Ngā pātai kārangaranga | FAQs
- the actual amount spent to date to get construction-ready (such as investigation, design, consenting),
- all costs to complete construction and fit-out (at least 72% of this is fixed price by the preferred contractor)
- allowances for risk (contingencies).
At the Council meeting on 10 June, the Council moved to consult the community on 4 options for the Museum but only 3 are presented in the Public Consultation Doc. Why is this?
The previous paper has been simplified to combine what was the third option (Pause) and the fourth option (explore other uses for the building) into one alternative. There are three scenarios that the public needs to consider for Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa. The first is the current project in the 2018-2028 LTP to fully strengthen the building and reopen it as a Museum. The other options are to phase the project in two stages OR to pause and explore other alternatives for a Museum.
Is the rates increase the same for all rate payers? What is the scale for actual rate payments depending on the value of your rates (ie annual cost for lowest rate payer compared to highest annual cost)?
Council charges a Uniform Annual General Charge to fund Community Wellbeing activities, which is a fixed amount that every ratepayer in the district pays. This means that the $73.50 cost would be the same for all ratepayers as a flat charge per ratepayer.
How much money has been spent on the museum project so far?
$8.5m since early 2017. This includes all of the geotechnical work, detailed design, structural engineering advice, and the work to secure resource consent and building consent.
Is all of the Bath House building 19% NBS? If not, can we open newer areas earlier?
The South Wing was built in 2011 and was assessed at 74% of the new building standard. The rest of the building has all been assessed at 19% of the new building standard. Buildings are rated based on the lowest scoring area. Opening just the South Wing is possible but probably not viable due to compliance requirements, health & safety, risk of construction work, security, insurance challenges and the need to protect taonga.
What is the $81.4m budget for Option A made up of? What is the contingency?
$81.4m is the estimated total final cost of the building project. It was developed with advice from our quantity surveyor based on the extensive investigation work to understand the building and ground conditions. The $81.4m includes:
The actual contingency figure cannot be released as it is commercially sensitive while negotiating and managing contracts. However, we can confirm that the contingency is based on expert risk modelling using Treasury-approved methodology.
While we have a good knowledge of the building and ground conditions, as with all projects it is not possible to know everything about the building before starting, and there is still a risk of exceeding this budget. Any expenditure over this number would require a Council resolution to approve the increase and all possible alternative options to avoid increasing spend would need to be considered.
When will the Museum start making revenue?
This will depend on which option is selected.
Option A – when the building opens in 2026
Option B – when the building opens after Stage 2 (date unknown but would be later than 2026). The building will be structurally sound after Stage 1, but it will not be open so won’t make revenue until Stage 2 is finished.
Option C – unknown as no location or design details exist for this option at this time.