Rotorua Museum, in the historic Bath House building, has been closed since 2016.
The public will get a say on four options for the future of Rotorua’s multimillion-dollar museum restoration project, but the decision comes with an asterisk about unknown costs.
In a meeting on Wednesday, Rotorua Lakes councillors voted to begin consultation on 24 May to test public support for the options: restore and reopen the museum; stage the project; postpone it; or earthquake-proof the building to a lower standard and move the museum.
The museum, in the 100-year-old Category 1 heritage Bath House building, closed in 2016 after sustaining damage in the Kaikōura earthquake and being found to be earthquake-prone.
This will be the second public consultation over the Rotorua Museum – Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa project.
The council’s Manahautū Māori – Te Arawa partnerships deputy chief executive Gina Rangi said this was because there was a significant cost increase to the complex project.
The council agreed in 2018 to put $15.5 million towards the strengthening and restoration project, with $38m from external funders for a total funding envelope of $53.5m.
The project estimate was now expected to cost at least $81.4m, with the extra cost proposed to be met through $9m of council funding and $19m of external funding.
But the costs could go higher, with the complexity and uniqueness of the building potentially having unknown issues.
Brown also asked if the government could carry the risk.
Credit: radionz.co.nz
