A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Opinion
Whether the council proceeds with its office rebuild or opts to have the information this decision was based on reviewed comes down to three councillors.
If just two join the five who signed up to a notice of motion to revoke the decision, that would be a seven-all tie. TheMayor’s casting vote — meant in these cases to support the status quo, which will also no doubt be his deliberative vote — would then carry the day for the rebuild.
Weighing on the minds of anyone wavering will be the costs involved in a review. First there is the actual cost, which will depend on the sort of review sought and by whom. Then there are costs of delay — the council says that’s at least $300,000 in terms of temporary accommodation; developer council-owned GHL would also face additional risks.
Council staff envisage a five-month process at a minimum, if the decision is for an independent review. That incorporates at least a month for staff to advise councillors and for them to agree, potentially at their February 25 meeting, on the review’s terms of reference. However, it would be possible to delegate this authority to a small group of councillors or a committee that meets earlier.
It also probably factors in an open tender process, which the council has to follow for contracts over $100,000. With the urgency involved, one option could be to frame a review that can cost less than this. Councillors calling for a review are now considering what its terms of reference should be, to debate this as well next week.
The Herald understands the thinking is that it should be done by an engineering firm not involved in the process to date, and that it should be instructed to find the best possible outcome at the least possible cost. It would probably require a “tier one” firm such as Beca, Tonkin + Taylor or GHD, which might also want to do its own structural assessments.
The Herald understands there is not any interest in going down the Auditor-General track, although consultancies Ernst & Young or PwC could be an option; and that if the push for an external review fails, there is likely to be support for a fuller internal review.
