Here we go again.
Waitaki District Council is being urged to reconsider its 2024 decision to change the flooring plan of the new Network Waitaki Event Centre.
In December 2023, the council approved the original design of four timber sprung and two synthetic flooring courts.
Five months later, that decision was changed so the centre would have six timber sprung courts.
Now, at Tuesday’s council meeting, they will vote on accepting a notice of motion from councillor Jim Hopkins, and signed by councillors Guy Percival, Tim Blackler and Jim Thomson, to reconsider the 2024 decision.
In the notice of motion, Cr Hopkins said "new information" had only been shared informally and only to a select few councillors.
"For at reason alone, it’s important to bring this new material to the attention of everyone.
"But the equally and perhaps more important reasons to do so are that some of this new information is significantly different from what we have previously been told."
The information he presented relates to both the cost and the usage of the courts.
The change to six timber sprung courts was initially costed at an additional $50,000 and council was told this would not affect the centre’s ability to hold exhibitions or other similar non-sporting events.
Cr Hopkins’ notice of motion said this was incorrect and it would require further strengthening to hold such events which would cost another $69,400 on top of the $50,000, meaning the switch actually cost $119,400.
His notice of motion also said there was "greater Pasifika engagement with tennis and a significantly greater engagement overall with the code than we were led to believe last year".
This comes after a handful of councillors met with North Otago Tennis and the Oamaru Tongan Tennis Club last month.
It also included examples of other event centres around New Zealand using synthetic courts for netball, something the council was told last year was not possible.
"The evidence from elsewhere gives clear evidence that this is not the case and that the arguments put to us in 2024 were overstated and therefore misleading."
The council will vote on whether to accept the notice of motion on Tuesday.
