The Cromwell Community Board was quick to approve one community and two promotions grants at its meeting on Wednesday (September 13), with a second request for a community grant being the subject of much discussion on whose purview it was.

The board had $49,925 to distribute for community grants in both this initial round of funding and a second round scheduled for the first half of 2024. It had $11,224 remaining in the promotions grant to distribute for this round and the second round.

Speaking in the public forum at the start of the meeting, Central Otago Queenstown Trail Network Trust executive Janeen Wood requested $10,686 to cover an unexpected invoice from Central Otago District Council (CODC) for a peer review in the resource consent process for the proposed Kawarau Gorge Trail. 

The trust had made a joint resource consent application to CODC and Queenstown Lakes District Council to simplify the process.

Janeen said the amount was more than the trust spent on its resource consent application. The trust had offered to pay $3,000 towards the cost but was told by council staff they were unable to adjust the fee and advised to approach the Cromwell Community Board for a grant.

“The trail is economically sustainable and our community is benefiting from this through financial and, more importantly, well-being benefits,” she said.

Board chair Anna Harrison told Janeen the board had no function in consenting.

“We are a small town and we are a community board for small funding to do these things,” Anna said.

When the request came up during the grants funding, adjusted to $7,686 to take into account the $3,000 offered by the trust, the board was sympathetic that the trust had felt blindsided by the invoice, but felt it was not a Cromwell responsibility.

“It’s a tricky one for us because as a community board, at this level, we have no function in consenting at all,” Anna said.

CODC mayor Tim Cadogan said council did not have appropriate grants, despite, in his view, the trails serving the whole of the community and bringing money to the whole of the community.

“We have other ways we can pay it,” Tim said. “It’s council’s problem, you should tell council that.”

The board declined the application, referring the matter back to CODC, and noting that further investigation would be done to ensure the charge was appropriate.

The second community funding application was for $10,000 toward the upgrade of the existing kitchen at the Bannockburn Bowling Club. The club had raised the remaining $120,000 itself, a feat the board found astounding.

Deputy chair Bob Scott said it was amazing the club had managed to raise that amount with only 30 members.

The board approved the grant.

It also approved promotions grants of $1,500 for Arts Central towards its 2024 exhibition; and of $4,000 to Dare to Sweat Events for its Spirited Women Event 2023.

In a separate funding request, the board considered a request from the Cromwell Golf Club for $10,000 from the Cromwell Golf Club fund to assist with the cost of a new greens mower.

The former Cromwell Borough Council established fund accounts for the clubs that leased council reserve land, with each club fund account funded by the annual rentals that the clubs paid for the land. The money requested would come from the golf club’s fund account.

As president of the club, Bob excused himself from the discussion.

“It’s very straightforward, they have money set aside,” Anna said.

The board approved the funding.