Questions & Answers

Ground floor - Main entry off Criterion Street, through glass sliding doors.

• Information / Service Centre -main reception area; sale of bus, ferry and train tickets; souvenirs, maps, brochures; assistance and advice to visitors (e.g. accommodation, things to do and see); payments for Rangitīkei District Council rates; Horizons rates; dog registrations, other Council payments
• Book return slot
• Lift access to 2nd and 3rd floors
• Area for those waiting for buses, with some seating provided
• Public toilets - 8 public toilets, one of which is disability accessible (plus shower); 3 + 1 disability accessible toilet will be available after-hours (access through external doors only)
• Town Hall - seating for approximately 300 (plus additional seating on mezzanine floor, for approx. 40)
• hardwood tongue and groove flooring - doors open out onto patio area
• Stage area - access to stage from hall and via external back door, large slopping stage with stairs going to storage area below
• Mezzanine (on first floor) - provides extra viewing space to the Town Hall – (can seat another 40 people); can be booked through Reception (ground floor)
• Kitchen - provision for re-heating and serving food - dishwasher, microwave, fridge, ovens, extractor fan; cutlery, crockery for kitchen is from the existing Town Hall
• Curved stairwell to 1st floor
• External doors opening onto the patio area

First floor - Accessible by lift or stairs.

• Learning Hub (L-Hub) [previously called the Library] - provides recreational reading spaces, and recognises different ways of learning and gaining knowledge; contains books, newspapers, DVDs; computers at work stations (5) available for public use
• self-service kiosk (check-in / check-out books etc)
• printer / scanner available for public use - (as per current charges in Council’s Fees & Charges schedule)
• access to e-databases
• e-books, e-magazines
• access to internet sites e.g. Ancestry.com (in the L-Hub only) and (from 1 April) Britannica Library online, World Book Encyclopedia online, Medici.TV (Classical music, performances and documentaries), Generosity NZ, Haynes Auto Manuals, Oxford Reference titles and two children databases – Busythings and Tumblebooks
• Door between the mezzanine and library controls access to other building areas and use
• Fire exit stairwell at stage end of the building
• Mezzanine area - this is a multi-use space - can be used as a standalone, or to view stage performances and events in the Town Hall (seats approx. 40); has movable book shelves
• Two office spaces - to accommodate the Bulls Town Co-ordinator and Council staff
• 1 staff toilet

Second floor - Accessible by lift or stairs.

• North Pavilion
• skylight above the stairwell
• three meeting areas, available to the public, can be booked at Reception (ground floor); can be opened up to create bigger meeting rooms
• accessible toilet with changing table
• kitchenette
• storage areas
• corridor to access roof terrace
• cleaning cupboard
• utility spaces
• Plunket will use one of the utility spaces once a week, at other times it can be used by other groups and booked through Reception
• External viewing deck on roof terrace
• South Pavilion - Youth space – can be used by other groups and booked through Reception
• Fire exit stairwell at stage end of the building

Outside Area

• Large Water Storage Tank
• required to provide water for buildings fire separation systems
• Town Square
• Car park
• Bus facilities

• To be marketed for sale in mid-2020:
• Bulls Bus and Information Centre
• Bulls Town Hall and car park
• 15 High Street
• Plunket and toilet site
• Walton Street – land parcels
• Haylock Park area – details are being finalised

Please note: The Bulls Library is not being sold.

Practical completion of the building is expected to be in April 2020, after that Rangitīkei District Council can begin internal fit out and operations testing.

Following the hand-over from the construction company, this will take approximately 12 weeks. This includes relocating the Bulls Library to the new building.

This is expected to be July / August 2020.

Yes, it does.

An increase of $2,044,913 was requested and subsequently approved by Council, bringing the updated forecast project cost to $8,284,113, which will be debt funded.

Professional fees, building consent costs, furniture and fit-out costs had either not previously been included within the overall project budget, or had increased. There were also additional costs incurred as a result of changes in requirements during construction – these include the requirement for a power transformer (ensuring there was adequate power capacity to enable core services for the site and the surrounding area); installation of a water tank at the rear of the building (as the town supply would not be sufficient in a fire-fighting capacity); a larger area of land required to ensure bus lanes and car parking were safe and appropriate.

The additions mentioned above caused time delays, due to re-design requirements and the purchase and supply of the power transformer and water tank.

The balance of capital and operating costs are funded District wide – through rates.

• External funding for the project secured to date includes NZ Lottery Grants Board ($500k), regional/local trusts (Dudding Trust - $200k and Whanganui Community Foundation - $300k) and local community funding (provisionally $352,000).
• $115,000 has been donated from the community through pledges and donations.
• Proceeds from the sale of the Walton Street community house is provisionally at $237,000.

Yes, there is a security and camera system for the site. Individual parts of the building will be able to be secured separately (i.e. when public events are on in the hall the public will be unable to access staff offices, meeting rooms etc).

Council will consider the cost of hiring the hall and meeting rooms as part of their review of 2020/21 Fees and Charges schedule, this will go to Council at the end of March then the public will have an opportunity to submit on the draft Fees and Charges Schedule in April/May.

Operating procedures for all facilities in the building are being drafted, and once they have been completed they will be available to the community.

The tendered contract allowed for a simple landscaping design for the Town Square; a bus shelter, with the final details for its location and bus routing to be determined later in the project, once construction was well underway. To ensure what was proposed in the original contract can be delivered and taking into account potential safety improvements the project team have now split these into two related projects (1. The bus lane / hub and 2. Town Square enhancements) and their recommendations for these two projects will go to Council for a decision at the end of March.

The proposed revised scope recommends a more enhanced and expanded design to include such things as flood lighting, bus shelters, camper van parking, exterior lighting, drinking fountains and signage. If Council agrees these two projects will be put out for tender. If Council does not agree the original design will be progressed.

Buses will continue to leave from the current Bulls Bus and Information Centre site until the new building is open.

A provision of $250,000 has been included in the $8,284,113 to provide for cultural features and artwork. An application for funding towards this was unsuccessful.

This includes costs for Project Management, Architecture fees, Quantity Surveyor, Structural Engineer, GeoTechnical services, , Fire engineering, Archaeologic assessments.

7,646 for the 2019/20 rating year.

Bus companies do not pay for the facilities they use. This is the same across the country.

Council’s only commitment is to sow grass and then keep the grass mown to maintain a tidy site.

The Council and the joint venture partners (DT Holdings) have a Memorandum of Understanding between them that states the Town Square will only be used as a “Town Square” and not for any other purpose.

The assumption for ongoing running costs of the new building is that they would be at a similar level to the costs of running the existing three buildings (Library, Town Hall and Information Centre).

When the magnitude of the additional costs were understood, it was not feasible to stop the project as the building would have been left partially built and unusable. In addition contracts for the construction of the building would still need to have been honoured.

No, to do so would have increased the project cost significantly.

Yes.

Council is establishing a Project Management Office (PMO), this will provide the necessary processes and governance to monitor and report on Council’s projects. In addition, Council will instigate a rigorous lessons learned process to capture the opportunities for improvement for future projects.