Council pays to clear old shops
The Waimate District Council has agreed to pay $60,000 to the Rooney Group towards the clearance and beautification of land containing empty unsightly buildings in central Waimate owned by the business.
Details of the deal and the decision were confirmed in reports released to The Timaru Herald on Monday under a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) request made in October, three days after the council went public with its own press release on the agreement.
The council has not yet paid the $60,000 to the Rooney Group, but the money is earmarked to come from the Economic Development Unit ($20,000, Alpine Energy reserve) and $40,000 from the sale of Gorge Rd income.
One of the documents released is a four-page ‘‘public excluded’’ report written by council chief executive Stuart Duncan that put forward the ‘‘community meeting place’’ idea to councillors on June 28 as it zeroed in on vacant shops on the eastern side of Queen St, between the police station and old post office, that ‘‘are mostly owned by the Rooney Group’’.
The demolition took place in August and the meeting place, which has since been created, with the work carried out by the Rooney Group, is forecast to exist for two to four years with the council also responsible for maintenance, cleaning and upkeep of the space.
Duncan’s report says the Rooney Group purchased the shops with a long-term view to demolish and rebuild modern retail spaces but the ‘‘vision to construct new retail spaces has been increasingly difficult to realise . . .’’
The report says the community was unhappy with the empty shops and unattractive storefronts that visually mar the CBD and the Rooney Group ‘‘cannot be expected to resolve this problem alone, or be expected to exclusively finance accelerated short-term solutions that yield no financial return’’.
Duncan’s report says the Rooney Group was agreeable to the early demolition of the buildings and the building of a community space in partnership with council ‘‘provided it does not solely fund the proposal’’.
‘‘Adding a community meeting space not only removes the empty and unattractive retail shops, it provides a ready-made clientele for both the surrounding retail tenants and possible new sponsors, and it immediately improves the attractiveness of the main street to passing visitors,’’ the report says.
Risks identified in Duncan’s report were:
■ Loss of investment if the Rooney Group move to construct new retail spaces sooner than anticipated. This was, according to the report, mitigated in that the ‘‘improvement to the vista of the CBD is deemed to be value for money by assisting with the attraction of new retailers’’.
■ Public perception of council partnering and investing with a private business on private property.
■ Some members of the community may feel the council is funding the demolition of private property and not see, or want to understand the overall community benefit/value.
■ It is possible other owners of private commercial premises may approach the council to explore joint opportunities and this would need to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
■ A minor negative rating impact once the three vacant shops are demolished.
Further information released by the council shows it has also spent $1207.09 on a drinking fountain from its parks and reserves beautification programme and $413.15 on a watering system.
‘‘The parks and reserves team also provided a number of items that were surplus from previous projects, which included trees and annual plants. The team also provided grass seed, a standard item they carry, and helped Rooney’s staff to lay the seed to ensure a good strike, which they have had,’’ the council says.
‘‘The parks and reserves team collected bricks from the demolished building, so they could be incorporated into the design. Wooden beams were removed by Rooneys to be made into seats by a local joiner, at no charge.
‘‘Council has not received any funding, materials or grants from other parties.’’
The council also said the cost of staff time for this project has not been factored in to the LGOIMA response.
Waimate District mayor Craig Rowley, in the council’s press release, said it was ‘‘time for a facelift’’.
‘‘Investments in new retail outlets are major contributors to the resilience of our district, but unfortunately some of these vacant shops along Queen St do not give visitors the right impression of our vibrant town,’’ Rowley said.