Fantastic new facility for Tauranga

Posted on 14-02-2011 21:02 | By Ratcatcher

Jitter : I fully agree this is an excellent facility but it is founded almost 100% on loan moneys borrowed by TCC to replace what were very good existing club and bowls facilities. As far as COUNCIL are concerned it can only fail because TCC are not getting any capital money back nor any interest ie. a loss of at least $11.5 million in cash.As if that isn’t bad enough TCC ratepayers were forced to give away the use of 2.5 hectares of prime industrial land valued at around $15million for this elitist piece of nonsense.The inexplicable overpriced deal saw Mount Sports built in the wrong place at an obscene cost in cash and land assets of $25 million too much.It is quite irrelevant what it looks like because the financial basis is flawed - I trust that explains the issue.

Posted on 14-02-2011 13:42 | By Jitter

I had the opportunity to have a look over the new Mount Maunganui Club and facilities today. The building is impressive and well laid out as are the croquet and bowling greens. A positive comment for a channge !However Ratcatcher quotes a $25 million cost for the Mount Greens project overall which includes all the TCC juggling. Do I think it is money well spent ? At the moment definitely not! There were good facilities already available.They may not have been the best but at least they were adequate. Why spend so much on an unnecessary project when we (TCC and ratepayers) are up to our eyes in debt already ? If this complex fails to be the success we were told it will be ie makes a loss annually, ratepayers will be the ones to fork out again. When does all this unneccessary extravagance end ?

Posted on 14-02-2011 10:14 | By monty111

How could you describe a bowling green as a fantastic new facility? Yet another bad decision by this excuse for a council who continue to waste the taxpayers dollars whilst drawing huge salaries for little positive benefit for the majority of ratepayers.

Posted on 14-02-2011 09:33 | By SpeakUp

These squandering bureaucrats ought to be held accountable for misappropriation of public funds. What does the minister of local government have to say to this theft of public monies for the exclusive benefit of a small elite? This is a scandal! Crosby, Stewart, Faulkner, Brownless, Moultrie and Curach, YOUR names will be remembered in Tauranga for bringing this town to financial ruin.

Posted on 13-02-2011 17:13 | By Jitter

TCC were advised right at the start of this project that it would be a financial disaster eg Bowling clubs around Tauranga were not interested as they had already developed their own facilities, so why would they want to move here. I agree with Ratcatcher that the whole complex should be available freely to all ratepayers and not just to financial "members". All ratepayers are in fact paying for this complex so justifiably should be accepted as members. Mr Bay says join the club. We shouldn’t have to as we are paying for it anyway. The portion of our rates going towards it are probably as much as the cost of an annual membership anyway. I agree that an official Commission of Enquiry into TCC lavish unaffordable spending should be established. TCC are, I believe, beginning to realise the horrendous mess the city is in when you see that they are trying to save tens of millions of dollars and are also talking about reducing the number of council staff. All this will only scratch the surface. The detrimental influence the recently resigned CEO had on the whole council organisation for years is at last coming to the surface. Ratcatcher mentions the Southern Pipeline cost. That is only the start of the cost of that project as the next massive cost will be expanding and upgrading the sewage treatment plant. You can’t feed all that extra pooh down a massive pipeline without expanding your processing plant. So far this cost has only been mentioned quietly on the sidelines. So where do we go from here ? To start with dump the council and replace it with a Commissioner with perhaps a cross section of ratepayers making up an advisory panel. After that hopefully some sensible and common sense decisions would be made on future projects.

Posted on 13-02-2011 11:48 | By ROCKY

Ratcatcher : Everyone I speak to in the local community can’t believe this extravagant splurge of TAURANGA CITY COUNCIL funds spent for the benefit of the chosen few.It is a financial ******* outrage and warrants an inquisition.

Posted on 13-02-2011 11:30 | By Ratcatcher

Sorry its elitist basically members only (around 2000)and invited guests.As a ratepayer and owner of the place I agree myself other residents and ratepayers should be reasonably able to come and go as we please.By all means feel free to explain the virtues and cost effectiveness of this conglomerate some of us would be most interested to learn what they are ?

Posted on 13-02-2011 09:41 | By Mr bay

hey ratcatcher maybe you should join the club instead of moaning about it, have a nice relaxing game of lawn bowls followed by a quiet beer in the club afterwards, all this stress can’t be good for you.

Posted on 13-02-2011 07:57 | By Ratcatcher

THIS RIDICULOUS venture is a total and unnecessary wastage of Tauranga Ratepayers funds and valuable land assets.Rammed through only by a 6/5 TCC Councillors majority vote apparently supported by Mayor Crosby Deputy Mayor Stewart Crs. Faulkner Brownless Moultrie and Curach- from all accounts at the behest of an ex CEO/ Council Administration driven exercise in futility.The MOUNT GREENS project was effectively whipped through by TCC under the radar without proper public consultation and should never have seen the light of day.At a total cost of around $25,000,000 involving cash and Totara St. land assets Mount Greens forms part of the TCC 5 ’Think Big’ schemes which also : include Southern Wastewater Pipeline currently estimated @ $250m(likely final cost anything up to $1/2 Billion) Tauranga Sports & Exhibition Centre(TISEC) $45m, Mount Hotpools Redevelopment $7.5m, and the yet to be unleashed State of the Art clifftop Museum lemon estimated to cost around $20m + value of prime Cliff Road land put at around $15m.This lot is going to cost TCC ratepayers a total somewhere between $400m & $600m and residents & ratepayers seriously have to ask themselves why (?).All this angst when about $70m might have covered the whole lot if Bowling/Croquet Clubs had been relocated to Blake Park proper,a Tauriko stand alone sewage plant installed,Tisec used a realistic design and build concept,minor refurbishment and upgrade to Mount Hotpools,and a nice adequate museum sited at Historic Village.Based on these howlers the whole thrust of TCC financial planning surely defies logic or any rational explanation !!!!!!!!!

Posted on 13-02-2011 07:13 | By THE RING MASTER

But there is $30 million of debt because, who gets to pay that in there rates