Things are
certainly changing. Thanks to the New Plymouth District Council’s commitment to
live streaming, it was possible to follow last night’s meeting on the Len Lye Centre.
Essentially a sum of $750,000 was required in excess of other funds raised because
the tenders came in higher than expected. The Council had to decide whether to
stump up for the extra or not.
Not picking up
the extra cost would delay or stop the project altogether. Most submissions
started with a statement of support for the Centre but cost was the main point
of contention. Questions were asked about the difficulty of raising funds in
the current climate and it was suggested that the LLC efforts were putting
other community fundraising projects at risk. There was a break of sorts when John Matthews showed pics of giant Len Lyes (Blades, Serpents etc)
currently in production. Kinsley Sampson, the Chair of the Len Lye Trust, told
Council that he felt they could raise any further sums required once people saw
the building had started. The Council then debated the motion.
The Mayor spoke to the vote calling the
project “a $10 million gift to the city” and something that will define New
Plymouth for the future. He also felt there would be considerable support for
further fundraising (Helen Clark and Chris Finlayson have both put up their
hands). The seconder was very supportive and figured it was "too late to
back out now." There followed a strange amendment about trying to raise
funds by selling donated art works to raise the missing $750,000 (poor old
bloody artists). But it passed by one vote. Then more talk for and against. And
the vote to fund or not to fund? It was 9 votes to 6 to go ahead. As one councillor
said “Art’s not my thing, Len Lye is not my thing but the community is my thing
so I’ll be voting yes.”
YOU CAN READ THE LATEST NEWS ON WORK AND FUNDING HERE (11-03-13)
YOU CAN READ THE LATEST NEWS ON WORK AND FUNDING HERE (11-03-13)
Images: The Len Lye Centre meeting being live streamed
