“That should see them in a position to complete business case work and come back to council for direction on funding and completing the project,” he said.
“A quick reminder, the trust was created by council in the first place as a vehicle for trying to deliver heritage building restoration projects.”
Another council loan of $100,000, for assessment work, was approved in September 2020.
Councillor Rob Vinsen said he had supported the project from the start but it was time to “cut and run”.
“The investment of the council is safe, in terms of the land value, and I don’t think we should be putting any more money in.
“It’s too open-ended.”
According to Langford’s report, the land value of the property is $590,000.
Councillor Kate Joblin said the council had to “keep our eye on the prize” and support the project to get to the next stage.
Councillor Josh Chandulal-Mackay said he remembered feeling uncomfortable in 2023 when the trust asked the council for more money.
“As it was framed up in 2021, it was all about seed funding to enable the trust to go off and do the work themselves.”
He said the new council for 2025-28 would have to agree, with urgency, to a memorandum of understanding with the trust about the council’s involvement in the project.
Mayor Andrew Tripe and councillors Charlotte Melser, Glenda Brown, Ross Fallen, Charlie Anderson, Jenny Duncan, Philippa Baker-Hogan, Chandulal-Mackay and Joblin voted to repurpose the loan.
Councillors Michael Law, Peter Oskam and Vinsen were against.
In May, deputy mayor and trust co-chair Helen Craig said the project had taken far longer than first thought, mostly due to Covid-19 and the rising costs that followed, and a change in plans meant extensive roof work was on hold.
Craig told the Chronicle this week that 66% co-funding for the build from the Lottery Grants Board’s heritage fund depended on council support.
“It is a tricky time for councils to be doing things that are unusual, and not core business, if you like,” she said.
“A decision has to come in the new year - if they want to continue the project or not.
“If not, the only sensible thing to do is put the property on the market.”
Langford told the Chronicle the council loans included interest and would start to be paid back once the trust was getting rental income from the apartments’ tenants.
“If the project doesn’t go ahead, they have to pay them back as well.”
At the meeting, he said the trust’s core purpose was to refurbish and redevelop the entire building, including replacing the roof.
“If there was an opportunity to get Lotteries funding, it makes sense to do that work in a single package.
“The risk to council, from our point of view, is relatively low.
“If the project doesn’t proceed, the building is currently valued at more than the total sum of all the loans we’ve advanced to the trust to date.”
Baker-Hogan said it was important the trust worked very closely with its cash flow, but it “would be a really harsh decision” if the council dropped the project.
“All those loan funds are secured by loan documents and subject to repayment.
“Within the next six to 12 months at the maximum, the council should be in a much better position to go forward, or say ‘unfortunately, it’s going to be too much on the ratepayer’.”
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.
