Many ratepayers expressed anger and a lack of trust in Whakatāne District Council at a consultation hui on Tuesday night, while a few praised its forward thinking.

The mood of most people in the reception lounge of the Whakatāne War Memorial Centre was best summed up by one speaker, Cynthia Vercoe, who received the most applause.

“Why should we trust you?” Ms Vercoe asked. “Did you pay attention to the numbers of people who had an opinion on how much money they thought should be spent on the [Civic Centre redevelopment]? I don’t believe you did.”

She expressed doubt that council would listen to opinions about how much should be spent on the Rex Morpeth Recreation Hub project.

“If you had a majority of opinions from people who said, ‘I want the minimum amount done to preserve the War Memorial Hall - upgrade the facilities, but the minimum amount - will you listen?’”

About 200 people turned out at Whakatāne War Memorial Centre’s reception lounge for the meeting about the council’s Long-term Plan 2024-2034.

Scheduled from 7pm until 9pm, the meeting was extended an extra half hour to accommodate the number of people wishing to speak and ask questions of the mayor, councillors and staff.

During the first part of the meeting, council managers explained the long-term planning process for the Rex Morpeth Recreation Hub.

Strategy and transformation manager Steven Perdia said people shouldn’t get too caught up on the idea that the more people that submit in favour of something will always succeed.

“There are situations where a lone voice can make a difference.”

Community experience manager Georgina Fletcher said while two options in the consultation document, including the preferred option, called for “a significant budget of $105.7 million ... if that big number goes in the long-term plan it doesn’t mean we are going out tomorrow to secure contractors to carry out the full-scale redevelopment”.

“A project of this size will have many milestones and opportunities for the communities to have their say.”

She said the rating impact of the preferred option was about 3 cents a week, for each ratepayer in the first year.

The bulk of the cost would come in 2029 and 2030. Without a plan and a show of willingness to invest, it would not be possible to acquire external funding.

The cost of doing “the bare minimum” to keep the hall operational was $12.5 million but would not attract any external funding.

Ms Vercoe spoke about how families were struggling to pay for groceries and pay the bills.

“But you want to take more money out of our already tight budget to pay for these all really grand things that are really lovely - but, I’d really love some beautiful art in my house or a new couch or some new carpet or wallpaper. Can’t afford it, can’t do it.”

Several speakers were in support of the $105.7 Rex Morpeth Recreation Hub masterplan.

One was Arts Whakatāne chairwoman Sue Whale, who spoke on behalf of artists and performers who use the Little Theatre and others who used the war memorial complex.

“Really, it does need upgrading,” she said.

“Do you want to have this community hub - used by hundreds of people, including sports people and commercial users - go to pieces, become dilapidated and sit here as an empty shell? We need to have a long-term vision to keep the facilities upgraded.”

Another question was why staff numbers at council kept increasing.

This question was fielded by councillor Nandor Tanczos, who gave a number of reasons including central government putting more functions onto council, which require more staff to be carried out, and health and safety regulations requiring council having to send two people to do work in outlying areas that previously only required one.

Some speakers felt it was ridiculous for the council to attempt any planning as the future was uncertain.

Mayor Victor Luca told the Beacon that he found many of the views expressed on the night thought provoking. He said affordability was at the top of his mind during the long-term plan process.

While he couldn’t speak for the rest of the council, he felt if the majority of submissions were toward one of the options that would be reflected in how he voted.

Submissions to the Long-term Plan 2024-2034 need to be in by 5pm Friday. Submission forms are available online at whakatane.govt.nz or from the council, district libraries or Murupara Service Centre.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.