The Marlborough District Council has agreed to increase the Marlborough Art Gallery's annual grant by $100,000 to spend on wages and operating costs. Photo: Supplied / Stuff
There was little money in the kitty for Marlborough District Council to hand out to community groups this year, with funding for Blenheim's new art gallery and the stadium the only items adding to the district's rates rise.
The council originally proposed and consulted on a 7.8 percent rates rise, but on Monday agreed to provide a one-off grant to the Marlborough Stadium Trust of $31,462 and a $100,000 funding increase for the Marlborough Art Gallery - pushing that rise out to 7.9 percent.
Several funding requests were transferred over to the council's various committees for further investigation - including ones regarding the state of the region's community halls, the subdividing of a Blenheim reserve for communal senior housing, and the development of a local alcohol policy.
Marlborough Mayor Nadine Taylor said the council had been prudent in its funding, and was "very aware" of the cost-of-living pressures on households, but recognised this was still a relatively high rates rise.
Art gallery
During annual plan submissions last week, Marlborough Art Gallery trust chairperson Rick Wilson claimed the gallery was the "worst funded public art gallery in our country".
The gallery, which opened in the new $20 million library building last month, was not open full-time because it could not afford to pay for more staff.
During deliberations, Blenheim ward councillor Jamie Arbuckle said the council needed to "back" the new gallery.
The trust asked the council for an increase in its operating costs grant of $60,000 a year, funding for extra staff of $120,000 a year, and up to $50,000 a year for storage and maintenance of the "Marlborough Collection". It currently received up to $160,500 a year.
Arbuckle suggested the trust should receive an extra $100,000, which it could spend on wages and operating costs. This was agreed by council.
Blenheim ward councillor Gerald Hope said the "world-leading facility" should not be set up to fail.
Marlborough Sounds ward councillor Ben Minehan questioned whether Marlborough ratepayers should be funding the gallery, and said if he were to travel to a similar gallery overseas, he would expect to pay an entry fee.
Deputy mayor David Croad said he was "disappointed" funding had not been previously "built in", and thought the library and gallery should look at how they could support each other and move towards a "mix model".
"We do need to put our money where our mouth is and support it," Croad said.
Stadium trust
The Marlborough Stadium Trust asked the council for an adjustment of its annual operating grant as its current funding, of $800,000 for the aquatics centre and $39,000 for the stadium, had not changed for about 10 years.
Arbuckle said adjusting this grant in line with the consumer price index (CPI) would be significant, at about $63,000. He instead suggested a one-off funding grant of $31,462, which was agreed by council.
Heritage trust
Taylor said she was happy to take up the "challenge" of lobbying for the regional delivery of heritage education in Marlborough. Her comment came after former trustees Paul Davidson and Dale Webb asked the council to underwrite the trust's heritage education programme until the end of the year, as it had lost all its Ministry of Education funding to providers in Nelson.
Taylor said there needed to be a serious discussion undertaken with the Ministry of Education about this decision. However, the council did not agree to any funding for the programme.
Davidson and Webb also called a potential take-over bid of the Marlborough Heritage Trust "poorly thought through ... with undue haste and zero consultation".
They urged the council to take "no further action" regarding the transfer of assets "pending proper consultation" with the wider heritage community.
During deliberations, Taylor stressed the pair were former trustees - and the wider heritage issues being worked through were very much a "work in progress".
John Orchard teaches Bohally Intermediate pupils about Anzac Day in 2018 as part of the region's education programme. Photo: Supplied / Stuff
Croad said it was a "challenging topic", and thought somebody needed to "make a statement".
"And the statement is that we thank the submitters for their submission but decline their requests," Croad said.
"Council has taken a process ... and we've made a decision to go down this road, and the one and only goal of that is to make heritage better in Marlborough."
Community halls
The council agreed to undertake a "stocktake" of community halls across the district after several groups raised issues about leaky, asbestos-ridden buildings with sunken floors across Marlborough.
Local alcohol policy
The council agreed to put a local alcohol policy on its to-do list for the coming year, after the Marlborough Alcohol Governance Group called for its development.
A local alcohol policy would allow the council to set its own rules for the sale and supply of alcohol, following public consultation.
Abbeyfield Marlborough
A group looking to bring flat-share style housing for the elderly to Marlborough asked the council to consider land at a reserve on Kingwell Drive for the purpose.
Councillor Hope thought the group, which had been coming to council with the idea for a number of years, was "genuine" in its intent.
Council staff had calculated giving up the land would cause a loss to the council of $960,000. They agreed to investigate the request further.
It would require full public consultation, and sign-off from the Minister of Conservation.
Marlborough's rates rise is expected to be 7.9 percent following consideration of submissions to the council's annual plan. Photo: Supplied / Stuff
Some submitters that missed out (for now)
The Blenheim Club, on High Street, asked the council for rates relief as its heritage building had an annual bill of over $14,000.
Council's chief financial officer Martin Fletcher said this was a "complex issue".
The council did not agree to the request, but was reviewing its heritage buildings as part of a wider heritage strategy.
Marlborough Four Paws called for desexing days to address the region's stray cat problem. The council forwarded the request to animal control.
Crossroads Charitable Trust wanted a $15,000 annual operating grant.
Arbuckle said while he felt "attached" to the trust and what it did for the community, the council needed to be financially prudent.
The council also agreed to look into how it funded and gave grants to various community groups - which could help cut out what Croad described as "internal admin".
Renwick School pupils Clara Watt and Dylan Martin called for the council to bring back the Renwick recycling container until the roll-out of kerbside collection, after it was removed in 2019 following a spate of illegal dumping. This would have cost the council $70,000 for the year, and was therefore turned down.
The rates rise is subject to final full council approval at a meeting on 29 June, and would come into effect on 1 July.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.