Ōpōtiki’s mayor and councillors have refused to allocate a further $225,000 to the funds already set aside for the jetty extension at the town wharf.

A report to Tuesday’s Ōpōtiki District Council meeting included an updated engineer’s estimate prepared prior to putting the work out for tender. It put total cost of the project well above budget at $615,000.  

The council’s Long-term Plan 2024-2034 allocated $450,000 for this project and moving the children’s rope swing and slide, which the council no longer plans to do.

The jetty extension and moving of the play equipment are part of the Wharf Masterplan and are intended to provide space for fishing and a boardwalk along the shoreline to help offset the impacts of having a portion of the existing wharf area closed to public while it services the mussel boat operation.

Council service delivery group manager Nathan Hughes said the design for the jetty extension had been completed and consent had been granted to proceed with construction.  

His report offered options for the council to either borrow to allocate further funding, reallocate Better Off Funding to the project or put the project on hold and let it remain a shovel-ready project for future consideration during the next annual or long-term plan decision making process.

The Better Off Funding was received from the last Labour Government to fund community wellbeing projects as part of Three Waters reforms.  

Mayor David Moore said it was money that needed to be spent.

He proposed a fourth option of testing the market by putting the job out for tender at the current allocation, asking what could be delivered at the original price cap.

It was possible the scope of the project could be reduced to create a smaller jetty than planned.

He also suggested using $100,000 Better Off funding to reduce the amount of loan funding for the project from $450,000 to $350,000.

Councillor Barry Howe agreed the current allocation of funds was more than adequate for what was needed.

“We don’t want a gold-plated jetty,” he said.

Mr Moore said people were fishing off the harbour walls, despite signs stating they shouldn’t, so the jetty was being utilised less.  

“That’s taken away a little bit of [the problem] we were trying to solve.”

Councillors all agreed and if it was found that further budget was required, it would need to be brought back to council for agreement.