Clubs criticise rental proposal

Peter Gray
Peter Gray
The Queenstown Lakes District Council has "perpetrated a giant con job" on sports clubs around the district, and a draft policy to address inconsistent charges to clubs will be a costly bureaucracy for community groups, Wanaka-based critics of a council funding scheme say.

Advocates of several Wanaka-based sports clubs were joined by Queenstown Golf Club representative Peter Adam in submitting their criticisms of a proposed QLDC community facility pricing policy at a hearing in Wanaka yesterday.

The proposed policy would establish a rental scheme for council-owned land around the district which is used by sports clubs and community groups.

The policy has attracted widespread criticism.

Many sports clubs and community groups have opposed the possibility of paying higher levies, ground charges, maintenance fees, and building rentals.

Former QLDC councillor Peter Gray, a member of Wanaka's golf, tennis, and bowling clubs, questioned the legitimacy of the council's existing funding activity scheme for sports clubs.

The council had perpetrated a giant con job by granting leases to clubs at substantial levels and then using the funds generated to subsidise other ratepayers, who enjoyed free use of council facilities, he said.

Sports clubs and their members were the ones who devoted the time, energy, and money, to improving grounds, maintaining properties, and building new facilities - not the council, he said.

While "fairness to all" was the council's stated objective, the QLDC rarely offered clubs financial support, yet club members maintained valuable assets on council-administered land.

If the clubs did not maintain grounds and reserves, the council would have otherwise been obligated to do so, Mr Gray said.

"Council should be paying a management fee to the clubs to cover this cost saving and allocate it to all ratepayers," the former QLDC finance committee chairman said.

Upper Clutha A and P Society president Phill Hunt called the proposed policy a costly bureaucracy, with administrative expenses that would be funded by the council, community groups, and sports clubs.

It made more financial sense to levy a charge on all district ratepayers, which would effectively achieve the same result and gather the same amount of funds, he said.

QLDC community services manager Paul Wilson said the council raised between $30,000 and $40,000 a year from sports ground leases and club user charges.

The proposed policy had been formulated to address massive inconsistencies that existed between sports clubs and the charges they paid the council for their grounds and facilities, Mr Wilson said.

Mr Hunt said the same amount of money could be raised by the council charging as little as $1.58 per annum to each ratepayer in the district.

Golf Clubs at Wanaka, Kelvin Heights and Frankton contributed the bulk of the council's sports ground lease take, at over $30,000 combined, Mr Wilson said.

The council had discovered an anomaly, two years ago, whereby "virtually" no sports club in Wanaka was paying sports field charges, while Wakatipu-based clubs faced a 10% cost-recovery fee from the council, he said.

Mr Gray said the proposed rentals scheme for the sports clubs could be replaced with a recreation rates charge.

This would demonstrate to clubs and their members that the QLDC appreciated the "enormous efforts" put in to enhancing and administering the council's assets, he said.

"Anything less would be a kick in the guts," he said.

The hearing moves to Queenstown tomorrow.

- matthew.haggart@odt.co.nz

 

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