As at other recent community board meetings, council asset management property team leader Janice Remnant presented a list of council-owned buildings they were willing to retain and those they recommended be let go — some for sale, others for demolition.
The recommendations were based on usage and revenue, cost of maintenance and earthquake strengthening and proximity to other similar facilities, Ms Remnant said.
In Maniototo those recommended for retention were the Maniototo stadium and rugby clubrooms, Maniototo arts centre and the Ranfurly railway station.
To be disposed of were the Ranfurly, Patearoa, Naseby, Waipiata and Wedderburn halls; the Wallace Memorial Rooms, Fenton library, Centennial Milkbar and the service centre, all in Ranfurly, and the Naseby General Store.
Acting planning and infrastructure group manager Lee Webster said next year’s long-term plan was the catalyst for the review.
Staff had been asked to look for potential savings as costs kept escalating and had to be factored into the long-term plan budgets.
The number of halls and buildings, operational costs, capital costs particularly for earthquake strengthening, and the use of the buildings, raised the question of what the community wanted and was willing to pay for, he said.
Many were built around the time of the first and second world wars and the way people travelled and used the buildings was arguably different from modern times, he said.
Most halls seemed to be under-utilised and the income from them did not cover costs.
The purpose of the report was to make a recommendation for the long-term plan discussion document so the community could have its say.
Any money from hall sales would go to either the Crown or Ngai Tahu, not the council, Mr Webster said.
Board member and district councillor Stu Duncan asked why there was a rush to make decisions.
The government had signalled changes would be make to earthquake strengthening rules in the middle of next year.
"We’re talking 30 years from now. Why divest now?"
Communities had raised a lot of money for halls in the past, he said.
Board chairman Rob Hazlett said they were not pulling the trigger on the buildings now and their decision would not be set in stone.
After lengthy discussion, the board resolved to add the Centennial Milkbar, the Wallace Memorial Rooms, the Naseby General Store and both Naseby and Ranfurly halls to the list of buildings to be retained.
"It’s easier to take them off [the retention list in the future] than put them back on later," Mr Duncan said.
