Replacement track gets $395,000 boost

The amount paid by organised users of the track will vary according to the size of the club.

The city council has come to the rescue of Tauranga Millennium Track Trust and will fund half the cost to replace the Domain's artificial running track.

The $395,000 grant follows the shock disclosure last year that the original 15-year life of the existing track had shrunk to nine years.

Agreement to fund half the cost of the alternative Polyurethane Sandwich Surface System was made by the council this week during debate on submissions to the 2015-25 Long Term Plan.

The trust has agreed to find the rest of the money. It will also have to meet a quarter of the $60,000-a-year bill to depreciate the track by the introduction of user fees starting July 1 next year.

Councillor Matt Cowley said he had received mixed messages from the athletics fraternity about whether the trust would be able to find the other $395,000 by 2017. He was told corporate naming rights for the track was not precluded by the council.

Cr Steve Morris was assured the council would consider a portable barrier arm to reduce wear on the inside lanes of the track.

Cr Gail McIntosh said the sooner the council got a decent user-fees scheme in place the better. She succeeded in bringing the implementation of the scheme back by 12 months.

The other $45,000 of depreciation costs would be funded from rates. Depreciation plus the loan to fund the council's share of the new track would cost ratepayers of $86,000 a year.

The amount paid by organised users of the track would vary according to the size of the club.

It would potentially result in an annual fee of $96 per person for the Tauranga Special Olympics' 12 athletes and $4.40 a year for the Bellevue Athletics Club's 260 members.

Fifty-three of the 71 public submissions on the funding proposal supported user-fees charges and the council contributing $395,000 while 13 opposed.

Key supporters included Athletics NZ, Athletics Waikato/Bay of Plenty and the New Zealand Secondary Schools Athletics Association.

Proposed user fees for Tauranga Domain athletics track
•Summer season training and club nights: $750 per club
•Winter season training and club nights : $400 per club
•Casual and competition use, full day booking: $210
•Casual and competition use, half day: $120
•Casual and competition use, hourly rate: $32
•Casual and competition discount for clubs with seasonal members: 50 per cent

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