Another councillor says if any promises were made, they were not sanctioned by the council.
However, calling the under-construction facility the "South Dunedin Library and Community Complex" had set the expectation that more than just a library was planned for the area, a board member of the network says.
The Otago Daily Times revealed this month Dunedin city councillors made a decision behind closed doors to lease out the top floor of the $22 million 2000sqm two-storey building, in King Edward St, as modern office space to commercial tenants.
The decision rankled some in the community.
South Dunedin Community Network rōpū (board) member Julie Ryan said the issue was not about where the network would find office space in the future but that "they’ve taken what was going to be a community space and made it a commercial space".
The network was celebrating the "awesome library" that would be built in the area, but the sticking point was that the "community complex" part of the project appeared to have been dropped.
"No promises were made," Mrs Ryan said.
"But the council staff had gone quite far down a track with conversations with us that indicated that there was a real hope that this would be a community complex, where there would be community groups and the ability for networking to go on."
Similarly, there were community spaces in Dunedin City Library, in Moray Pl, but nobody talked about the city centre library as being a "community complex", she said.
"There is no allowance at the moment for any sort of ability for a grassroots organisation or a community agency to make it into that space if it’s going to be at market rent."
Mrs Ryan was part of the consultation and co-design panel when the project was in its early stages.
And while much had changed since, the expectation the new facility would provide space for a community hub had not, she said.
In 2018, the council included $5.25m in its long-term plan for the project and the figure was revised to $11.56m in 2021; it became $22m this year.
The location for the new library also changed last year and construction started this year where the old Wolfenden and Russell buildings had been.
Among those who expressed concern about the project’s present direction was former mayor Aaron Hawkins, who compared the councillors’ decision around the library to the scaling back of the new Dunedin hospital, which they were all protesting.
Cr Carmen Houlahan said Mr Hawkins’ comments were not surprising.
"He always wanted to spend, spend, spend.
"But the reality is rates are too high and we have to tighten the budgets," she said.
Cr Houlahan said the new library was always going to have commercial space, no leases had been signed "and the property team said leasing out the whole top floor would be more attractive to a tenant".
"We were told no promises were made but the group had hoped to get space."
The councillors’ decision was made because the council needed to pay for operating costs for the library now forecast at nearly $3m, she said.
Cr Andrew Whiley called Mr Hawkins’ comparison "absurd".
Cr Whiley said when the library project started, and the council bought the corner site in King Edward St (formerly occupied by Veggie Boys and Para Rubber) for $4.7m in 2019, the new library was expected to be close to $11m with an opening hoped for June 2021.
It was "totally different" from the project under way at the new site.
"It was always understood through discussions and briefings that councillors received, that the new South Dunedin library would be a library, have community spaces, provide DCC services and have additional income streams (likely commercial) to offset the expenses," Cr Whiley said.
"I don’t recall discussions around community groups filling ‘excess spaces’ with their offices.
"I believe, that if any promises have been made to the community or specific groups, that they have not been sanctioned or approved by council."
Cr Whiley, who did not take part in the 6-4 council vote on the library due to his role as the chairman of Dunedin Community House, said the new library would "basically" fulfil everything the council originally planned for and approved.
"Soon, Dunedin will have an amazing public asset: a finished library and community spaces for all to enjoy."
