Gallery cuts to help cap rates hike

New Plymouth’s most iconic art gallery will have $400,000 stripped from its budget to help pay for infrastructure projects under the district council’s revised annual plan.

At Tuesday’s seven-hour extraordinary meeting of the New Plymouth District Council, changes to the proposed annual plan were made in light of coronavirus.

In order to include coronavirus response packages, several items had been removed from the plan, including a feasibility study into expanding the wastewater reticulation network to include Urenui, Onaero, Okato, Egmont Village and Lepperton, and funding to accelerate Waitara stormwater work.

However, Mayor Neil Holdom added those two projects back in, taking $400,000 in funding from the operating costs of the GovettBrewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre to pay for them, so as not to put rates up more than the recommended 3.95 per cent.

Councillor Anneka Carlson moved the money be found elsewhere, but this was shot down.

Councillor Gordon Brown said if the New Plymouth public were asked where to trim $400,000 off a $4.5m annual operating budget, ‘‘Len Lye would probably be the number one choice by a considerable margin’’.

Councillor Murray Chong called for the reduction to be on a permanent basis. ‘‘$90,000 a week for the gallery is far too much.’’

Councillor Amanda ClintonGohdes said the key part of recovering the economy will be positioning the region for domestic tourism, and Len Lye was a key part of that. ‘‘We could be cutting ourselves off at the knees by making cuts at this point in ways that we don’t actually know how it’s going to affect the offering.’’

Nevertheless, the motion was carried. The final plan will be signed off by the end of June.

What’s in and out under the revamped proposed plan

$9.3m of Get Us Back on Our Feet initiatives (IN). Increasing critical maintenance on water assets, made up of: 1. Three-waters mechanical maintenance ($180,000 operating expenditure [opex], ongoing) (IN).

2. Inspections and maintenance of marine outfall pipes ($100,000 opex, ongoing) (IN). 3. Increase bridge maintenance ($400,000 opex, 51 per cent NZTA funded, ongoing) (IN) .4. Increase electrical engineering capacity ($100,000 opex, ongoing)

(IN). 5. CCTV through stormwater pipes ($100,000 opex, ongoing) (IN).

High priority infrastructure design and replacement, made up of: 1. Concept design and investigations for the replacement of the one-lane Junction Rd and Huatoki St urban bridges ($400,000 capex, one-off) (OUT). 2. Feasibility study into expanding the wastewater reticulation network to include Urenui, Onaero, Okato, Egmont Village and Lepperton (originally $350,000; now $300,000 opex, one-off) (IN). 3. Smoothing reserve for Pukekura Park lake dredging ($200,000 opex into a reserve, ongoing) (OUT).

Strategic planning for the future, made up of:

1. Increase strategic planning resources ($350,000 opex, ongoing including the provision of $100,000 to complete a New Plymouth CBD Strategy in FY0/21) (OUT); Waitara Stormwater acceleration ($100,000, opex ongoing) (IN); Onaero Domain drainage ($75,000 capex, one-off) (OUT); District footpaths ($250,000 capex, ongoing with an initial focus on the areas of highest need including Waitara) (OUT); Port Taranaki Marina feasibility study review and update ($50,000 opex one-off) (IN); Inglewood motorhome dump station ($125,000 capex, one-off) (OUT); Zeal Youth space ($50,000 opex, one-off) (OUT); Social and affordable housing research ($50,000 opex, one-off)

(OUT); The multisport facility concept design ($150,000 opex, one-off) funded from the Forestry Reserve (not rates)