Item 9: Update on
Council-owned earthquake-prone buildings
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Community Services Committee
12 March 2020
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REPORT R15877
Update
on Council-owned earthquake-prone buildings
1. Purpose
of Report
1.1 To
provide an update in relation to recent decisions regarding earthquake prone
buildings, and to note unbudgeted expenditure to undertake work related to
building closures.
2. Recommendation
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That the Community Services Committee
1. Receives
the report Update on Council-owned earthquake-prone buildings (R15877); and
2. Notes the decision taken by
officers to close the Stoke Memorial Hall from 29 March 2020; and
3. Notes the decision taken by
officers to close the former Stoke Seniors building temporarily from 29 March
2020 while options to mitigate the risk from the nearby Stoke Memorial Hall
are investigated; and
4. Notes the decision taken by
officers to close the Refinery Concrete building from 29 March 2020; and
5. Notes that officers will incur an
over expenditure in budgets of up to $13,000 for the Stoke Memorial Hall and
former Stoke Seniors Hall and $47,500 for the Refinery.
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Recommendation to Council
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That the
Council
1. Approves total unbudgeted operating
expenditure of up to $60,500 for the closure of the Stoke Memorial Hall,
former Stoke Seniors Hall and the Refinery in 2019/20.
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3. Background
3.1 Council
has six buildings that have an Earthquake Prone Building notice on them. This
means they have been assessed by Council’s Building Unit to be
‘earthquake prone’ and are registered in MBIE’s Register of
Earthquake-Prone Buildings.
3.2 These
buildings have deadlines set under the Building Act 2004, for when work needs
to be completed to ensure that the buildings are no longer earthquake prone.
3.3 Three
of these earthquake-prone buildings are vacant (or used for storage only),
however the following buildings are being used by the community:
· Stoke
Memorial Hall, work required to be completed by September 2029
· Refinery,
work required to be completed by June 2032
· Hounsell
Circle Bus shelter, work required to be completed by August 2041
4. Stoke
Memorial Hall and Former Stoke Seniors Building
4.1 Stoke
Memorial Hall was assessed in 2014 as being 24% of New Building Standard (NBS)
at Importance Level 2 (IL2). The Earthquake Prone Building Notice required that
the building be strengthened or the hazard removed by 2029.
4.2 Budget
was allocated through the Long Term Plan 2018-28 for strengthening of the hall
in 2024/25, at a cost of $458,000. More recent cost estimates suggest this is
unlikely to be sufficient for strengthening to 67% NBS, and the cost will need to
be reviewed through the Long Term Plan 2021-31.
4.3 The
Property and Facilities Asset Management Plan anticipated that visitor numbers
for the Stoke Memorial Hall would drop once the new Greenmeadows/ Putangitangi
Centre opened. As a result, the Asset Management Plan identified the need to
review the use of the hall long term. Significant maintenance of the Stoke
Memorial Hall was deferred until more was known about user demand.
4.4 Once
Greenmeadows opened, staff began the process of reviewing changes in use for
Stoke Memorial Hall, and reviewing estimated costs for earthquake strengthening
of the building.
4.5 In
preparing for this, a review of the existing seismic assessment for the Hall
was carried out. The review identified that the building should instead be 17%
NBS (IL3). The review also confirmed that there is a Critical Structural
Weakness within the building, namely the masonry infill panels.
4.6 Given
this better understanding of risk from the recent assessment, officers have
made the decision to close the Stoke Memorial Hall from 29 March 2020.
4.7 There
are a number of regular users of the Memorial Hall, and staff are working with
these users to find alternative venues for their activities to be able to
continue while the Hall is closed. A verbal update will be provided at the
meeting on progress with this.
4.8 There
are also one-off bookings for the Memorial Hall, and staff are working with
these users to find alternative venues. This includes working with the RSA to
find an alternative venue for the ANZAC Day service at Stoke, now expected to
be at Nayland College Hall.
4.9 The
former Stoke Seniors Hall is located directly behind the Stoke Memorial Hall.
This building is not earthquake prone. Following on from the decision to close
the Stoke Memorial Hall, staff sought advice about the risks to this hall as a
result of the potential failure of the Stoke Memorial Hall. Council plans
to close the former Stoke Seniors building, and the alleyway between the two
buildings, as a precaution from 29 March 2020. Officers are investigating
options to mitigate the risk to the former Stoke Seniors building with the hope
that it may be possible to reassess the decision to close this building.
