That news, however, went largely unnoticed by an angry crowd in Roxburgh this week.
The Roxburgh Golf Club was filled to capacity on Thursday for the community to hear from elected members, council staff and the project steering group set up to manage the rebuild of the town’s beloved entertainment centre.
In February, the centre, which housed an auditorium, cinema, town hall and kitchen, was destroyed by fire.
However, last month, when the suggestion was made that sites other than the present Scotland St site could be considered for its rebuild, many in the community themselves became inflamed.
At this week’s meeting, Central Otago District Council community engagement group manager David Scoones said the initial agreed insurance payout on the building was about $4.1m, which would be paid before Christmas.
However, the sum insured was about $6m and Mr Scoones said he was confident a second quantity surveyor’s report would persuade insurers to pay up to the full value.
Chairman of the meeting, Cr Curtis Pannett, from the Teviot Valley ward, started the proceedings with an apology for not holding a public meeting sooner.
He said the same mistake would not be made twice.
"We missed the mark on it.
"We stand here and apologise for that."
There was only one question being asked at the meeting — should other sites be considered, Cr Pannett said.
He said the Teviot Valley Community Board set up a steering project committee before the October local body elections.
Members of the committee were appointed by the previous community board and Cr Pannett was the the board’s representative, a role he continued to hold.
The steering committee had no authority to make decisions but passed them on to the community board and council for consideration as the project progressed.
One of the first questions the steering group was asked by the previous board was if the location was the correct one for the next 50 to 100 years, he said.
"As a steering group we thought about it and we said ‘Well, actually, maybe it’s good due diligence on an intergenerational project, we should look at all available sites in town’.
"We have not selected one favourite over another. That’s not actually the steering group’s role."
Investigating alternative options would cost about $30,000 to $40,000 and take an extra three or four months, Cr Pannett said.
Few in the audience were in favour of contemplating alternatives.
Community board chairman Mark Jessop said the rebuild was Teviot Valley’s time to "shine in the sun".
Considering alternative sites was good commercial practice, he said.
"If we don’t have a look at several different options, then we won’t be able to put our hand on our heart and say ‘we really looked at this and we came up with the right option’."
If a hall and cinema were built, it would be a cost to ratepayers.
Adding retail could bring in money, he said.
Four options were being considered but he declined to identify them.
"That’s the point.
"We don’t know what the choices are at the moment; we’ve got some ideas," Mr Jessop said.
At this point, the audience erupted with someone shouting "w....." and others shouting they wanted to know what was being considered.
Mr Jessop replied the community could consider other options or not have a choice.
A speaker from the floor interjected, saying staying with the status quo was a choice.
Steering group spokesman Alastair Monteath said figures from the cinema showed before it was destroyed between 4 and 10 people attended each movie screening.
"You don’t go out in the evening."
As the site owner, the district council would decide at its meeting on Wednesday whether alternative sites could be considered.
At the last council meeting that decision was deferred until after the public meeting to get a feel for the community’s opinion.
An informal poll was taken at the end of this week’s meeting: 15 votes were recorded for exploring other location options and 80 votes to keep the existing location.
