That accounts for 24.5 per cent of the total “mid-range” cost of $69.75m, with Whanganui District Council’s share covering earthquake strengthening ($5m) and additional capital expenditure ($12.7m).
Central government is providing $42.4m (60.8 per cent) and contributions from the gallery trust, community grants and donations, and the Preston Estate make up $10.29m (14.8 per cent).
The Sarjeant received a bequest of $850,000 from the estate of Jonathan Preston, a sheep farmer from Raetihi who died in 2018.
Project director Gaye Batty told the council operations and performance committee there were “creeping costs” for heritage plaster remediation works in the original gallery, along with trade fluctuations and escalations due to market conditions.
She said installation of the granite facade on the gallery’s new Te Pātaka o Sir Te Atawhai Archie John Taiaroa wing was under way and floors had been poured in the building that links the new wing with the existing gallery.
Council chief executive David Langford said contractors were entitled to extensions of time for “certain causes for delays”, particularly when they were outside their control.
“The council is liable for the costs that are incurred,” he said.
“For other activities or causes of delays that are typically in control of the contractor, there is no entitlement to an extension of time and the cost associated with that falls on the contractor.
“The [council] team are very diligently going through claims and making sure any extension of time is justified and is a contractual entitlement. They will and do push back on anything that is [the contractor’s] risk to take, not ours.”
Peter Oskam says Pukenamu Queen's Park will be like Central Park in New York once the Sarjeant Gallery and surrounding landscaping is completed. Photo / Bevan Conley
Langford said that work was ongoing.
“One of the things that is driving the increasing cost and increasing duration is the additional quantity of heritage plastering required.
“Effectively, we are asking our contractor to do more work than we originally envisaged. They are entitled to get paid for that work and they’re entitled to extend the duration of their programme.”
Councillor Rob Vinsen said the contract for the construction of the city’s wastewater treatment plant was a fixed price but that was not the case with the Sarjeant Gallery.
“What I’m concerned about is the public reporting of [contractor] claims, and that the public, who [are] paying for this, is aware of what the contractor is claiming.
“I hope that comes through in a clearer way than it has to date.”
Councillor Peter Oskam said everyone would have forgotten how much the project cost in five or six years.
“I look forward to when it’s completely finished and the Pukenamu planting and landscaping is all done,” he said.
“I envisage it will become like Central Park in New York. It will be a real attraction, the whole thing. It will be the centre of our town.”
The highest estimated cost of the redevelopment is $71.9m.
Councillor Michael Law said that was higher than he expected considering the project was close to completion.
Batty said unknowns, particularly in the original gallery, were decreasing.
“It was really around the extent of heritage plaster, which we are getting a handle on, but we do still have escalations and labour increases that are starting to creep through as well.”
The difference between the mid-range and highest-cost scenarios - currently around $2m - would be reduced when she next reported to the council, she said.
According to a report from gallery director Andrew Clifford, the redeveloped gallery will be open to the public by the end of 2024.
Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and 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.