4.10 There
is currently only one regular user of the former Stoke Seniors building and
they are being assisted to find an alternative venue until the building can be
made safe.
4.11 There
are costs in finding alternative accommodation for users for the Stoke Memorial
Hall. Some alternative venues have higher costs than the Stoke Memorial Hall
and staff have offered assistance to these users by way of covering the
additional costs of the alternative venue booking for up to six months.
4.12 Design
costs for strengthening have been included in the draft Annual Plan 2020/21,
but a business case will need to be prepared before design commences to confirm
the level of strengthening and other renewal work required.
4.13 Unbudgeted
expenditure
4.14 There
will be unbudgeted expenditure as a result of the decision to close this Hall
as follows.
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Activity
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Amount
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Relocating users to other facilities and subsidising
rental at other facilities
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Up to $5,400
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Activity to support the Stoke ANZAC Day
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Up to $245
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Additional engineering advice
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$7,000
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Total
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Up to $13,000
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4.15 Funding
for this work in 2020/21 is not currently in the draft Annual Plan budget.
Officers will have more information on 2020/21 costs in time from Annual Plan
deliberations and decisions on funding that work can be made then.
5. Refinery
5.1 The
Refinery is an earthquake prone building, with an Earthquake Prone Building
Notice stating the building achieves less than 15% of the NBS.
5.2 Strengthening
is planned for 2020/21, with design for the strengthening planned for this
financial year. Budget in 2020/21 is $386,000, and once design has been
completed, officers will know whether this funding is sufficient for the
strengthening of the building to 67% NBS. A separate report to Council may be
required if the budget is insufficient.
5.3 A
peer review of this assessment has also been carried out and has identified
that the seismic assessment was completed in 2015, prior to the current
guidelines for assessing buildings and, if the building was to be re-assessed,
there is likely to be a reduction in its overall performance rating.
5.4 The
critical structural weakness in this building is the vulnerable concrete
pedestal columns just below the elevated floor.
5.5 Officers
have made the decision to close this building from 29 March and assist Arts
Council Nelson to find an alternative building to operate from until after the
strengthening has been completed.
5.6 Council
is also working to find alternative premises for the Fringe Festival which is
booked at the Refinery in May for 9 days. Alternative spaces to host
exhibitions are also required. There is a schedule of exhibitions planned for
the next 12 months. The loss of five artists who lease studio space at the refinery
will also result in a reduction in income to the Arts Council Nelson. Lost
income is expected unless an alternative suitable venue is found.
5.7 Officers
are investigating multiple sites across the CBD and city. Commercial leases are
in the range of $20,000 to $35,000 per annum. Currently Arts Council Nelson
pays $500 per annum to lease the Refinery.
5.8 Work
to find venues for the Arts Council Nelson is ongoing and a verbal update will
be provided at the meeting.
5.9 Unbudgeted
expenditure
5.10 There
will be unbudgeted expenditure as a result of the decision to close this
building.
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Activity
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Amount
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Legal fees
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$2,700
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For lease of alternate premises to 30 June 2020
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Up to $10,000
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Moving and relocation
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Up to $10,000
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Relocation of Fringe Festival
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$7,500
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Contingency
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$10,000
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Additional engineering advice
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$7,000
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Total
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Up to $47,500
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5.11 Funding
for this work in 2020/21 is not currently in the draft Annual Plan budget.
Officers will have more information on 2020/21 costs in time from Annual Plan
deliberations and decisions on funding that work can be made then.
6. Other
actions
6.1 Hounsell
Circle bus shelter
6.2 This
shelter is earthquake prone at less than 15% of NBS. The building is no longer
used as a part of the transport network.
6.3 This
shelter will be fenced to prevent people accessing it, until a decision is made
on any future actions. This building is outside the delegation of the Community
Services Committee and, as a building on a reserve, would be within the
delegation of the Sports and Recreation Committee.
6.4 23
Halifax Street (Former Mediterranean Foods)
6.5 This
building is earthquake prone at 25% of NBS. The building is used for storage
only.
6.6 This
building is outside the delegation of the Community Services Committee. A
separate report to Council will discuss next steps for this building and the
work already underway.
7. Options
7.1 The
Committee can recommend to Council that it approve the unbudgeted expenditure,
or not recommend the unbudgeted expenditure. Option 1 is the preferred option.
