"It is past time RSA land status was sorted out.
"This iconic building has been stuck in limbo and is steadily deteriorating. I strongly believe the council needs to sort it out once and for all.
"The building has become a liability to ratepayers and appears no closer to being usable than it was 10 years ago."
In 2015 the North Otago RSA went into liquidation and the Oamaru stone building in Itchen St was vested in the Waitaki District Council.
The building had asbestos removed and was being prepared for renovation when the council became aware that it was covered by the Oamaru Town Hall and Gasworks Sites and Recreation Reserve Act 1875, prohibiting the lease of the land that the building sits on.
"Until this Act is overturned, the building cannot be leased or sold, and is being used as an expensive storage shed," Mrs Tavendale said.
"I have pushed for too many years for this to be prioritised by the council’s property department, but it was always left on the back burner."
The RSA building is identified in the WDC property strategy as "not supporting council’s operational, strategic or commercial objectives" and the strategy recommended "council officers undertake further investigation and analysis ... to determine the feasibility of retaining [it] or the benefits of disposal".
She believes the building does not meet the council’s objectives for allocation of staff time or funds, yet the feasibility of it still needs to be determined by staff.
"The result? No change to the situation; the stalemate the building has been in for the past decade remains. Council has sunk a huge amount of time and money on this building, but without a project or plan for its future that money will be wasted.
"I don’t want to see such an iconic building un-maintained, unable to be used, and put in the ‘too hard’ basket," she said.
"The gasworks Act can be overturned with a reserves and other lands disposal Bill to Parliament. I believe the council needs to communicate with the community what the hold-up is, and what is happening.
"The council does not have to fund any project, but they do need to get the land status sorted so it can have a future."
Last week, the WDC approved its long-term plan which includes $200,000 funding over two years to sponsor a proposed local Bill, which would require the support of Waitaki MP Miles Anderson in Parliament to resolve the issues around past Acts that prohibit the use of council land.
"The huge cost of addressing this is another example of bureaucracy gone mad.
Central government criticises councils over excessive red tape, yet their own processes have made a simple change of land status an incredibly expensive process."
