The new facility design and funding strategy has been developed by pursuing a ‘by the community, for the community’ approach.
Local community groups have been widely consulted on design features, and features added to achieve the specific requirements of certain groups such as the local pre-school / parents’ group, and the Muriwai Sports Fishing Club that also has a sizeable membership.
By establishing a Trust to fund, construct and manage the new amenities ongoing, the Club is ensuring wider community participation in ownership and custodial administration on an ongoing basis. The trustees comprise nominees of the club with extensive experience in projects of this type and a proven record of generating significant community funding; local authority appointees; and trustees appointed from the wider regional community. The trust will ensure that the primary life saving function of the new building is protected, but that other local user groups needs and aspirations are heard and reflected.
A Users’ Group is to be formed under the umbrella of the trust, so that all groups that regularly use the new amenities can be involved in deciding who gets to use what spaces, when, and on what basis. The Users’ Group will determine hireage rates, the booking policies, and the apportionment of operating costs and the cost of consumables. This is believed to be the most inclusive, responsive way of ensuring the many users get a say in the management of a facility that has been designed and constructed for their casual use.