Ruffled feathers over plans to demolish the Balclutha bird aviary appear to have been smoothed, with the Clutha District Council backtracking on its original plans.
The meeting agreed yesterday to fully fund a South Otago Museum curator over the next two years, but it wants to enter into a formal contract to establish a job description for the role.
Another role in jeopardy, that of the community co-ordinator, was also given a reprieve.
The future of both curator and co-ordinator roles was uncertain after the draft plan recommended cutting funding for both jobs.
A proposal to demolish the Naish Park aviary attracted more than 25 opposing submissions to its long-term council community plan, and yesterday's special council meeting agreed to continue funding the asset, but stressed a long-term vision for the facility was needed.
More than 400 people signed a petition calling on the council to keep the aviary.
The meeting hoped that level of support would translate into enough volunteers to keep running the aviary.
While most councillors supported the role of a museum curator, most believed a district-wide curator, overseeing all museums, was the way of the future.
A condition of the council funding was that it talk to the South Otago Historical Society about how the role could change from being based solely in Balclutha to being expanded to other parts of the district.
It agreed to pay an annual grant of $28,700, with a 2% adjustment for inflation, over the next two years.
The council plans to enter into a contract with the society until 2011, with a right to renew that deal for a further two years.
The role and other funding opportunities that could help pay for the job would be reviewed in 2011.
Councillors agreed the district needed a co-ordinator to help steer community groups with their work and different projects.
The existing role runs until the end of this year, meaning there is already money in this year's budget.
The council recommendation yesterday was to inject another $20,000 into the 2009-10 budget, and to add a total annual package of $40,000 for the co-ordinator's salary beyond then.
