After the 55-bed Rendell on Reed rest-home in Reed St was sold late last year - leaving its 50 residents wondering if they would have to find new accommodation - the Observatory Village Trust stepped in to take over the rest-home's management until its 41-bed care facility on Observatory Hill is completed in August.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher, who represents the council on the trust, said as many former Rendell on Reed residents now planning to move into the new village, the 41 Observatory care beds would fill quickly.
''The reality is ... it will be filled day one,'' he said.
Mr Kircher did not debate the issue or vote on yesterday's decision, to avoid any conflict of interest.
The council approved in principle a $93,000 donation to the Observatory Village Trust from the PT Mulligan pensioner housing bequest and an interest-free loan of up to $157,000 to the trust from the council's community housing reserve for ''investigating and possibly accelerating'' a planned second stage of development.
Cr Melanie Tavendale proposed the funding strategy because, while she acknowledged the trust's need for the money, she did not believe the process in the report to council by chief financial officer Paul Hope of a $250,000 donation ''was quite right''.
Stage 2 of the Observatory village is expected to add 40-plus care beds to the site and the council money will be used ''to fund the design, engineering, professional fees and working drawings required to produce the funding model on which any final decision would be made'' Mr Hope's report to the council reads.
