The Waitaki District Council has approved a contract to start construction of a toilet block at the Moeraki Boulders site — about 20 years after a previous facility was removed by the Department of Conservation (Doc).
The $130,000 project, on the Doc administered site, is being managed by the council, following an earlier Tourist Information Fund grant of $100,000.
The site is key to the international visitor circuit in the South Island and a vital aspect of the Waitaki Whitestone Geopark, recognised by Unesco in November 2023.
In August, councillors rejected a request from Te Runaka o Moeraki for an extra $30,000 for flushing toilets.
Councillors heard Doc had already contributed $30,000 towards the toilet spend and council projects manager Erik van der Spek said Doc had also pitched in $21,442 for a new walkway entrance.
But the flushing option was outside what is normally provided at Doc sites, councillors were told.
Councillors were not impressed with the request and were perplexed the council would also be spending about $30,000 a year for servicing costs.
Cr Guy Percival queried the spending on a non-council owned asset, given money had already been spent at the site on a "fancy entrance".
"Why are we putting WDC money into a building on Doc land?"
Cr Percival this week said the council’s involvement was "horrifying" and a "ludicrous situation".
Te Runaka o Moeraki has been approached for comment, but is yet to respond.
A Waitaki council spokesman confirmed to the Otago Daily Times on Thursday the runaka had contributed $25,000.
Doc Coastal Otago operations manager Gabriel Davies said the previous toilets provided by Doc were removed when the effluent treatment system failed in about 2005.
Alongside its $30,000 contribution, Doc was contracting an archaeologist during the excavation for the new toilets.
"We’ve also worked with Te Rūnanga o Moeraki to construct a waharoa [entranceway] and palisade and install new signs and interpretation panels reflecting the significance of the site and its place in the story of the waka Ārai-te-uru.
"An additional $37,000 [including materials and labour] was contributed by the department for this upgrade."
A replacement option with flushing toilets was previously mooted.
"The department has never been opposed to flushing toilets at Moeraki, and supports Te Rūnanga o Moeraki’s wishes to have a flush system."
However, the current plan would see a non-flush "containment vault system" installed based on the funding available for installation and ongoing servicing of the toilets.
The system would ensure no potential contamination of the surrounding waterways, he said.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher this week described the council involvement as filling a gap in "yet another example of the government not doing something that should be theirs".
The lack of a toilet at Moeraki with visitors resorting to the bushes had been "frustrating".
The project was now based on "trying to get the best value" from the available funding.
"There’s people asking, why are we even paying for a toilet — Doc aren’t doing it."
But given the hygiene problem at the site, the council felt it had to do something.
"We’re looking after our visitors, fundamentally."
