My secret heart

I'll Follow My Secret Heart

Written by Noel Coward

Don't be afraid I'll betray you
And destroy all the plans you have made
But even your schemes must
Make room for my dreams
So when all I owe you is pain
I'll still have something of my own
A little prize that's mine alone
I'll follow my secret heart
My whole life through
I'll keep all my dreams apart
Till one comes true
No matter what price is paid
What stars may fade above
I'll follow my secret heart...

According to the Diva's latest e-column, the architects who assisted Council earlier this year - Ian Athfield, Patrick Clifford, Pete Bossley, David Mitchell and Tony van Raat - were "unanimous" on two points:

First, the Museum building is "a dog" and has little or no architectural merit and about the same functional use. Second, that the current configuration of Majestic Square is an abomination.

Did they really? Wanganui people will have to take the Diva's word for it, because Council are adamant they won't release the architects' conclusions and recommendations, despite LawsWatch's best efforts to obtain them:

Heart of Wanganui Project - Official Information Request

Further to our letter of 28 September 2005 and the letter from the Office of the Ombudsman dated 27 October 2005, the Council has reconsidered your request for release of the material prepared from the Architects Workshop held in February this year.

The Council will not be releasing the information at this stage as the material is in draft form and decisions have not yet been taken on whether the options suggested in the reports will be pursued or not.

The Council’s decision is based on Clause 7(f)(i) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 in that the release of the information will inhibit the "effective conduct of public affairs through
- (i) The free and frank expression of opinion by or between members or officers or employees of any local authority, or any persons to whom section 2(5) of the Act applies, in the course of their duty.

You have the right by way of complaint to the Ombudsman to seek and investigation and review of the refusal to provide the information. You can contact the Ombudsman at Level 14, 70 The Terrace, PO Box 10152, Wellington.

Yours sincerely
R I McGowan
Deputy Chief Executive Officer

While the soon-to-retire Mr McGowan is coy about telling the people of Wanganui what's going on, he's much more forthcoming in talking to the people of Palmerston North, since the Manawatu Standard has been told that ratepayers might be in for a $30 million bill:

"The feasibility study could be ready as early as April-May next year," project manager Ian McGowan said yesterday. "We are at a very preliminary stage at the moment, but the final figure for the redevelopment could be anything between $5m and $30m.

"It all depends on which option we go for - whether we settle for a simple refurbishing of the existing buildings or get into the construction of new facilities."

Yesterday, the council announced that it had set aside $110,000 this financial year to develop working concepts for the Heart project.

Meanwhile the Diva is clearly seeing the Heart project in terms of picking winners; in this case the library at the expense of other amenities:

My only personal preference is that the library leads the Heart rejuvenation. That makes sense as it is the city's most utilized amenity and needs to be closer to town. There are two realistic options: that it is re-located into the War Memorial Hall as proposed in the mid-1990s, or that it is housed in a new, purpose-built facility on the current site of the museum. If the latter option is chosen, then the question must be whether the museum is housed in the same building. That would seem to make sense.

If a new, purpose-built facility is "makes sense", then that would seem to put the cost of the project at the $30 million end of the scale, as indicated by Mr McGowan.

Without an independent assessment - like, say, the one ratepayers have already paid five architects to undertake - it's impossible to know whether such a solution makes sense or not. The Diva's wasting no opportunity to promote his preference - as he has every right to do - but in the face of that promotion, and without proper, unbiased information on which to base a decision, the eventual handing of the choice of Heart options over to ratepayers will be just another referendumb.

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