Seven Whanganui District Councillors have accepted that it is too late to make changes to the city's new wastewater treatment plant, but remain dissatisfied with the process that has committed the city to the $41.2 million project.
New councillors, Alan Taylor, David Bennett, Murray Cleveland, and Graeme Young, together with the three re-elected councillors, Philippa Baker Hogan, Charlie Anderson and Rob Vinsen campaigned to call for a review of the plant.
"Despite our earnest attempts to stop the signing of the construction contract by the chief executive Kym Fell just 17 days before the election, this action has set the council on a path that has become too costly to deviate from," the councillors said yesterday in a joint statement.
"The unfortunate reality for Whanganui ratepayers is that it is now too late to make meaningful changes that will significantly reduce the cost of the plant."
The day after the election result was declared, Cr Vinsen wrote on behalf of all seven councillors to mayor elect Hamish McDouall, and the chief executive, to immediately suspend all work on the site. At that stage, Hawkins contractors had been on site one week. "The penalties would only have been ten's of thousands rather than the ten's of millions they were to become later."