The Mahoenui hall on SH3 is one of eight rural Waitomo halls
Waitomo District Council will hand ownership of six of the district’s eight rural halls to their hall committees.
The decision came after 33 of 66 responses in Long Term Plan submissions backed committee ownership. Thirty were happy with status quo, three wanted halls closed.
But the decision was made after a warning was sounded that community ownership would only be viable with community support.
Submissions from those within the district were more strongly in favour of hall committee ownership, according to the council’s comments on the long term plan.
The comments on the LTP were generally in favour of hall committees deciding what would work best for them.
Councillors and staff met five hall committees who generally responded positively. The council will continue with discussions to transition hall ownership to those committees and communities who wish to do so.
But it is not all roses. President of the Kinohaku Hall Society Tim Stokes said there were challenges in community ownership of a rural hall.
There were limited people willing to be involved in operating the hall and not many in the community wanted to be members, he said.
The hall needed regular income to be financially viable. Insurance at more than $3000 a year was a significant expense.
“Even with income from a regular user and the annual council grant, the hall only makes a slight profit because of the fundraising we do,” he submitted.
Volunteers who donated materials and carried out maintenance were another factor that helped make the hall viable, he said.
“If we had to purchase materials and pay tradesmen for maintenance work, we would not be viable.”
He argued without support from their communities and good fund raising opportunities, community ownership wasn’t viable.
“Rural halls have a role to play in being a venue for gatherings and events,” he said. “We wouldn’t like to see them disappear from being available for the community to use.”
