OUSA won’t disclose pub costs

The old Starters Bar stands at the corner of Clyde and Frederick Sts. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH
The old Starters Bar stands at the corner of Clyde and Frederick Sts. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH
The Otago University Students’ Association (OUSA) will not say how much it spent renting a pub it ended up using as storage space for almost two years.

OUSA took over the lease for Starters Bar in 2018, but it was closed on September 13, 2021 because of earthquake safety concerns.

However, it continued to pay the lease until last month, after the lease was cancelled on August 11.

In its latest financial report, the lease’s cost was withheld due to "commercial sensitivity".

Chief executive Debbie Downs this week again declined to provide the cost of the lease.

She said "the minimal amount that we have paid has been far less than what we have needed to pay for storage".

Mrs Downs said the lease was maintained while OUSA worked with the landlord to reopen the pub.

The process took nearly two years and was unsuccessful.

During that time, a "mutual agreement" with the landlord was struck which allowed OUSA to keep all of the bar’s assets in the building.

A motion to cancel it in May was voted down before the successful vote to end the lease was made in August.

In the meantime, student politicians have stood on a platform that included opening a bar — but efforts have not been successful.

Incoming OUSA president Keegan Wells has committed to the venture, as did her three predecessors.

Mrs Downs said "we are fully committed to having a new student bar, but unfortunately, it is not an easy or quick process".

"I am confident however, that we will succeed in having a new student bar in the future."

 

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