IN a quiet moment, if he was candid with himself, Napier Mayor Bill Dalton would have to concede that the debacle that is the Museum Theatre Gallery Hawke's Bay (MTG) is a headache he could do without.
What a mess the whole process has turned out to be. For weeksnow, the word has been that an independent report by Wellington consultants McDermott Miller into the MTG would be "bad, very bad" and so it has proved to be. This is a shame because many, including this newspaper, had high hopes when the museum reopened with great fanfare last September after its $18million revamp.
How dire the report is, is summed up in this quote: "A viewer might be excused for thinking that the earthquake destroyed all life and society in Hawke's Bay since there is no evidence in the museum of a continuing culture, economy or society. No wonder people are not flocking in."
And they are not flocking in. Admissions in the current financial year are expected to be between 30,000 and 35,000 compared to 36,000 before the revamp.
By all accounts Mr Dalton was at his fiery best at yesterday's press conference to release the report, but one hopes that he and his council team listen to what the report and, essentially the public, are saying: The MTG needs to be a place where people can afford to go, enjoy going to and reflects our changing society.
It is a good thing that the Napier council has been proactive in reducing the adult admission price from $15 to $10 and they are looking at a staff restructure. But for a mayor who likes to be right, it must annoy Mr Dalton that what was meant to be the shining star of Napier has not, according to independent consultants, achieved its target.
