Maniototo residents may have a second chance to keep the Patearoa, Wedderburn and Waipiata halls in council ownership, if community proposals are not forthcoming.

Councillor Stu Duncan asked council staff at the Maniototo Community Board on Thursday (August 7) about the divestment process of the halls if they weren’t retained by the community.

“What’s the process for taking them off the books?” he said.

Central Otago District Council chief executive Peter Kelly said that if a decision on those halls wasn’t made by communities before the next Long Term Plan (LTP) in two years, there was room for further discussions on their future.

“If the community still isn’t happy with the council decision, do they have an opportunity in the LTP to say ‘we think you have made a mistake’?” Stu asked.

Peter said “potentially”, but reminded the meeting that the decision to divest those community halls had already been made by council.

In June, the council agreed to divest eight low used halls/community facilities across the district, but there were already community group proposals underway in the Maniototo to retain Patearoa, Wedderburn, and Waipiata halls.

Council community experience group manager David Scoones said opportunities for communities to retain their own halls was on a “first dibs” basis.

He said the Patearoa Hall proposal was already well underway, and all of the halls earmarked for divestment would continue to be funded by council for the next 18 months, until a final decision was made.

A total of 13 halls and community facilities were retained by council: Millers Flat, Poolburn, Becks, and Ophir halls; the Clyde hall, museum and railway station; Ranfurly Hall, Wallace Memorial Rooms, and Centennial Milkbar; Naseby Hall and general store, and the Fenton Library.

Ongoing escalating costs of halls and buildings including $12.7M identified earthquake strengthening led to the review of the facilities.

Community groups that acquired buildings to maintain would have the on-going operational maintenance or earthquake strengthening of the building as an alternative of ratepayers.

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