understood the Department of Internal Affairs would fund such studies for communityled initiatives.

‘‘In doing this thing, we’ve got Community House that needs to expand, and needs to upgrade, we’ve got the community health hub, which is being promoted for the district [by the Southern District Health Board] — and associated with the hospital, potentially. We’ve got other ideas, such as dropin centres for older people . . . there’s all these different things. They’re all swirling around at the moment.

‘‘The best thing is to get people around the table. That’s what’s happening with the steering group. And to get a feasibility study on the overall plan.’’

Council people and culture group manager Lisa Baillie’s report to the committee says the feasibility study would include establishing whether there was a need for a community hub in Oamaru, what services should be included, whether there was ‘‘potential for a collaborative development of the concept’’ and what the ‘‘physical requirements’’, associated costs and options were.

While Mrs Baillie’s report notes the councilcontrolled Waitaki District Health Services was also ‘‘considering the development of a community health hub’’, Waitaki District Health Services chairman Chris Swann said the community hub and any health hub developed for Oamaru Hospital were ‘‘two separate courses of action — one’s not linked to the other’’.

‘‘The community hub, and the considerations around that, at the moment are not in our strategic plan,’’ he said.