The Mount Maunganui Lifeguard Service building project has reached a major milestone with 46 truckloads of concrete being poured to establish its foundations.

The 275m² area of concrete will hold the clubs new multi-purpose facility.

The original plan was to rebuild the leaky club on the existing foundations, but a geotechnical survey in June 2017 revealed that was not possible and significant remedial work was required.

This work bumped the final building cost up significantly and is the key contributor to the current funding shortfall of $900,000, however MMLS chairman Paul Manning says there were significant advantages in starting from scratch.

He says the new tilt-slab building technology means there will be far more usable space in the basement, meaning larger changing rooms and better usable craft and emergency vehicle storage space.

'The entire basement slab has also been lifted up 300mm, meaning there will be no more drainage issues in heavy rain. This is a huge relief for members and the public alike”, Manning says.

'Having the basement flood during heavy rain not only added to the workload of our dedicated volunteers, but also contributed to wear and tear on our equipment.”

The new foundations have also allowed several design tweaks on the top levels including greater visibility from the lifeguard tower, more common space to watch the beach at all times, better access to equipment for faster responses and more usable space which the community can hire for meetings, function and events.

'The new building is going to enable us to deliver so much more value to the community in every aspect of our work – from rescues, to funding to hireage of the facility,” says Paul.

He is confident the basement of the building will be accessible by Labour weekend ready for response and rescue services during the season, with the rest of the structure including community meeting rooms, function hall and emergency service operations rooms completed during the 2019 summer.

However, the MMLS is still dependent on the communities support.

'We still need at least $900,000 to complete the build and we're looking for community support to help with that.

'The Mount Maunganui Lifeguard Service has been an integral part of the community for almost 90 years, saving countless lives, being first responders for falls, accidents and injuries on Mauao, being the emergency response hub for the 2011 Rena disaster, the 2014 search for Jack Dixon, and so much more; and now we need your help to keep these services alive.”

You don't need to be a lifeguard to be a life-saver – simply by giving generously, you will help save lives tomorrow. Donate now at www.mountlifeguards.co.nz/donate/