Russell wharf handover approved - now it's up to voters

A PGF-funded upgrade of Russell wharf is nearing completion with the final section of the new deck added earlier this week. Photo / Stephen Western

The Far North District Council has re-affirmed its decision to transfer Russell Wharf to its commercial arm Far North Holdings for the sum of $1 — but with extra safeguards to ensure it can't be sold to private interests in future.

At a meeting in Kaitaia last week councillors voted to go ahead with the controversial transfer, subject to an agreement between Far North Holdings (FNH) and a yet-to-be formed charitable trust which, if it goes ahead as proposed, will co-manage the wharf.

That legally-binding agreement would provide for community and tangata whenua input into any decisions about the wharf, and require FNH to offer the wharf back to the council if it wanted to divest it in future.

Councillors also voted that accumulated depreciation for the wharf, totalling about $900,000, be held in trust by the council. FNH would be able to apply for the funding as required for maintenance.

Meanwhile, nominations for a trustee selection panel for the new Kororāreka Russell Community Wharf Kaitiaki Trust are due to close today.After that Russell residents will have just over two weeks to study the proposed trust deed and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the trust and FNH.

Finally, from July 12 to August 2, Russell residents and ratepayers will be able to cast a yes/no vote on the trust deed and MOU. They will also be asked to vote for the five-member trustee selection panel.

Election Services, an Auckland-based company, will run the poll with options to vote online, by post and by ballot box.

Duke of Marlborough co-owner Riki Kinnaird, the driving force behind the new trust, said the consultation process had been comprehensive. Twelve written and "dozens" of verbal submissions had been received.

"We took each of these extremely seriously and have moved mountains to incorporate whatever changes we felt were both reasonable and achievable ... People now have everything they need to make an informed decision on whether or not to establish the trust along the lines we are proposing, which will give our community for the first time a say in how our wharf is managed and maintained," he said.

Kinnaird told councillors the wharf had been allowed to deteriorate under council and FNH watch to the point where it was ''stuffed''.

Last summer the Advocate reported a steel pile had failed after an incident involving a ferry and an unsafe pontoon had to be removed.

Kinnaird said a $1.114 million grant from the Government's Provincial Growth Fund meant the wharf was finally getting a proper upgrade, but that didn't solve the issue of long-term maintenance.

The aim of setting up the trust was to give the community a voice and ensure the wharf would not fall into disrepair again.

He would not be involved in the new trust except to help if required.

If voters reject the new trust the wharf will remain in council hands.

Meanwhile, the wharf upgrade is due to be completed on schedule in August. Rotten piles and boards have been replaced, a new pontoon has been added, and the deck around the information kiosk has been expanded.

Controversial plans to install a toilet on the wharf and replace the kiosk with a two-storey building have been put on hold. They will be discussed by the new trust, if it goes ahead.