Building lease agreed by council

 

Chief Executives Malcolm Nicolson of Northland Regional Council (NRC) and Louise Miller of Kaipara District Council (KDC) have last Wednesday signed an agreement for their teams to share office space in Dargaville.

The shared space, to be located at 32 Hokianga Road, will be constructed by the regional council. Kaipara District Council will lease part of the building to provide office space for about 65 district council staff. 

Ms Miller says leasing a new space is an investment in the people of Kaipara. 

“The new building will enable our community and Kaipara District Council, as a small council, to benefit from the regional council’s investment in Dargaville. We will be able to work more closely with our colleagues on projects across Kaipara, and our community will have better access to regional and district council services in a developing civic hub,” she said. 
The current council offices at 42 Hokianga Road were built more than 50 years ago, with a further extension added in the 1990s, and now suffers weathertightness and asbestos issues.

While these issues pose no immediate health concerns for staff or the public, they will require remediation. It lacks disabled access to the top level and, while legally compliant with the new Building Standards, it is below the level many organisations now consider acceptable. 

The NRC first raised the option of sharing office space when it was considering building an office block in Dargaville. Staff from the KDC carried out a review of all their properties and spaces (owned and leased), which they presented to councillors in February 2019. The Civic Building Report analysed long term building needs for offices and libraries and various options for achieving them. 

The cost of the lease was included (and budgeted for) in the Long Term Plan 2018/2028, and the next Long Term Plan will include consultation around the refurbishment costs of 42 Hokianga Road, and the location of the library. 
The new building is expected to be commissioned in April 2021.