Council prefer carpark site
Taupo¯ ’s councillors have rejected a proposal to build a new civic building on reserve land near the town centre.
Instead, a free public carpark is being put forward as the preferred site for the new building.
The original concept for the building at the Tuwharetoa St carpark was estimated to be $19.4 million over 20 years. The concept featured two levels of underground carparking to replace the 55 carparks to be built over, at a cost of $9m.
However, several councillors said the $9m cost of underground levels was too high.
The council’s preferred option, to be put forward for feedback from the public, was for no underground carparking.
This would mean those of the 187 council staff who commute to work at the building would park in the empty lot beside Burger King and on surrounding streets.
Taupo¯ District Council’s administration staff have been displaced from a central office building since 2016, with 129 staff spread between six offices.
Councillors discussed four options for a new council office building at a tense meeting on Monday.
Costings had been provided by a business case.
The various locations for a new council building were the Tuwharetoa St carpark [$19.4m including the underground levels at $9m]; at the council’s previous lakefront premises on Lake Tce [$12.4m], and at the Tongariro Domain reserve [$12.3m] as part of a Cultural Precinct masterplan.
Leasing a custom-fitted building from a private party, long-term, was put forward as the fourth option. This was estimated to cost $19.6m over 20 years.
Mayor David Trewavas attended and voted in the meeting, having returned from kidney-transplant surgery, but did not speak.
Only Cr Kirsty Trueman, councillor for Mangakino, spoke in favour of the Tongariro Domain option. Three of the 10 councillors – Rosanne Jollands, John Boddy and Tangonui Kingi – supported leasing a building.
Chief executive Gareth Green said council had been approached by three developers so far. Staff would now work on providing a brief of what sort of office building the council would seek.
Councillors Rosie Harvey, Christine Rankin, Maggie Stewart, Barry Hickling, Park, Williamson, and Mayor Trewavas voted in favour of the Tuwharetoa St location. But Cr Boddy, Jollands and Kingi voted against the motion.