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Option 1: Recommend unbudgeted
expenditure
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Advantages
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· Provides
certainty to Stoke Memorial Hall and Refinery users, up to 30 June 2020, on
the level of Council support that can be provided while they are unable to
use the buildings
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Risks and Disadvantages
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· Financial
risk of being unable to find savings in other areas of the organisation
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Option 2: Do not recommend
unbudgeted expenditure
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Advantages
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· No
additional expenditure overall
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Risks and Disadvantages
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· Officers
would need to reduce expenditure in other areas in order to fund the work
required. This may result in reduced levels of service at other community
halls or buildings in order to fund the additional expenditure.
· Uncertainty
for Stoke Memorial Hall and Refinery users
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8. Conclusion
8.1 Over-expenditure
in 2019/20 will be incurred in order to cover the costs of relocating current
users from Stoke Memorial Hall to other facilities, relocating the Arts Council
Nelson to an alternative venue, seeking engineering advice and peer reviews of
advice, construction of fencing around the Hounsell Circle Bus Shelter, and a
business case for the future of the Stoke Memorial Hall.
8.2 It
is anticipated that over-expenditure for 2019/20 will be up to $60,500.
8.3 Additional
costs for 2020/21 need to be confirmed and adjustments made to the final Annual
Plan 2020/21 as required.
9. Next
Steps
9.1 Officers
will continue to actively engage with users to assist them in finding
alterative venues.
9.2 Mitigations
to protect the former Stoke Seniors building will be investigated, to
understand if that building can be re-opened more quickly.
9.3 Design
for strengthening for the Stoke Memorial Hall is planned for 2020/21, following
the development of a business case.
9.4 A
report will be presented to the Committee about the strengthening options for
the Stoke Memorial Hall.
9.5 Design
for strengthening for the Refinery is programmed for 2019/20. Physical
construction work is programmed for 2020/21.
9.6 Strengthening
costs for the Stoke Memorial Hall are currently budgeted for 2024/25. Through
the Long Term Plan 2021-31, the amount budgeted for the work and the year that
it is scheduled will need to be reviewed so that it can be brought forward.
Author: Jane
Loughnan, Property and Facilities Asset Planner
Attachments
Nil
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Important considerations for decision making
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1. Fit
with Purpose of Local Government
This decision enables Council to continue to assist
activities and groups that support community wellbeing by assisting with
additional costs for hiring halls while the future of the venues are
uncertain.
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2. Consistency
with Community Outcomes and Council Policy
Providing community venues contributes to the
Community Outcomes that:
· Our
infrastructure is efficient, cost effective and meets current and future
needs
· Our
communities have access to a range of social, educational and recreational
facilities and activities
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3. Risk
There is a risk that estimates of unbudgeted
expenditure could be exceeded. Officers are working with users/tenants
and professional advisers to understand the implications of these decisions
and to keep additional costs to a minimum.
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4. Financial
impact
This decision has a direct financial impact on
Council.
Strengthening costs are separate to these immediate
relocation and investigation costs.
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5. Degree
of significance and level of engagement
This matter is of medium significance because it
offers benefits to some of the groups that have to relocate as a result of
the status of these buildings.
No engagement has been undertaken on this decision,
but engagement and consultation will occur on decisions relating to the
future of the Stoke Memorial Hall. There is extensive consultation occurring
with the management teams of the Refinery and Fringe Festival.
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6. Climate
Impact
The decision to provide unbudgeted expenditure for
this work does not impact on adaptation, mitigation and or leadership.
Some of the alternative venues may be further from
the homes of users, so they may mean that users travel or drive further to
the venue they use, creating further emissions. Staff are working to find
other local venues for users.
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7. Inclusion
of Māori in the decision making process
No engagement with Māori has been undertaken in
preparing this report.
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8. Delegations
The Community Services
Committee/Subcommittee/Council has the following delegations to consider
community halls and the Refinery.
Areas of Responsibility:
· Arts,
Culture and Heritage
· Community
Centres and Halls, including Greenmeadows Community Centre, Stoke Memorial
Hall and Tahunanui Community Centre
· Community
Festivals and Events
Delegations:
· Monitoring
Council’s performance for the committee’s areas of
responsibility, including legislative responsibilities and compliance
requirements
Powers to Recommend (if applicable):
· Unbudgeted
expenditure relating to the areas of responsibility, not included in the Long
Term Plan or Annual Plan
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