Theatre project swallows $6m community fund
A council-owned trust has emptied its coffers of $6 million and shut up shop.
The Vibrant Hamilton Trust board was told by Hamilton City Council that it wished it to make a $6m grant to the Waikato Regional Theatre on the council’s behalf. That would make up part of the $25m commitment by council to the theatre project.
The council resolution was made in December 2017 as part of the draft 10-Year Plan and then approved in the final 10-year plan in June. In meetings earlier this year, the trust explored how it would carry out the council’s resolution and at its August 6 meeting, it resolved to pay its entire trust fund to Momentum Waikato.
Momentum Waikato is the community organisation spearheading the theatre project. Currently, the trust has assets of $6.4m.
Councillor Mark Bunting said the funds might be better used on a number of community grants rather than a single project spend, but he didn’t begrudge the theatre the money, either.
‘‘I’m a little torn over this one,’’ Bunting said. ‘‘I despair for the work Cr Paula [Southgate] has done to get that community support up, as they plead for crumbs from the table while we’re saying, sorry, the whole dough bowl has gone to the theatre.’’
Trust chairman Thomas Gibbons said the council-controlled organisation considered the move for 18 months. The significance of the $73m theatre project, scheduled to open in July 2021, tipped the scales in its favour and will help bring other funders on board.
‘‘There needed to be a kickstarter along the way to the theatre funding,’’ Gibbons said. ‘‘We think giving this money to Momentum Trust now to do the theatre is the right thing to do.’’
The fund originated from former electricity money divvied up between Hamilton City and Waikato and Waipa district councils. Hamilton chose to keep its purse for community use.
Cr Martin Gallagher said the $6.4m grant fits council’s talk of CBD regeneration while Cr Dave Macpherson disputed Bunting’s assertion the community will lose out.
‘‘It’s never been what it’s used for,’’ Macpherson said. ‘‘It’s been used for small projects that have been council oriented.’’
Southgate said the fund will be lost to public use and there is no way of getting it back.
‘‘This is public money and my personal preference would have been to allow the public to have a say in what they should do with this money,’’ Southgate said. ‘‘But I’m not going to stand in its way because I want the theatre to be the best it can be."