The Basin Reserve's "iconic" Museum Stand is "here to stay" after Wellington City Council agreed that the 94-year-old structure is "worth preserving," according to the NEW ZEALAND HERALD. The council's city strategy committee voted unanimously in favor of spending NZ$7.7M ($5.3M) to strengthen the stand and refurbish it. The building and grandstand is yellow-stickered and, apart from the museum on the ground floor, has been closed to the public since '12. The building would have to be demolished by '22 "if not strengthened." A recent engineering report showed the stand's life could be extended by another 50 years (NZ HERALD, 5/17).
'WORRYING COMPARISON': STUFF's Collette Devlin reported a Wellington city councilor "hit out at his colleagues for spending more money on buildings than people." Councilor Brian Dawson's comments came as the council voted on the Basin Reserve proposal on Thursday. Dawson said that he supported the proposal "grudgingly." He added, "I do have reservations. We spend a whole lot more on buildings than we do on people. The cost of this project is 10 times more than we spend on our efforts to eradicate homelessness, and that for me is a worrying comparison" (STUFF, 5/17).
