Community groups are lining up to seek Dunedin City Council funding for everything from sports to museum galleries and memorials.
The requests came as the first submitters presented their case on day 1 of the council's three-day 2019-20 annual plan hearing yesterday.
Among them were plans for a new memorial in Dunedin's Town Belt, marking the contribution of early Maori prisoners to the city, unveiled by the Dunedin Amenities Society.
Society president Paul Pope said the plan was for the derelict former Kaituna Bowling Club site, on reserve land on the corner of Serpentine Ave and Maori Rd, to be converted into a memorial garden.
The memorial would mark the efforts of Maori prisoners from the Pakakohe hapu - part of the Ngati Ruanui iwi in Taranaki - who were brought to Dunedin in the 1860s and put to work.
That included crushing rock from Bell Hill at a former quarry in the area, as well as other projects including the construction of Maori Rd.
Pieces of art supplied by Ngati Ruanui could follow, as the iwi was "very enthusiastic about this project'', he said.
"They just want us to get on with it.''
The project was expected to cost between $180,000 and $230,000 and the society wanted the council to consider a contribution.
The council also needed to do more to ensure the Town Belt was protected from the spread of gorse, broom and other invasive weeds.
Elsewhere, the group behind a public memorial to pacifist and conscientious objector Archibald Baxter is also asking for continued support from the council.
The Archibald Baxter Memorial Trust has been granted consent to build a memorial honouring all conscientious objectors on the community reserve at the intersection of George and Albany Sts.
About $420,000 was needed to complete the memorial, and about $100,000 had been pledged so far, the trust said.
Trust member Prof Kevin Clements said the council had already supported the project in various ways, but the trust had asked for money to be allocated in the annual plan.
Scott Willis, of the Blueskin Resilient Communities Trust, also wanted the council to consider committing to buying three of the trust's planned "climate-safe houses'', at an estimated cost of $250,000 each, to provide new social housing options in the city.
The houses, which were still in the planning stage, would be designed to be healthier alternatives in low-lying, flood-prone areas, easily assembled and relocatable when managed retreat was required, he said.
Sport Otago also asked for council help to offset its rising costs, by reducing the cost of leasing its Sargood Centre by 60%, saving it $57,000 a year.
Sport Otago chief executive John Brimble said the request reflected rising demand for its services from individual sporting groups, which was putting an increasing strain on its resources.
The Dunedin Shanghai Association also wanted a small funding boost, of $3500 for travel to China and project development, to maintain Dunedin's relationship with Shanghai.
The hearing continues today.
