Stoke Library. Photo: Max Frethey / LDR
Nelson City Council has approved half a million dollars of repair work for Stoke Library but the acting mayor describes the funds as a just another "band-aid" for the city's crumbling libraries.
On Thursday, Nelson City Council approved $581,000 of spending for a leaky roof fix, skylight alteration, and new roof cladding.
Weather-tightness and structural remedial work was undertaken in 2019 to make the library building structurally safe and address leaks.
The 2019 repairs were only designed to maintain the building for about five years as major renovations were planned for the period 2018-2028.
But as the library redevelopment had not occurred, its temporary building consent was about to expire.
The additional repairs needed to be made to extend the temporary building consent and allow the library to continue to operate.
There was unanimous support for the decision from elected members.
Councillor Campbell Rollo described the library as a "place of thriving opportunity" for locals, while councillor Tim Skinner said it was important to keep the building open as Stoke had lost other services in recent years.
Rohan O'Neill-Stevens. Photo: Nelson Weekly
And while acting mayor Rohan O'Neill-Stevens supported the decision, they said the council needed to discuss the future of the city's libraries.
"It's one [issue] that has been pushed back and left to lie time and time again. We are reaching that critical point, both for Stoke and for Elma Turner, to say, 'What is the long-term future of these spaces?'"
The city centre's Elma Turner Library is also being repaired to give the council a few more years before the building has to be replaced. Photo: Max Frethey/Nelson Weekly. Photo: Max Frethey / LDR
Nelson's beleaguered Elma Turner library in the city centre has been plagued by structural and seismic issues for several years.
It was closed in June last year and has since re-opened in stages as urgent strengthening work is completed for a total cost of $2.7 million.
The building's full re-opening is scheduled for February 2024.
The works are hoped to buy the building some time before the council can construct a new, fit-for-purpose library that is cheaper than the abandoned plan for a $46 million facility beside the Maitai River.
"We need to keep these services there and present," O'Neill-Stevens said.
"But it is again band-aids on a much wider and deeper issue that we're going to need to confront through this [Long-Term Plan] to say, 'When are we going to start genuinely planning for the future of these sorts of key social community assets?'
"We can't keep putting it off for another 10 years before we end up with a building that is quite literally falling apart at the seams."
The funds for the Stoke Library had been budgeted for in the next financial year but were brought forward to this year.
Work is expected to be completed this financial year, which would allow for a 20-year extension to the building's consent.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
