Marton War Memorial Hall is about to get a revamp. Photo / Supplied
Marton War Memorial Hall is about to get a revamp. Photo / Supplied
The Marton War Memorial Hall will receive a facelift after being allocated $500,000 from the Government's Provincial Growth Fund.
It was announced by Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones as part of an almost $12.4 million contribution to New Zealand's town halls and war memorials.
"Town halls, other facilities andwar memorials are an integral part of any community and many of them in the regions have fallen into disrepair," Jones said.
"People in the regions should have facilities and memorials they can be proud of and which reflect the communities they are in.
"At the same time jobs will be created for local tradies and contractors displaced by the economic impact of Covid-19."
Rangitīkei mayor Andy Watson. Photo / Bevan Conley
Rangitīkei mayor Andy Watson said the council had been given only a week to submit the funding application but, because it was a shovel-ready project, work could begin as soon as the money had been received.
"It's always fantastic when you get some extra money out of government, and you'd certainly never turn it away," Watson said.
"Some applications, like the rail hub for instance, have been worked on for years, and with the shovel-ready projects we had to get them in within the week. Luckily for us we had a win."
Watson said the money would go towards the removal of asbestos, creating an additional emergency exit, electrical and heating works, installing a fire alarm and painting.
"It makes it more functional and more updates it. I think one of the reasons we got the funding was because of the amount of use it gets.
"Samoan Independence Day is always a big thing for us, and it's celebrated at the hall.
"The hall is used by organisations like the RSA and for various sporting codes, especially basketball and volleyball.
"There are also a number of community functions there through the year."
Watson said the council had to make sure that building consents "weren't an issue" prior to submitting the application, because contractors had to begin work as soon as possible under the funding requirements.
"I think staff will be on the go there very soon. We went to our local contractors and told them 'look guys, we've only got a couple of days to prepare some work and prepare some quotes', and they were very obliging."
Special thanks needed to go to RangitīkeiDistrict Council staff, Watson said, who "pulled out all the stops" to get the application together in time.
