ICC to seek ways to finish garden

Toni Biddle
Toni Biddle

How to finish Invercargill’s Chinese Garden within budget is the task assigned to city council staff.

The Invercargill City Council on Tuesday ordered staff to provide a report on how the garden could be completed within the allocated $600,000 budget.

It voted last month to stop work on the garden immediately after it was revealed it was set to cost the council an extra $280,000.

The council had originally budgeted $600,000 for the project, and the revised estimate of completion was revealed at being $882,700.

Opposing the motion to investigate how to do it for $600,000, Cr Toni Biddle said many members of the community did not want the Chinese garden.

She was concerned what they would get would be nothing like what had originally been proposed.

"We have reduced the garden to half. We are now going to remove the pavilions, which reduces it by at least another 25%. So we literally have we have 25% of the original plan for the same price, $600,000 of our ratepayers’ money."

The garden is being built as a "friendship garden" to recognise Invercargill’s sister city relationship with the city of Suqian in China.

The new report is expected to be presented to the council before its next meeting in March.

 

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