The council proposes spending up to $13 million on building HAC, with up to $8 million from ratepayers. An economic feasibility study of the proposal by consultants Deloitte claims it will attract 143,000 to 160,000 paying visits annually. The $5 million non-rates funding has already been pledged.
A comprehensive telephone survey carried out by the council found 53 per cent of respondents opposed HAC, 28 per cent supported it and 19 per cent were either not sure or not leaning either way.
The council employed Versus Research - at a cost of $17,065 - to do the telephone survey of 1000 Whangarei residents to gauge support for HAC.
But Whangarei's business and tourism communities have come out behind the scheme, saying they felt it would be good for the district.
On Saturday regional development and tourism body Northland Inc, which is largely ratepayer funded, said it would meet any running costs of the centre.
Tomorrow the councillors will have plenty of information before them to make their decision, including the financial implications for HAC, the business plan, how Deloitte came up with its figures and comparisons with other regional museums.
Councillors have also been informed that the Hundertwasser Foundation has made it clear that if the HAC is built it will be the last authentic Hundertwasser building to be constructed and therefore it would need to be based at the site of the NRC building at the Town Basin.
Whangarei ratepayers could end up footing an annual bill of $500,000 if HAC sails into troubled waters. In a worst case scenario examined by Deloitte, the centre would generate 10 per cent lower than projected income while at the same time incurring 10 per cent greater than projected expenses.
The council bought the old harbour board/NRC building on December 5, 2003 for $2.2 million plus GST - $1 million above valuation - but since then the building has remained empty except for use for one-off events such as headquarters for the Rally of Whangarei.
