Rotorua Aquatic Centre: Vandalism and theft at newly revamped pool

Rotorua Aquatic Centre was reopened in June following upgrade works. Photo / Laura Smith

Rotorua’s newly upgraded Aquatic Centre has had to deal with thousands of dollars worth of theft and vandalism since it reopened.

There have been 11 incidents of vandalism and three thefts since the Rotorua Aquatic Centre partially re-opened in June following a major refurbishment.

A Rotorua Lakes Council spokesman said the vandalism included broken shower partitions in the changing rooms, steel pin coat hangers pulled from walls, door handles pulled off and shower rain brackets torn off walls.

It cost the council $2964 to fix.

The bulk of this was from one month alone, September, where the cost of dealing with the incidents totalled $2664.

This included a contractor hired for $500 to remove graffiti from the men’s toilet walls, doors and showers.

“We also had to hire a contractor to repair a shower handrail that was ripped from the wall. The repair cost was $207.”

There were three thefts that month: five shower hoses were stolen from the accessibility change rooms, a wash basin with a mixer tap and drain was taken from the family change room, and a shower head was stolen from the men’s outside disability change room.

The total cost of these was $1957.

No one had been identified in relation to the incidents.

“Vandalism and graffiti impact negatively on how a place looks and affect how people feel about it.

“It’s always disappointing to see public buildings, playgrounds, and other areas damaged or defaced by people who choose to do the wrong thing. Our public spaces are meant for everyone to enjoy, and these sorts of activities ruin this experience for everyone.”

Boiler failure, flooding, at performing arts centre

A hot water cylinder failure at the Sir Howard Morrison Centre resulted in flooding at the bar on the ground floor in September.

The cylinder tempering valve was faulty and its overflow tray’s wastepipe was unable to handle the leak’s flow.

On-site staff cleared the surface water and a plumber repaired the issue for $300.

A contractor removed skirting boards to dry out and dehumidify the area, costing $73.

The council spokesman said there was minimal disruption to the centre’s services, as it happened while no events were on and the skirting boards were out of public view.

It took two to three days to complete the repairs.

Laura Smith is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. She previously reported general news for the Otago Daily Times and Southland Express, and has been a journalist since 2019.

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.