Discussions begin on re-scoped plans for Council facilities

Discussions begin on re-scoped plans for Council facilities

The Project Advisory Group formed to prepare for consultation on a Masterton Civic Facility met for the first time last week to begin discussions around re-scoped options for the Masterton Town Hall and District Library.

At a Council meeting on 13 September, Masterton District Council agreed to get costs for two options for consultation on the next steps of its planned Civic Facility project.

The two options to be re-scoped for public consultation are:

• Option 1 (Do the minimum required):
  • no further work on a new facility (noting a legal requirement to address the earthquake-prone status of the Town Hall).
• Option 2:
  • refurbish and upgrade the existing library and extend that to include the Wairarapa Archive and an information hub
  • demolish the existing town hall and build a new performance space on the town hall site
  • refurbish the municipal and civil defence buildings (with their end use to be confirmed).

The Chair of the Advisory Group, Deputy Mayor Bex Johnson, said she was pleased with the positive discussion held by the group on 4 October and its commitment to move forward with affordable options for the community’s input.

“We are very aware that this is the third time we will have discussed a Masterton events facility in some form as part of our Long-Term Plan,” Cr Johnson said. “We are equally aware of the community’s appetite to get on with the project as quickly as possible, particularly with our library and archive.

“We have excellent local voices at the table with local developer David Borman and sound and vision technologist Toby Mills, we will have local iwi represented, and we can bring in specialty expertise as our plans develop.

“Our priority will be to re-scope what could become two separate build projects on our existing library and town hall sites so that we can get revised design and cost options ready for our upcoming Long-term Plan consultation.

“There is a tangible sense of excitement among the group, and a genuine focus to take positive steps to develop the best options for our community – a community we’re committed to keeping up to date as plans develop.

“I am confident we’ll develop some great plans for the community to consider – and I’m really excited about what this could mean for the people of Masterton.”