Whakatāne District Council will soon launch a new service that will enable areas within the main Council building to be available for hire.
The Tōtara Event Space includes the Council Chambers and two other rooms, which can be hired separately or in full outside of business hours. The service, designed for community and charitable groups, businesses and organisations to hold meetings, networking events and seminars, is a result of the Council building redevelopment and desire from elected members that part of the building would act as a community hub for public use.
One of the project goals was to make democracy more accessible, and the ground floor location of the Council meeting rooms has achieved that.
General Manager People and Engagement, Emlyn Hatch, says a lot of work has been done to ensure the service fulfils the needs of the community, while also considering the health and safety of people and the building.
“We’re really excited to offer this exceptional space for hire,” Mr Hatch says. “There is a robust process in place for those interested in hiring the venue, and concierges will be on-site before, during and after the booking period to help ensure everything runs smoothly.”
Room Tōtara has capacity to seat 110 guests and can be set up in four different layouts, dependent on the style of function that is being hosted. Room Miro and Room Kererū can seat 25 guests and is designed for smaller-scale meetings. Tea and coffee facilities are provided, and a kitchen is available for use; however, catering is not available as part of the hire agreement and will need to be arranged privately. Audio-visual equipment is available for use in both rooms.
Mr Hatch says the fee structure, which was approved at the Ordinary Council meeting today (Thursday, 17 October), has been established to fully cover the costs associated with operating the event space.
“The fees, which range from $240 to $500 for the evening, are based on similar local venue options,” he explains. “We’ve made sure there will be no direct impact on ratepayers for the service."
“It’s also worth noting that there are currently two smaller meeting rooms available free-of-charge for community groups to use at various times throughout the week during business hours.”
The event space will be available from next month on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays from 5.30pm to 8.30pm. More information will be available on the Council website at the beginning of November.