Organisations moved for council building repairs

Five community groups are being moved from the Mary Thomas Centre in Takapuna so the Auckland Council-owned building can have its roof replaced.

The groups will from June shift round the corner from their leaky first-floor offices at 3 Gibbons Pl into spare space in the Takapuna Community Services Building on The Strand.

Those affected are: Auckland North Community and Development (Ancad), Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), North Shore Centres of Mutual Aid (CMA), North Shore Housing Trust and Takapuna North Community Trust.

The Mary Thomas Centre, which was opened in 1986, has had money set aside for the roof repair, estimated to cost around $300,000, and for other weather-tightness work to upstairs decking and windows.

Its ground floor, which includes bookable public meeting rooms and the office of North Shore Budget Service, will remain in use.

The Devonport-Takapuna Local Board has signed off on replacing the existing leases of the tenants being moved, with new month-by-month leases applying from 2 June.

Board chair Toni van Tonder said the matter had been addressed with urgency. “The space is not healthy.”

Once repaired, the centre’s longer-term future is undecided. Along with Takapuna

Library and the community services building (which houses the War Memorial Hall), the three buildings are part of an “optimisation” assessment by council property arm Eke Panuku.

Options range from retaining the status quo to selling one, two or all of the buildings in favour of building combined facilities in a new council-services hub in the Takapuna town square.

The proposals divided the last board and will return to this board for further consideration.

A council leasing specialist said other groups already housed in the services building, including Age Concern and Multiple Sclerosis, would be affected by the relocation. Age Concern was surrendering some space and there would be more sharing of toilet and kitchen facilities.

A lot of consultation had taken place with the groups, the board was told.

Member Gavin Busch sought assurances that Takapuna Rotary be kept informed, because it had honours boards in the centre.

Deputy chair Terence Harpur said the council did not get enough credit for housing community groups on peppercorn leases.

Commercial rents in Takapuna ranged between $300 and $1000 per square metre of space, with parking extra, yet groups were being accommodated virtually free, with minimal operating costs.

He asked if the groups had been given any indication that the council might look to recover more money from future arrangements, as part of its draft budget considerations. Van Tonder said this had not been discussed, because the budget was not yet set.