February 24, 2012
Civic Building upgrade full justified says Mayor

The substantial upgrade of the old Council building in Rimu Road is fully justified, says Mayor Jenny Rowan.

“I can understand some people being taken by surprise at the extent of the work, as there is often a difference between seeing something on paper and the reality on the ground. What bothers me, however, is the extent of comment coming from people with no skills or experience in this area whatsoever.

“Council has put a great deal of effort into getting this right. It was clear the old building was not up to scratch.

“There was rot in the exterior walls, we had flooding issues, birds nesting and dying in the ceilings, extremely poor facilities inside for both staff and visitors, insufficient toilets to meet building code requirements, no disabled access to the Council Chamber, no toilets for the disabled, gaps between window frames and wall cladding that made it impossible to heat parts of the building when a southerly wind was blowing, corridors so narrow people struggled to get past each other, inadequate ventilation in summer and a rope ladder as the fire escape from the third floor.

“We looked at the cost of a new building and the figures just didn’t stack up. Expert outside advice said a new building would cost in the vicinity of $14 million. We had this peer reviewed last December and the advice was the same.

“We simply could not afford to erect a new building, so the decision was made to go for a major overhaul of the existing building for a price of $5.5 million. That is the value of the construction contract with Armstrong Downes. On top of this, is a contingency element, the cost of the temporary move to Lindale, IT work, design fees, project management costs, resource consent costs, landscaping, town centre improvements, and the fit out and move back in.

“When you add all these up, the total project cost is $8.1 million. This is a far cry from the $14 million equivalent for a new building. The $14 million figure does not include the cost of land.

“I am absolutely convinced we have done the right thing by our ratepayers and our staff. We are using the existing frame and foundation in an intelligent, cost-effective way. What we will end up with is a building that is in the right location, it is accessible to all people, the space inside works, and it is a civic building that people can feel proud about.

“We are not building a fancy new structure. We are utilising the existing foundation and vertical supports which normally amount to around one-third or more of a new building. A substantial amount of seismic strengthening will be done using “K” bracing. There will be a new roof line and the northern face of the building will be extended slightly.

“I accept that $8.1 million is a lot of money, but we need to keep this in perspective. Hutt City has just decided to spend $27 million on seismic strengthening and modernising its administration building instead of spending $47 million on a new building. Porirua has been confronted by a $10 million bill just to earthquake-proof its building.

“We didn’t enter into the upgrade of our civic building lightly. We did look at a variety of options and I am convinced, we have gone for the most cost-effective one that will provide this district with a civic building and a civic centre that they will be proud of for many years to come.”

ends

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