Welcome Bay Baptists' 17 year tenure on Welcome Bay's Waitaha Reserve is over – almost.
The Tauranga City Council passed a resolution on Monday to remove the church from its land by February 2013.
The Welcome Bay Baptists Community Centre.
It will continue to negotiate over the price it will pay for the church community centre in the meantime.
It is the decision the council passed over from last week's meeting on the grounds that Welcome Bay ward representative Bill Grainger wasn't there.
Bill was there yesterday, but Councillor Larry Baldock was absent.
At last week's meeting Larry indicated he wouldn't be supporting Rick Curach's compromise resolution.
Bills says Larry, a Baptist, shouldn't be voting on the issue anyway, and should have declared a conflict of interest.
Because the issue was still 'on the table”, it remained only for Bill to vote on it, following an explanation of the situation by the mayor and his stated intention to strictly enforce standing orders.
The Welcome Bay Community Centre lease on commercial premises in the Welcome Bay Shopping Centre on Welcome Bay Road ends in February 2013.
The council wants this public community centre rather than the church community centre on the Waitaha Reserve because some people have issues with a church run community centre.
They feel the same way about schools, says council strategic planner Cheryl Steiner.
The occupants of the public community centre, which costs the council more than $20,000 a year in rent and insurances, want to move into the church-built community centre beside the hall.
They say they will give existing tenants priority and there's no stated issue between these parties.
The problem lies with the council offer for the church built community building on the reserve.
The council offer of about $61,500 is rejected by the church, which says the building is worth $235,000.
The council offer is based on a relocatable value, while the church valuation is on-site.
The negotiations will continue over the price.
Purchasing the building gives the council a ready made Welcome Bay community centre adjacent to the hall to cater for the needs of the expanding Welcome Bay community.
The existing church and community centre operations complement each other and that is expected to continue.
The church hires the hall on Sundays, when the community centre is closed.
13 comments
STANARD TCC MODUS OPERANDI !!!
Posted on 27-09-2011 12:42 | By PLONKER
Take what you want to and who gives a %^&^%&% about the consequences.
@Plonker
Posted on 27-09-2011 15:20 | By Colleen Spiro
The Baptist Church at Welcome Bay is the ONLY Church on Council owned land in Tauranga and pays $4 per week rent and has done for years (I read somewhere 26 years)....don't you think that is unfair on other churches? They are one of four Churches in the area. One of their options was for the council to pay them for their building so they could move. I have heard the arguments "Why is a Church treated differently to any other organisation, i.e. Plunket". My question would be, why is a Church more "Special" than any other organisation?
Lots of issues here
Posted on 27-09-2011 22:48 | By Gee Really
But I guess if the church doesn't think that the council is paying them a market price for the building , they could always sell it to someone else.
Point is
Posted on 28-09-2011 09:45 | By Openknee8ted
The Council does not want to pay $20k a year for their rented building, so they are going to steal a building off one their own tenants.
Opinions
Posted on 28-09-2011 10:13 | By Colleen Spiro
@ Openknee8ted - The Church OWN their building on COUNCIL land. They pay rent of $189.00 per annum. The council will not be stealing the building, they will be buying the building, so the Church can go somewhere else. Yes Gee Really I guess they could sell the BUILDING to someone else, but I guess they would not get as much as the council may offer them to move off THEIR land.
WAKE UP FOLKS ...
Posted on 28-09-2011 19:47 | By CRUMPY
The COuncil officials are just trying to move them off, if the valuer saying it is worth $250,000 then pay em' there money, COuncil benefits by not having to pay $500,000 to build the 1/2 of what is there and saves rent and more of the other place. Councils value of $60,000 is an insult and will be at best a "removal" value not a fair value. Just typical.
RORTERS RELIGION & RIPPERS
Posted on 28-09-2011 20:20 | By RORTSCAM
And it is all to house Aunty Mary providing her and her cohorts with a ready made Community Centre and boot the church with some cash into touch.TCC ratepayers through the cashed strapped Council will find the compo probably around $100k and then $15000pa inflation adjusted to operate this den.Stupidity reigns supreme when the hell do we get the Local Govt. Commissioner. in place of the fiscal fools ?
FRANTIC FISCAL FOLLY FUTURE FOR ....
Posted on 29-09-2011 08:12 | By PLONKER
@ Rortscam, yes sadly the only result of this is that ratepayers will have more debt, a refurbish, contracts to run, manage and do who knows what for what. But one thing is for sure is that the debt will increase and out rates will increase relentlessly, these are the reasons why.
TCC WANTS ANOTHER ARATAKI
Posted on 29-09-2011 11:57 | By WORMTONGUE
There is to be a management contract on it, apparently ex Cr Dillon is going to be paid heaps to run this RORT, has no one learnt anything from the cargo sheds of the same type of setup.
LARRY IS A BAPTIST
Posted on 29-09-2011 14:30 | By PLONKER
Malloy does not live in TCC, Maultrie, D Stewart and Curach live in the Mount so what does it have to do with them, Crosby looks after Papamoa so he is out, a bus with Guy at the helm could not get there if he tried to think about it, Grainger lives near it so he is out. All we are left with is Catherine, at least she will make a good decision, votes counted then are 0-1. all finshed boys! Mary Dillon does not get another TCC handout.
HOLY WARS
Posted on 30-09-2011 16:41 | By Hebegeebies
Better than the RWC get your seat early for greedy gremlins stouch with the god squad it should be a little ripper.
GOD GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!
Posted on 02-10-2011 15:02 | By ANNA KISSED
It is all about the "wanna haves" wanting more paid by everyone else but themselves.
CAN I CHANGE THE HEADING AS
Posted on 04-10-2011 01:43 | By YOGI
"Baptists" to be removed from reserve SHOULD READ "Councillors" to be removed from Chambers! (One way ticket of course).
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