Kevin Malcolm, who spoke out against the council's proposed $4 million redevelopment of the 1951 building, said the organiser of last week's public meeting, Helen Stead, proved there were ''intelligent people out here who will really start to challenge them [the council] if they step in the wrong direction''.
'Both council staff and councillors have got to make sure ... that they understand what can be done with those [council-owned] properties and realign what can be done with those properties to uses that have modern-day benefits to the community.
''I hope that the elected councillors listened to what the ratepayers are saying: it is not the role of council to be a commercial property developer. Their role is to provide services and the environment for growth to happen.''
The council approved spending on an upgrade of the RSA if it secured a 10-year lease with an unnamed tenant - widely understood to be Trustpower - in February.
But on March 29 the council announced negotiations had ended due to a possible legal challenge - an obscure 1875 Act had created uncertainty about the council's authority to lease the building.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said he attended the meeting along with Crs Jim Hopkins and Melanie Tavendale ''to help put our case'', but nevertheless, ''one of the fundamental differences of opinion on the night'' was whether the council's processes had been ''flawed'', as Mrs Stead had said.
''There were specific circumstances that meant that we didn't have a lot of time for a fully public process that we might have liked; we made sure that we were not doing anything that was less than what was required, but we can always have more [consultation],'' Mr Kircher said.
''So we proceeded and when there was a problem, we stopped ... none of us [councillors] have got a vested interest in this. We were actually wanting to do the best for the community.''
The council planned to repeal the Oamaru Town Hall and Gas Works Sites and Recreation Reserves Vesting Act 1875 through an Act of Parliament.
