Whangārei District Council's Civic Centre cost grows by $7m councillor calls for transparency

Whangārei's new Civic Centre is now costing $55 million Photo / Tania Whyte

A Whangārei District Councillor is calling for greater transparency as the latest expected cost of the city's new civic centre climbs to $55 million.

Cr Ken Couper called for more council public transparency for ratepayers around civic centre project costs at yesterday's Whangārei District Council (WDC) final meeting of the year.

He said ratepayers, who were funding what he called a signature council project, deserved to be kept informed about the projected total cost of the civic centre, as was normal for any project funders.

The centre started out in June 2019 at a cost of $38m. By February 2020 that had climbed to $48m. Now, in response to Northern Advocate questioning after yesterday's meeting, that price has been revealed to have increased by $7 million to $55m.

Couper said ratepayers were not being adequately informed. He had as a result tabled a formal notice of motion around civic centre costs at the meeting.

Councillors voted 12:1 in support of part of Couper's call requesting staff provide a written update on the centre's projected total cost to a public council meeting. Cr Vince Cocurullo voted against this. He said it was not appropriate to be talking of projected cost increases when the council had budgeted only $48m for the centre "and that was it".

WDC has since undertaken to provide monthly civic centre council meeting agenda updates.

Councillor Ken Couper is calling for greater transparency around the Civic Centre costs. Photo / Michael Cunningham

However, Couper's efforts to have the centre's projected total costs adopted as its official new budget were unsuccessful after councillors voted 8:5 against this. Whangārei Mayor Sheryl Mai, Nick Connop, Tricia Cutforth, Cocurullo, Shelley Deeming, Greg Martin, Anna Murphy and Simon Reid voted against Couper's call. Crs Gavin Benney, Jayne Golightly, Phil Halse and Carol Peters voted in support of Couper.

Whangārei Mayor Sheryl Mai said the council did not know what the final project costs would be.

These would be better known once WDC had let some major pending centre project contracts.

She said there was nothing hidden about the council's approach to projected civic centre costings.

Couper refused to be drawn on the content of a confidential June 17 councillor civic centre briefing and whether centre price hikes were outlined.

But Cr Cutforth, one of two WDC councillors appointed to the civic centre project steering committee along with Cr Deeming in June 2019 strongly signalled major cost increases at today's council meeting, referencing significant across-the-board price hikes for materials and supply chains across New Zealand and internationally.

Cutforth said the public could be assured that costs were constantly and rigorously scrutinised, down to the last $10.

Cr Ken Couper said ratepayers were not being adequately informed. Photo /Tania Whyte

Alan Adcock, WDC general manager/chief financial officer corporate, said the centre build had increased to $55m against an original $48m budget. He said, however, that the build was currently projected to come in under $55m.

In June 2019, the centre was a $38m, 5500 sq m building. By February 2020 that had climbed to $48m for a 7,000 sq m building, enlarged to accommodate more people including Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.

"Once Covid-19 hit we expected to see increased costs and project delays and have been doing everything we can to limit these, while also coping with several shutdowns of the site," Adcock said.

"Given the huge escalations in costs for materials and freight costs across the world, we believe a 15 per cent increase in the cost of this build is a result to be proud of. Issues including scarcity of products and skilled labour, general price escalations of materials and labour, time delays and supply chain logistics are all having an impact on all council capital projects.

"While each one could be manageable in isolation, their cumulative effects are proving to be challenging, leading to inevitable impacts on project delivery dates and budget revision," Adcock said.

WDC councillors yesterday formally approved a new $1,430,237 in unbudgeted spend for landscaping around the civic centre and part of its wider surrounding precinct.

This new landscaping cost approval includes bringing forward and changing the sequencing of closely-related surrounding infrastructure builds in order to save costs further down the track. It includes consideration of the gas main and a city power line crossing the Waiarohia Stream with Lovers Lane bridge which was to be replaced; stormwater replacement in Lovers Lane and Rust Avenue water main replacement.

Adcock said the centre was opening at the end of 2022.

"While we will continue to face cost pressures as the project continues, we are confident that with the processes we have in place, including independent quantity surveyors scrutinising every aspect of project expenditure, we can still deliver a project that will serve our community well into the future," Adcock said.