Council Grandstanding – GoldenBay Loses
No money in the budget to fix the historic grandstand in GoldenBay.
![Plans for the demolition of the historic 119 year old grandstand to make way for a carpark has been met with opposition.](http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/d/g/4/2/y/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620x349.1dg43z.png/1470960117829.jpg)
The new recreation facility can not open until the historic grandstand has been made safe for public use. This is a little bit of a problem as it requires a budget overspend, which is bad for the 119-year-old grandstand according to TDC.
TDC property advisor and park project manager Jim Frater said “The problem is that there just isn’t any extra money.”
Oddly, there are half a million dollars of unbudgeted money wasted “well invested” in the council’s pet building project at Mapua. I guess the people of GoldenBay are not as deserving as the people of Mapua (whether they want it or not). And I am sure an 119-year-old building does not need the same respect as a new fence to inconvenience the competition of council’s tenants.
Petty grandstanding by the current past-their-use-by-date councillors has once again short-changed the ratepayers properly finished facility that preserves the historic integrity of their community.
Do other ratepayers see the irony here?