The cost of a controversial new library in Blueskin Bay increased partly because local opposition held it up, a report to tomorrow's Waikouaiti Coast Community Board says.
Last June, the community board voted to demolish the Blueskin Bay Library, making way for a bigger, environmentally friendly library.
In his report, Dunedin City Council library customer services manager Mike Collett said the project's initial cost was $720,000, with construction to start in 2009-10.
The cost was now $860,000, with construction starting late 2011-12.
The city council was providing $500,000, with the rest to be raised by community fundraising starting next month.
If necessary, the project could yet be changed to cut costs, the report said.
Community opposition, including a petition calling on the council not to demolish the library, led to delays and extra cost, as the community board then requested alternative options, before endorsing the demolition plan, the report said.
The report acknowledged other factors held up progress; the "loss" of city council architects, and other staff changes, meant external fundraising and architect expertise had been sought.
When contacted, petition organiser Rosemary Penwarden was adamant the petition, presented to the community board in April, was not responsible for the delay.
It seemed the lack of public fundraising was the real hold-up.
She could not understand how the proposal to demolish a building, in order to build an environmentally friendly one, stacked up.
Her petition had not opposed a new library, but requested it be built on another spot on the site, and the old library kept for use by community groups.
Ms Penwarden said she now had increasing misgivings about the project at a time of fiscal constraint across the city.
Community board member Geraldine Tait, a long-time opponent of the demolition, was also concerned about the cost of the project while the city council was considering slashing its libraries budget.
Among proposals was cutting the opening hours of Dunedin City Library, which could affect city workers' access to books and library services, she said.
A new library for a community of 1500 when it already had one seemed like a "luxury".
