Marlow Park (the dinosaur park). PHOTO: ODT FILES
Dunedin city councillors yesterday confirmed their desire to go ahead with refurbishment of the playgrounds at Marlow Park (the dinosaur park), Woodhaugh Gardens and Mosgiel Memorial Gardens.
But they resisted a staff recommendation to add to the Dunedin City Council's draft budgets for its forthcoming nine-year plan.
Cr Andrew Whiley said Dunedin's playgrounds had a history of community effort in their development, and the community would again support their redevelopment.
"There are people in our community that want to support our playgrounds," Cr Whiley said.
"Whether it's through raising funds, bequeathing money, getting out and actually helping with community groups and doing the work and putting a shovel in the ground, there are many groups around our city that love our playgrounds and want to be a part of them."
Councillors yesterday approved an overall draft budget of $16.8million for parks in its nine-year plan.
They also confirmed their desire for Marlow Park to lead the upgrades, in year two of the plan.
Woodhaugh Gardens would follow in year five and Mosgiel Memorial Gardens would wait until year eight of the plan.
Councillors chose to pursue the recommendation put forward by staff.
The overall budget councillors agreed on for the draft plan includes $6.6m for the three destination playgrounds, but the staff report councillors considered at yesterday's meeting recommended borrowing an extra $4.6m and total destination playground spending of $11.2m so as to implement designs for the playgrounds developed after recent public consultation.
Cr Whiley said the original design concept for the dinosaur park was drawn by a member of the Rotary Club of Dunedin South in 1966.
He then engaged the club and other community groups to get the playground built, Cr Whiley said.
Cr Jim O'Malley said the development of cycleways in the city was another example where "community groups can get in and do work much more cheaply than we can do it as well".
"I think this is a really good outcome."
Cr Christine Garey said she supported the plan because "it delivers on the process we have been through with the community over an extended period of time".
"It delivers on that but it also manages the budget which we are called upon to do in this very difficult long-term plan.
"The community has been consulted and consulted and consulted and quite frankly if we did that again, apart from this going in the consultation document, I doubt we'll get a lot of feedback because we've been there, done that and we've got to manage the funds to deliver."
Cr Brent Weatherall, who along with Cr Lee Vandervis opposed the plan, said the council's $6.6m budget for three playgrounds "spreads the spend too thin".
Cr Vandervis said as a builder's son he had an appreciation of "what things cost to build".
"My real worry is that we are going to see a repeat here of the kind of value that we didn't get in the George St playground," he said.
"If you look at the breakdown of what it cost to build the George St playground, to me those costs were indefensible, and I believe we've got the same problem here with these costs being indefensible."
After consultation council deliberations are due to take place in May.
