Wellsford library finds new home

Friends of the Wellsford Library are delighted that Rodney District Council has chosen War Memorial Park as the best site for their proposed new facility.

About 10 library supporters attended last month’s meeting of Council’s strategy and community meeting to lend weight to discussions about where the new $2.5m building should go.

The community favoured the park site over the alternatives, which were to rebuild on the present library site or build a new library next to the community centre, in Matheson Road. A design for the park site would include new public toilets, in addition to those next to the existing library, although construction would have to wait until funding was available.

Council has set aside money for the library upgrade in its 20011/12 ($2.2 million) and 2012/13 ($1.4 million) budgets.

Council staff recommended building on Memorial Park and, with the exception of western ward’s Cr Suzanne Weld, the committee was firmly in favour of giving the people what they wanted.

“We did hear loud and clear from the community that they preferred the War Memorial site, but I would refer everyone to the Structure Plan and the huge areas of countryside living and future urban to the north of the town,” Cr Weld said.

Putting the library with the community centre would place it closer to the schools and the bulk of the future residential areas. She was also reluctant to see reserve space taken up with a new building.

“We are required to listen to our communities but we are also here to make decisions for future communities.”

Cr June Turner said that the town centre development plan included an extension of Totara View Road to School Road, which would allow children to walk from the schools to the library without going near the state highway. The indicative road route could be moved to avoid going through school land – council planner Jason Evans confirmed this.

The development plan also identifies the Worker Road area as a hub for new retail stores and includes a new road link from Port Albert Road to further reduce the need for local traffic to use Rodney Street (SH1).

Cr Grahame Powell said he did not really mind where the library went as long as it was finally built.

“We had to fight very hard to keep that money in the plan and I’m pleased to see the costings are less than we budgeted for,” he said. “I hope the balance can be used to build the new toilets.”

Wellsford has only one public toilet block, which Cr Dave Parker described as “archaic”, and it is one of the most used in the Rodney district.

Mr Evans warned councillors not to get too excited about the possibility of a surplus from the budgeted $3.6m, because building projects usually ended up costing more than the initial estimate. The present library was built in 1950 and has 13,200 items in its collection.

PHOTO: Wellsford Library supporters who came to hear the Council’s decision included, from back left, James McNabb, librarian Jocelyn Koks, Lesley McLean, Lynda Wilson, Ted Andersen and, in front, Carol Peebles, Carol Andersen and Creana McNabb.