Nelson's Elma Turner Library Photo: RNZ / Samantha Gee
*This story which was published on 4 August, 2024, has been updated on 5 August, 2024, to clarify the figures around the three options.
The Nelson City Council has agreed to further investigate three options for a library, civic centre and community hub on a single central city site.
In March, the council unveiled a proposal to develop a $90 million community facility after revelations two of the council's main buildings - the Elma Turner Library and Civic House - were nearing the end of life, becoming increasingly expensive to maintain and were no longer fit for purpose.
At a meeting on Thursday, elected members voted 11-1 to accept an indicative business case by TwentyTwo and Beca on a combined facility, subject to further work to confirm the project would be cost effective and economically viable.
Three options would be put forward for further investigation; a new build owned by council with an estimated cost of $93.3m, a new build leased by council at a cost of $24.7m and the redevelopment of Civic House at $80.6m.
If the council were able to sell Civic House for $10m, the cost of a new build owned by council was estimated to cost $83.3m, and a new build leased by council would cost $14.7m, while the refurbishment of Civic House was estimated at $77.6m, less $3m for the sale of the Elma Turner Library.
They agreed the objective of the project was to provide a good quality community hub, inclusive of library services, civic and administration services that was cost effective and provided value for money for the ratepayer.
Mayor Nick Smith said the decision was simply about further investigating the options in more detail - not a decision on whether to proceed with any of them, which required public consultation.
Mayor Nick Smith. Photo: Supplied / Nelson City Council
He said the major project came at a significant cost - but meaningful consultation was not possible without reliable information.
Even though the project was not likely be approved this term - it was one that Smith said the current council needed to address. It would be the largest project the council had undertaken since the Maitai Dam was built in 1987.
The current long term plan includes $46.3m for a new library and $18.3m for the refurbishment of Civic House.
Nelson's major civic assets approaching end of life
The council bought Civic House in 1991 then refurbished it - but had not had any further investment since, with problems arising due to the significant deferred maintenance. The roof structure is earthquake prone which led to the sixth floor being vacated in 2021. The heating system operates on diesel and the ventilation system is in poor condition, with working conditions for staff described as inadequate.
The Elma Turner Library, a former car showroom, recently had strengthening work at a cost of $2.5m completed after seismic issues were found in the roof. It extended the life of the facility by up to 10 years, but it was also approaching the end of its economic life.
In 2022, the council voted not to spend any more on a proposed $46m riverside library redevelopment that Smith said was unaffordable in the current economic environment.
Councillor Tim Skinner voted against further investigating the three options, and said spending $85m was "madness" as there was no appetite for a new facility at that cost, let alone the financial capacity during a cost-of-living crisis.
He said the council was making "a mountain out of a molehill" as there was nothing wrong with the Elma Turner Library and that the council should do the minimum, spend $5m to fix the earthquake prone issues with Civic House, even if it wasn't the best long term option.
"Sometimes we just have to make do and that might be hard to swallow but this is not the time ... we've got an amalgamation [of councils] that could happen around the corner, we could do a lot of this work for naught."
Civic House Taskforce chairperson Pete Rainey argued that it was madness not to explore the options and defer decision making for another five to 10 years.
"It is our role around this table to plan for the future of this city, it is what we are elected to do. To not plan and just say we will hope everything will be okay is truly irresponsible. It sends a message there's no hope or belief in a positive future for our city."
Councillor Matthew Benge said it made sense to redevelop Civic House and the library together - but the council should consider finding investors or developers who wanted to contribute towards a building that included other facilities, like retailers, car parking or accommodation - to make it even more cost effective.
To build new, redevelop or do nothing?
Councillor Trudie Brand said it was a case of déjà vu as previous council's had already debated whether its assets were at the end of their life and were breaking down, the options for a new library and what to do about Civic House.
"We need to look at what are our civic assets and are they giving our community the safe, accessible, best bang for the buck for them to participate as active members of our society."
She said the council also needed to get out of the mindset of considering the cheapest option - evident in the Pūtangitangi Greenmeadows Centre build which ended up costing the council $2.32m more than budgeted and damaged the community's trust with the council.
An independent review found the business case for the Greenmeadows project did not address its fundamental requirements and lacked sufficient detail, the project did not have a clearly articulated brief, there was a lack of clarity around how it would operate, and there was no robust project governance framework.
Councillor James Hodgson said during a youth council meeting last month, water began dripping through a light fitting in the council chamber so the rest of the meeting was conducted. Which was just one example of the disruption caused by a building that hadn't been maintained.
"It would be easier for this to be off the table, to just stick with the status quo, especially in the midst of these really difficult economic times, but we are staring down the barrel of cost and risk and degraded public services no matter which way we look at this."
Deputy mayor Rohan O'Neill-Stevens said the council was facing an expensive option as a result of choosing not to proceed with projects in the past, or deal with building issues proactively as they arose.
"What I hope, is that we won't be a council that continues to hit the do nothing button, because we can always pass this on and fundamentally we are talking about major investment no matter what option is picked."