Concerns were raised at a meeting yesterday considering the increased costs of the Leith-Lindsay flood protection scheme, in particular the fact major beneficiaries of the work were Government-owned assets such as the University of Otago and Dunedin Hospital.
An implementation plan giving the first public indication of the new cost of the scheme on the Leith and Lindsay Creek was discussed by the council's engineering and hazards committee yesterday.
The scheme was originally costed by Opus International Consultants in 2004 at $21.4 million, but when asked to revise the cost in 2008, its estimate rose to $48.5 million. The council's costs and revenue added another $4.8 million.
The council asked Opus to explain how the cost estimate more than doubled and among the reasons given were construction costs increasing 35% from 2004 to 2009, the contingency it adopted was too low and that it underestimated the scale of the works required for some major items and did not include others.
Facing a $53.3 million price tag for the scheme, the council developed an alternative implementation strategy costing $31.2 million, plus the $10.3 million already spent.
The alternative scheme proposed was to complete more, but smaller parcels of work, with each parcel individually priced.
One of the major impacts on the scheme was the University of Otago, as the Leith flowed through the campus, but because it was Crown-owned it was not able to be rated for any protection work.
Cr Bryan Scott said there needed to be a fair funding regime, including a "fair and just" Government contribution for the non-rateable university area.
While the Government had been praised in recent times for its response to disasters, "true leadership" would be to support a scheme that would "ideally avoid disasters in the future".
If the Government did not contribute, Dunedin ratepayers would have to shoulder that burden.
Cr Michael Deaker said it was hard to imagine outside of Molesworth St in Wellington where else the Government had such "high value Crown assets" not just for eduction but for health and social welfare.
"All those are highly vulnerable to mishap of the flood type. It would be nothing if not outrageous if the Crown did not come with a high level of investment."
A contribution of $10 million had been suggested, but he hoped it would be more, given the value in the billions of those assets, he said.
Chairman Stephen Woodhead said while the council had talked to politicians in the past about contributing to the scheme, it was now time to get serious.
Crown assets would receive direct benefit of the scheme and it was time the regional council got its house in order and made its case.
Cr Gerry Eckhoff said the Government "cannot opt out of its responsibilities in this matter".
It was not the first time funding issues around Government-owned facilities had been raised regarding the Leith-Lindsay work.
In 2005, the council and university spent a year negotiating on final designs for the flood protection work through the university campus.
In 2006, they agreed to "co-fund" additional amenity works on the Leith between St David St footbridge and Clyde St. The additional work was costed then at $688,000.
Last year, the university released its master plan, which included proposals which impacted on the scheme, its timing and the nature of the works planned, possibly making some plans redundant.
Cr Scott said after the meeting, as a result of the master plan and revised costings of the scheme, all those agreements were "up in the air".
University property services director Barry MacKay said discussion between the university and Otago Regional Council on this issue was ongoing.
"The university has made no decisions on the future of the ITS building. The vice-chancellor and the University Council will consider options in the campus master plan in the first half of this year."
Mr Woodhead said he was comfortable in the council's ability to achieve the work on the Leith, albeit over a longer period of time.
The committee agreed that the council consider a report on the impact of the estimated scheme cost and implementation plan, its viability and a funding model at its meeting on February 9.
