Kaipatiki Local Board have their Priorities Wrong Again - $250,000 to be Spent on Birkenhead Artwork

John Gillon, Lorene Pigg, Dr Grant Gillon - Elected Members of the Kaipatiki Local Board

· An incremental $150,000 to be spent on public art at Zion Hill Reserve, on top of the $100,000 already allocated to the project (totalling $250,000)

· Board members are yet to receive concept plans, and there are concerns that appropriate governance is being by-passed

· During a time of funding cuts, project deferrals and proposed library closures, John Gillon, Lorene Pigg and Dr Grant Gillon are questioning the priorities of the Kaipatiki Local Board

In a time of project deferrals, funding cuts and the potential library closures, members of the Kaipatiki Local Board have been informed that an incremental $150k for public art at Zion Hill Reserve in Birkenhead will be approved at the next Local Board meeting (totalling $250,000).

The project had an original budget of $100k, and due to ineffective processes, budgets are spiralling out of control. The pressure is compounded due to Board members understanding of a need to spend funding before the end of the financial year, in a “use it or lose it” scenario. Kaipatiki Local Board members Grant Gillon, John Gillon and Lorene Pigg do not see this as an excuse to bypass appropriate governance or considerations of other priorities and favour holding project managers to account through retaining the original approved budget.

“The lack of governance on what is being proposed is simply not good enough”, stated Dr Grant Gillon, Local Board member. “I haven’t even seen a concept plan, yet am being asked to endorse a quarter of a million dollars to be spent in the next two months on public art at Zion Hill Reserve”. While Board members recognise the importance of public art in the community, and the work done by many individuals on the Zion Hill Reserve project to date, “Board members have a responsibility to the ratepayer to ensure appropriate procedures are followed for the spending of public funds, which is being completely ignored.”

Board member John Gillon also questions whether other priorities for the spend should be further investigated. “We have a number of parks where plans have been fully developed, and consultation with the community completed. Because of a lack of funding, several local projects have been scrapped, including a playground at Diana Reserve and safety lighting at Normanton Reserve. Perhaps these projects should be considered for funding over the Zion Hill Reserve project that isn’t at the same advanced stage,” argues John Gillon.
John Gillon was surprised to be informed that the artist who completed the design wasn’t informed of the budget for the project, and feels that this has lead to many of the issues the Board is facing.

Board member Lorene Pigg also questions the priority of the spend as $100k has already been endorsed by the Board for the Zion Hill Reserve art, and questions whether the community would rather see their Birkenhead library be kept open on a Sunday as opposed to an incremental $150k being spent on the project. “The public outcry against the library closure has been phenomenal. For us to ignore this when we potentially have funding options to keep the library open would be remiss.”

Lorene Pigg adds “This simply wouldn’t be accepted in a commercial environment – why should we accept this because it is a Council project?”.

ends

© Scoop Media