Concerns for future funding

REFLECTIVE: Whangarei Mayor Sheryl Mai listens to the debate over the Hundertwasser Arts Centre at Wednesday's council meeting. PHOTO/MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM

Dumping the Hundertwasser Arts Centre project could damage Whangarei District Council's ability to get funding from external agencies in the future because they may have lost trust that the council will do what it promises, Whangarei Mayor Sheryl Mai warned.

The council proposed spending $8 million of ratepayer funding - on top of $5 million already raised from funding agencies and individuals - to build the Hundertwasser Arts Centre (HAC) at the old Harbour Board building at the Town Basin.

But on Wednesday the council voted 8-6 to can the plan, meaning the $2 million from the Lottery Grants Board's Significant Project Fund and $500,000 from the board's WWI Commemorations, Environment and Heritage committee that had been granted for the project will have to be given back.

The council had included HAC in its 2012-2022 long term plan which helped it get the Government funding.

"I hope that if we come up with a really good project in the future that funding agencies would not look at it harshly and think that we won't follow through with the project as we promised ... but I couldn't blame them if they did," Ms Mai said.

"And I don't blame the Hundertwasser Foundation for following through on its pledge to withdraw the project from the council."

Meanwhile, Ms Mai has welcomed news of a push by business leaders to get private and Government funding for HAC.

On Thursday, Whangarei businessman and chairman of Whangarei Economic Development Group Barry Trass said a group of business leaders, private individuals and community members were working to get private funding to keep the project alive and had already spoken to the foundation about it.

"We feel this is too important a project to just let go. We are a group of people who have done a lot of work on this and really back the project and we're not just going to sit back and do nothing," Mr Trass said.

Ms Mai said she was disappointed HAC got scrapped by the council - which has spent about $1.6 million on the project so far - but many people had concerns over it being funded by ratepayers.

She said there would naturally be a grieving process for many people involved in promoting HAC, but that would subside.

Vienna-based Hundertwasser Foundation, which allowed the council to proceed with the project, is receptive to private funders taking over the scheme.