The saga of the Wānaka Community Hub funding will continue today (Thursday March 31) at the Wānaka Community Board (WCB) meeting, where the board must decide whether or not to convert a $500,000 loan to the Wanaka Community House Charitable Trust (WCHCT) to a grant.

If the WCB agrees to provide the hub with a grant, it must decide whether or not to take money from the Wānaka Reserves Asset Fund (WRAF), a fast diminishing fund earmarked for capital expenditure which benefits the residents of the Wānaka Ward.

The Wānaka App asked WCB members this week whether they were happy to endorse the QLDC proffering half a million dollars from the WRAF to a group neither owned nor operated by the council. 

“We’ve talked about it and worked through it over a long time,” councillor Quentin Smith said. “There will be some different views around the table.”

Funding woes

The Wānaka Community Hub has had a chequered history, including in May last year when Wānaka Community House Charitable Trust (WCHCT) trustees stormed out of a WCB meeting while funding for the hub was being considered by board members.

Following financial challenges (due in part to a building company going into receivership and the impact of Covid-19) Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) had agreed to provide an interest-free loan of half a million dollars to the WCHCT, which runs the hub, in July 2020.

The WCB was asked to make a recommendation for a one-off payment of $500,000 to convert the loan to a capital grant - the same question they will have to answer at today’s meeting.

Councillor Niamh Shaw said she had concerns with the proposed grant for what she said was “essentially a private charitable organisation with excellent intentions,” which prompted Yeverley and the other trustees to walk out of the meeting.

Niamh’s suggestion to instead recommend to council to extend the interest-free loan by up to 12 months before converting it to a grant - subject to defining community oversight, governance and equity - was called “reckless and inappropriate” by WCB member Jude Battson but, after some discussion, the board approved Niamh’s amended resolution by a vote of four against two.

The WCB has spent hours discussing the issue, but it’s “not there yet” a board member said.

Where do WCB members stand now?

WCB members alluded to an extensive process that had taken place behind the scenes to assess the viability of the $0.5M grant.

The outcome of the QLDC-led mediation was withheld from the public.

Today, the members will decide whether to fund the grant with general rates or the WRAF, or to decline it altogether.

WCB chair Barry Bruce said, while the issue is “a wee bit unique”, he supported converting the loan to a grant, and the use of the WRAF. 

The $3.95M hub, which opened in November 2019, is home to a range of social services, including the food bank, and has two meeting rooms, a number of smaller offices, an auditorium which can seat up to 150 people, and a commercial kitchen. 

“….ultimately it's deemed that the hub does provide a major service for our community so I support the loan becoming a grant,” Barry said.

QLDC confirmed it would not take any ownership of the hub if the loan was converted.

Councillor and deputy mayor Calum MacLeod said the Community Hub is “a good use” for the WRAF, which has about $4M remaining. 

The fund began with $15.6M, raised by the sale of Scurr Heights land by the QLDC in 2016. 

He said he didn’t think district-wide funding should be used but was open to a “good, strong expression of views” at the meeting.

Quentin, on the other hand, said his preference was not to use the WRAF, which he thinks should be for operational expenditure in supporting community projects.

He said there is an increasing demand for the limited money: Funds for the purchase of Mount Iron, the old Mitre 10 building, Luggate Hall and the Community Hub - if approved - would “probably only leave a couple of million of dollars” in the coffers, he said.

To date, $6M of the fund has been put toward Wānaka’s new swimming pool at the Wānaka Recreation Centre in Three Parks; a further $1M for the Luggate Hall replacement project; and $8M has been put aside for the purchase of Mt Iron as a reserve.

“The expectation around the Scurr Heights money is that it should be used for enduring benefit in the Upper Clutha,” Quentin said.

Jude Battson, the WCB representative on the WCHCT, said she had supported the hub from the start of the project, 18 years ago, and was happy for the loan to be converted to a grant, and for that money to come from either general rates or the WRAF.

“Sure, it’s a lot of money, but the difference it can make for the hub trust is massive,” she said.

WCB member Chris Hadfield said he hadn’t decided how he would vote today.

The WCHCT’s intentions “are philanthropic and entirely honourable”, he said, but added that part of the discussion today would be about making sure the trust focused on community groups “going forward”.

He said he was not sure whether general rates or the WRAF should be used if the board agrees to write off the loan.

“We’ve been talking backwards and forwards about how we could make this work and how we can make everyone happy, but we’re not there yet.”

The WCB meeting will take place today from 10am via Zoom and can be watched on the QLDC Facebook page.

PHOTOS: Supplied