A governance group will be established to provide advice to the Invercargill City Council on reimagining the city’s closed museum.
Last year, the council confirmed its intention to spend $52.2million on strengthening and refurbishing the museum on its Queens Park site, which is deemed earthquake-prone and has been closed to the public since April 2018.
However, following the long-term plan hearing, it decided to establish a group to review, assess and make recommendations on the best outcomes for the museum.
It would also consider preferred locations and test whether there were any alternative sites.
A report about the matter will be presented to councillors during a committee meeting
today.
"It is proposed to develop a unique and compelling vision for the Invercargill Museum that will define the nature of the service for the community of Invercargill and solidify its role in the Southland region," the report states.
The governance group would be made up of seven members and selected by a panel composed of an independent chairman, the council’s chief executive Clare Hadley and a representative on behalf of the two local funding organisations, the Invercargill Licensing Trust and Community Trust South.
The governance group would be made up of an independent chairman, one runanga-appointed representative and five skills-based appointees.
"The composition of the group needs to achieve synergy, as it addresses a complex arrangement of technical and service-oriented advice and, on this basis, it is proposed not
to be a stakeholder or representative group — rather the composition proposed is to recognise the complexity in the work to be undertaken."
A budget of between $110,000 and $175,000 would be requested to support the group.
The governance group would need to make its recommendations to the council in time for inclusion in the the next annual plan.
On this basis, members would be called in the next month and their initial advice should be completed by the end of February 2022.
The potential date for opening of the museum would be 2025, if everything worked as planned.
The Invercargill City Council is also expected to adopt its long-term plan on the same day.
