The Rakaia Memorial Hall Committee is vowing to save the hall.
The 69-year-old hall needs significant earthquake strengthening work, and committee chairperson Fred Clarkson is adamant "it’s worth saving".
When the previous Rakaia town hall burnt down in September 1946, the community resolved to replace it with a war memorial community centre, which opened on April 6, 1956, and is now owned by the Ashburton District Council.
The building only suffered “minimal damage” in the Canterbury earthquakes.
“A bit of plaster cracking, which was an easy fix, and a bit of cracking in an exterior corner wall, which was again an easy fix.”
The issue is it’s an old building that “the engineers have declared isn’t up to standard”.
“If it has to be strengthened, then so be it, but the committee's concern is where do the funds come from.
“The cost of that strengthening is considerable.
“And [the cost] tends to jump up every time you look at it.”
The committee was recently briefed on the seismic assessment and financial feasibility reports by the council.
“Council staff presented the seismic assessment to the hall committee only recently, and they are currently digesting the work required to improve its seismic rating and approximate cost.
“The work doesn’t need to be done until 2043, and this is really the start of a conversation that will eventually include the wider Rakaia community, especially when it comes to funding the strengthening work.
“We’ll be helping the hall committee facilitate a discussion with the Rakaia community, when the time comes.
“Any request from the Rakaia community for assistance would come through a formal report to be considered by council.”
Clarkson said the committee has indicated that they are “just the caretakers” of the council-owned hall, and funding is up to the council.
He is adamant that work needs to take place to retain the hall.
“The reality is it’s easier to repair the building than it would be to replace it.”
Across town, the Rakaia Rugby Club recently upgraded its facilities into the Rakaia Recreation Centre, which drew on a lot of community fundraising over the years.
The hall is well used by community groups and events and is a regular funeral venue due to its seating capacity, he said.
Meanwhile, the end of the Balmoral Hall is edging closer.
The council had proposed to sell the building and adjacent land in the centre of Ashburton, as part of the long-term plan, with the building facing an estimated $1.3m repair cost to bring it up to standard, outstripping the $400,000 that had been previously budgeted for the work.
Instead, it decided to retain the hall "for two more years, or until the hall becomes unusable, whereby the hall is sold or demolished".
Durham said the council is not taking bookings for Balmoral Hall beyond December 31 and “councillors will be updated closer to the end of the year” on the next steps in the process.
Next door to the hall, the old Polytech buildings are being demolished to make way for an unsealed gravel car park, with the entire project estimated to cost $1.6 million.
Contractors took over the site at the start of August, with asbestos removal the first phase of the demolition.
Local contractor Greg Donaldson Contracting will take over after the asbestos has been removed and complete the demolition.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
