Only 83 of 158 submitters responded to the council’s question "Do you support the idea and scale of the indoor recreation centre?"
And 57% (47) of those said they did not.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said the negative response to the council’s question would require councillors to look into the concerns of those ratepayers.
The council did not treat the submissions process as a referendum on its proposals and the number of respondents made for a small sample size, he said.
"The submissions do give us information and they help form the picture which we decide on — it is only a small sample and it is never intended to be binding in any way," Mr Kircher said.
"It’s about what is the information we’ve got there, what are people’s concerns."
While the proposed indoor recreation centre did not find favour with most submitters, the council’s plans generally did — 76% of 71 respondents (54) said they supported the council’s priorities and 75% (53) said they agreed with the council’s plans to develop the economy.
"It absolutely works both ways," Mr Kircher said.
"The 25% who don’t agree might have some very good points that they might make.
"It’s important we use them properly as a sounding board."
The indoor recreation centre is one of the big-ticket items to be discussed as part of the Waitaki District Council long-term plan discussions.
Spending has been allotted in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 years of the 10-year plan draft financial forecasts made public before the March council meeting.
