4 May 2021
Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: Generator being used at museum
Enquiry
I have some questions following on from my query about the generator for the museum - could I please have attributable answers for these?
Can you please explain more about how the main power supply cables to the Museum were damaged by heat and hydrogen sulphide corrosion? Could that have been prevented?
How long were the cables damaged for - is this something that developed over time or did it happen recently? Were they ever a safety risk?
Can you explain more about the temporary supply? Is this at any additional cost? If so, how much?
How long will it take to reinstate a permanent power supply? How much will that cost? Where will the money for that come from?
Will that extend the timeframe for the completion and reopening of the Museum? If so by how much?
Can you explain what kind of generator was used? Was it petrol / diesel powered? Has the council calculated the environmental impact of this and if so, will anything be done to offset this?
Which funding stream did the $16,700 for the generator come from?’
Follow up questions:
Could you please also just provide a line explaining why power still needs to be supplied to the Museum while it is closed (I imagine it's for workers in there and what-not but it will be a question some readers might have).
Also can you please clarify when the generator was used - four weeks in March was it?
Response
From Rotorua Lakes Council Arts & Culture Manager, Stewart Brown:
Due to the geothermal environment in that area assets do deteriorate from time to time, especially those that are located close to or under the ground.
We were alerted to the failed supply by a tripped fuse. The fuse trip safety mechanism isolated the supply and we put a diesel generator in place (4 weeks) while contractors dug up the failed cables and installed the temporary power connections.
The temporary supply connects to mains power to enable critical building services to continue. The cost to set up the supply was $7,079 which is funded through the project’s operational costs budget.
Design works to reinstate permanent power are now underway. That work will coincide with other underground service work planned during the Museum project so won’t add to the overall project delivery timeframe. As we are still working through that design process no timelines or cost estimates have been set. These costs will be part of the overall museum project budget.
Further info: Any environmental impacts are taken into account within the wider project framework and offset where possible.
Information provided to follow up enquiry:
Re the power supply – you can just add a few extra words to the end of this sentence - enable critical building services to continue e.g. alarm systems.
Re the date – the generator was in place for four weeks from the beginning of February 2021.
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Media: NZME (Rotorua Daily Post and BOP Times)
Topic: Commercial consents issued during April
Enquiry
Q1. May I please have the top five biggest commercial consents in terms of value issued in April 2021? Please include their cost, address and what the consent was for.
Q2. May I also please have the total amount of residential and commercial consents issued in April 2021?
Response
The following information was provided:
New science block – 1612 Pukuatua St - $5.5m
Site work and drainage – 146 Lake Rd - $250,000
Addition to warehouse – 65 Marguerita St - $150,000
Note - These were the higher value consents – others were of minimal value.
Total amount of residential and commercial consents issued in April 2021: $18,532.877