Settling the cost question

More than two years after it opened a decision on whether to charge people to visit the $11.5 million Len Lye Centre is imminent.

On Tuesday the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) will consider a number of options, including only charging visitors to the district $10 or $15, having a universal charge of $10, children under-16 getting in free or retaining the status quo of free entry for everyone.

The charge has long been called for by councillors wanting to rein in the centre’s costs, but introducing one could result in a decrease in visitor numbers of between 40 to 70 per cent, recreation and culture manager Teresa Turner said in a report to council.

‘‘The impact on visitation from charging non-residents only is less clear. We have no empirical data which shows the impact of charging targeted entry fees.’’

In 2016 half the visitors to the centre were from outside of the New Plymouth District. A report published by Business and Economic Research Limited found the visitors spent $7.4 million while in Taranaki.

Figures from the NPDC annual report show the Len Lye Centre and Govett Brewster Art Gallery, which are run together, received $4.5m in council funding in 2016/17.

Charging non-residents an entry fee of $10 could raise between $161,435 to $203,135 a year, assuming visitor numbers stayed at 60 to 90 per cent of current attendance, Turner said in a report to council.

An entry fee of $15 could result in income of between $258,203 to $272,603.

The price of having an entry fee would be a one-off capital cost of about $70,000 to install a ticket machine and an ongoing operating cost of up to $50,000 a year.

Mayor Neil Holdom wants to charge non-residents, but the rest of the council is divided on the issue and it’s impossible to predict which way the decision will go.

Former councillor and chairman of the Len Lye committee Lance Girling-Butcher described the idea to charge an entry fee as ‘‘mad’’. ‘‘It’s a simplistic solution to a very complex problem. I’ve read the report and it is very well laid out in the report the risks that they take.’’

Former councillor Lynn Bublitz who has been a supporter of LLC since the beginning said he would speak at the council meeting on Tuesday.

‘‘If the reason for charging is to purely make more money to offset the costs of running the Len Lye and Govett Brewster, I believe that all that will happen is they will reduce the number attending and they will put in jeopardy the other income from donations from the sales from the shop and also to continued help from partners,’’ he said.

In her report Turner said two New Zealand public cultural institutions applied an admission charge - one, Rotorua Museum, is closed for earthquake strengthening.

The other, MTG Hawke’s Bay, Napier’s Museum, theatre and gallery, had a universal charge of $10 until October but is now free.

Removing the charge had made a made a huge difference, director Laura Vodanovich said.

‘‘Visitor numbers have a gone up a dramatic amount. It’s been very positive for us.’’

Museums are a community facility and should be accessible to everyone, she said.

‘‘People who can least afford to come in value it the most.’’

At the end of 2016 a system was set up to ask visitors to the Len Lye Centre for a donation. Turner estimated they would raise about $100,000, however only $45,000 was collected. With 118,900 visits to the Len Lye Centre this worked out at just 38 cents per visitor.