The local committee which manages and coordinates maintenance work on Ruby Island’s recreation reserve has asked the council to provide additional funding this year to meet a one-off cost.

In its submission to the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) Long-term Plan, the Ruby Island Management Committee (RIMC) requested just over $12,000, in addition to its annual grant, to purchase a new gas BBQ to cater for the island’s visitors.

A gas BBQ was first established on the island in 2001 and has since been replaced (twice in the past three years) by the RIMC.

The BBQ is free to use for the estimated 5,000 visitors who each year make the short paddle, boat ride or swim across to Ruby Island, but the committee has run into issues with the BBQ.

Most recently, there was a small fire caused by the current BBQ’s operation when accumulated oils ignited and, as there is a total fire ban on the island, this was a cause for concern.

Markus Hermanns mows a trail on Ruby Island during a working bee. PHOTO: Chris Arbuckle

“We need to upgrade the barbeque to a safer and more robust model,” RIMC treasurer Nic Blennerhassett said in the submission. The preferred BBQ was similar to other free BBQs dotted along the Lake Wānaka foreshore; it was energy-efficient and built to withstand harsh weather conditions.

Nic said they hadn’t considered a user-pay option as they wanted the BBQ to remain free to use to dissuade anyone from lighting a fire. She added that Caltex generously refilled the island’s gas bottles free of charge.

Need a new look? See Three Chairs Hair Salon in your Wanaka App

She said a one-off investment was required as the $5,000 annual grant provided to the RIMC by the council was adequate only for scheduled maintenance, such as emptying the Norski toilet - which alone costs $2,200 each year - as well as environmental working bees and special projects such as installing interpretive signage.

The annual funds will also cover the cost of the construction on the island of a new shed, providing much needed storage space for RIMC's mowers, weedeaters, loppers, pruning saws and secateurs, fuel, herbicides, maintenance equipment, fuel, herbicides and so on, Nic said. 

Unlike other Lake Wānaka islands which are under the management of the Department of Conservation, QLDC is responsible for Ruby Island and it has an approved management plan for the island, which permits the RIMC to undertake work activities on the island. 

The council is considering changing this funding model and, rather than providing a set annual grant, volunteer groups will be required instead to apply for funding on a yearly basis. 

The RIMC estimates its costs over the next three years to be around $24,476 (including the purchase of the new BBQ).

“While we have outlined the funding required under the proposed new funding regime, our preference is that the current funding model remains, [that is] a regular amount of $5,000 to be included in the Annual Plan,” Nic said.