The redeveloped Whakatāne District Council building will be back in action from Monday, 10 July. Customers will once again be able to access all services including payments, dog registrations and duty building inspectors in the refurbished building at 14 Commerce Street, Whakatāne. A significant upgrade of the main offices has addressed health and safety issues, including earthquake strengthening and air conditioning, and made a range of improvements to ensure it will be fit-for-purpose into the future. The project was budgeted for in the Long Term Plan 2021-31.
Council General Manager People and Engagement, Emlyn Hatch, says the upgrade will have many ongoing benefits to the community.
“Firstly, we want to thank our communities for their patience while we’ve been operating from temporary spaces. Our staff are really excited about moving back into the main building so we can deliver exceptional results for our people together,” Mr Hatch says. “The upgrade also includes moving the Council Chambers and public meeting rooms to the ground floor, which means there is more access to and transparency around local government.”
Mr Hatch notes that the project has been delivered on-time and under-budget, a unique outcome in the current building climate.
“We’re also pleased to report that as many local contractors and services were used as possible, aligning with the original ‘buy local’ approach and supporting businesses and employment within the Whakatāne District,” he explains. “We’ve got some fantastic statistics around local economy spend too, including approximately $4.2 million to Whakatāne District-based contractors, 1760 visitor stay nights and almost 10,000 coffees purchased. That’s a significant amount of money being poured into our area – and a lot of caffeine consumed.”
Cultural nuances have been woven throughout the building as a visual representation that reflects the community, and reinforces a sense of connection to the rohe/district. Local contemporary Māori artist, Jamie Boynton (Te Whakatōhea, Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Whānau Apanui) has created a series of artworks designed to support this.
“It’s been a privilege to be involved with this project and develop the cultural narrative for the building,” Mr Boynton explains. “The narrative is inspired by our beautiful rohe - celebrating our whenua/land, wai/waterways, and the unique species or taonga/treasures typically seen and appreciated by all. The artworks are a metaphor for community weaving and conservation, combining our different cultures and perspectives - it’s all about connection."
New meeting rooms within the building have been given names that connect to the natural environment, with ground floor rooms representing native whenua species and first floor room names associated to the sky – for example, native birds. A weaving roopu/group has also designed and produced a beautiful series of pieces that represent working together, successful growth and being excellent kaitiaki / guardians.
Office-based staff are working remotely for the period before the official re-opening to allow equipment and furniture from the temporary offices to be relocated back to the main building. All Council services will continue as normal during this time