5 March 2009
The Tasman District Council proposes to seek expressions of interest from parties who can potentially work with the Council to provide some form of multi-use community facility in Richmond.
Mayor Richard Kempthorne said the Council had been successful in working with localised communities to establish a range of facilities across the District.
“The hugely successful Moutere Hills and Murchison facilities are examples of this initiative,” he said.
“However there is still an unmet need in both Golden Bay and Richmond. We are asking the Golden Bay community to advise the Council as to their preferred solution and we now need to get a similar process under way in Richmond.
"The Town Hall and other existing buildings in Richmond have severe limitations and do not meet the community need. Given the larger scale requirement in Richmond it seems logical to try to come up with an affordable solution by working with some other provider,” said Mayor Kempthorne.
He said that in the current economic environment Council was not in a position to fund this type of facility on its own.
In the draft 10-year plan the Council has put aside $1.5 million to help fund a Richmond facility.
In due course the Council would like to hear from any organisation that has either an existing facility that could be extended, or a potential facility that could meet the Council’s Richmond community needs.
If the $1.5 million is incorporated in the final draft Ten Year Plan, when that comes before the Council in June 2009, it is likely that there would be a formal call for expressions of interest sometime after that date.
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