Masterton District Council [MDC] will decide this week which options for the proposed civic facility to take forward for consultation, following feedback earlier this year.
As part of the Annual Plan consultation in April, an MDC spokesperson said the public was swayed towards exploring options for the existing town hall and library sites.
A paper detailing several options being presented for consideration is available online from today and will be presented for consideration to the MDC on Wednesday.
The options put forward for the library and archive are [1] to do nothing, [2] undertake basic improvements, or [3] upgrade and expand the library, including the Wairarapa Archive.
The options which will dictate the future of Masterton’s Town Hall are as follows:
Demolish the existing Town Hall and Municipal Building [minimum option].
Demolish the existing Town Hall, refurbish the Municipal Building, and build a new Town Hall/ performance space on the same site.
Demolish the existing Town Hall and Municipal Buildings and build a new Town Hall/performance space and Municipal Buildings on the same site.
Demolish the existing Town Hall and Municipal Buildings, build new Town Hall/performance space on the same site, and expand Waiata House to meet the Municipal Buildings’ function.
Chair of the civic facility Project Advisory Group, Deputy Mayor Bex Johnson, said she was excited by the options.
“I am confident that we are moving in the right direction, and I am genuinely excited to hear back from the community about these ideas,” she said.
“There is still plenty of work to do, and we will not make any decisions without our community’s input.”
Council chief executive Kym Fell echoed Johnson’s sentiments.
“In shaping our civic future, the goal remains clear: to establish accessible, inclusive, and affordable facilities that meet the diverse needs of our community.”
Following Wednesday’s meeting, any agreed options will be fully costed to form part of the 2024-34 Long-Term Plan consultation in April 2024, with final adoption in June.
I thought they were going to strengthen and reopen the existing town hall? That’s what many of the councillors ran on?
The town hall is a landmark for all of the wairarapa community. One example of over spending is CDC clock tower $1millon of rate payers money 💰 🤑 way to much. If it’s going to have a purpose that rate payers can use plus have a council residence then it’s worth putting a budget together for rate payers to consider.