My thoughts on the Rakino Hall.
I love the location of the current hall – it is picturesque with a killer view that completely sums up what Rakino is for me. I also love the fact that it is beside the wharf, which is the natural social hub of the island. Everyone goes there to catch ferries, get mail, and pick up or drop off people on a regular basis. It brings everyone on the island into the same space regularly, so we all run into each other on an informal basis. That’s great for community and neighbourliness – don’t underate that value. A hall located elsewhere on the island will never do that.
Design
I know it is a bit limited in size and costly to maintain, but I personally have a soft spot for the current design. It is old school, like stepping back in time 60 years – which is what I think a lot of people really like about Rakino. But I also accept that there are huge issues with its vulnerability to storm surge and ongoing maintenance that need to be solved.
Capacity
More capacity (maybe just a bit larger) would be great if we could get it, but when I think about it, what is it we want to do, that we can’t do at the moment? I wouldn’t want it any smaller though.
Kitchen
I haven’t used it a lot, but I do think it is important to have a minimum capability for tea and coffee etc, especially for social & community functions.
Library
I suspect if you ask around, a lot more people use and appreciate the library than we might initially think. My guess is that relegating it to a small corner in a new design will piss quite a few people off.
Art needs
Not sure we need to provide a place for artists to work, but the gallery space does provide an extra venue to bring the community together for events and social interaction.
Event needs
The current hall provides for meetings, concerts, parties, weddings & community social events. These are the basic needs any community hall needs to be able to accommodate and are essential in my opinion.
Mail Area
I don’t personally use it, but I do think it is vital for permanent residents – and it adds to the community buzz/social hub where everyone meets everyone else regularly. And it is always going to need to be located close to the wharf.
Ferry Covered waiting
Again essential, especially in winter.
A new replacement hall
I have nothing in theory against a new replacement hall – as long as it manages to maintain most of the above attributes and functions. My concern with the stuff I have seen so far about a new hall is it is so vague we don’t really have a clue about what is being suggested. It could just be a glorified skyline garage? In which case I’d prefer the existing structure.
So yes, lets develop more detailed plans and a realistic budget for a replacement that keeps the functions of the old hall. Then at least we can make an informed choice about our options.
I notice that there seems to be a very recent (21 April 2021) Waiheke Local Board report that indicates the Board may be considering other alternatives https://www.rakino.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LB-Update-Rakino-Community-Hall-Options.pdf
It seems to imply that the Waiheke Board might consider raising the existing Hall where it is and upping the ante to 450k to do it. If that is the case then I guess that raises a couple of questions;
• Would that be enough to do the job, and once they were committed would they pony up the extra if it did actually cost more? If a Board has pledged to do something, do they just absorb any cost overruns – which would be good in my book?
• Would they allocate the same amount to build a new replacement structure – and what would we get for that amount?
I think we should also investigate just what the Waiheke Board intends.
It seems that over the last 9 years a number of reports have been commissioned by the Waiheke Board proposing what to do with the Rakino Hall – including 2012 build a replacement seawall, 2014 re-site the hall, 2018 allocate $290k from renewals budget to relocate on existing reclamation, and a Dec 2018 resolution that ‘doing nothing’ was ‘not an option’. Yet not a single report or proposal has been acted on. It doesn’t seem as if anyone is holding the Board to account – not the least being (if this is really the case) paying Tonkin Taylor $20,000 to write a report where no-one actually did a site visit. Surely the Rakino community can do something.
My thoughts on the Rakino Hall.
I love the location of the current hall – it is picturesque with a killer view that completely sums up what Rakino is for me. I also love the fact that it is beside the wharf, which is the natural social hub of the island. Everyone goes there to catch ferries, get mail, and pick up or drop off people on a regular basis. It brings everyone on the island into the same space regularly, so we all run into each other on an informal basis. That’s great for community and neighbourliness – don’t underate that value. A hall located elsewhere on the island will never do that.
Design
I know it is a bit limited in size and costly to maintain, but I personally have a soft spot for the current design. It is old school, like stepping back in time 60 years – which is what I think a lot of people really like about Rakino. But I also accept that there are huge issues with its vulnerability to storm surge and ongoing maintenance that need to be solved.
Capacity
More capacity (maybe just a bit larger) would be great if we could get it, but when I think about it, what is it we want to do, that we can’t do at the moment? I wouldn’t want it any smaller though.
Kitchen
I haven’t used it a lot, but I do think it is important to have a minimum capability for tea and coffee etc, especially for social & community functions.
Library
I suspect if you ask around, a lot more people use and appreciate the library than we might initially think. My guess is that relegating it to a small corner in a new design will piss quite a few people off.
Art needs
Not sure we need to provide a place for artists to work, but the gallery space does provide an extra venue to bring the community together for events and social interaction.
Event needs
The current hall provides for meetings, concerts, parties, weddings & community social events. These are the basic needs any community hall needs to be able to accommodate and are essential in my opinion.
Mail Area
I don’t personally use it, but I do think it is vital for permanent residents – and it adds to the community buzz/social hub where everyone meets everyone else regularly. And it is always going to need to be located close to the wharf.
Ferry Covered waiting
Again essential, especially in winter.
A new replacement hall
I have nothing in theory against a new replacement hall – as long as it manages to maintain most of the above attributes and functions. My concern with the stuff I have seen so far about a new hall is it is so vague we don’t really have a clue about what is being suggested. It could just be a glorified skyline garage? In which case I’d prefer the existing structure.
So yes, lets develop more detailed plans and a realistic budget for a replacement that keeps the functions of the old hall. Then at least we can make an informed choice about our options.
I notice that there seems to be a very recent (21 April 2021) Waiheke Local Board report that indicates the Board may be considering other alternatives
https://www.rakino.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LB-Update-Rakino-Community-Hall-Options.pdf
It seems to imply that the Waiheke Board might consider raising the existing Hall where it is and upping the ante to 450k to do it. If that is the case then I guess that raises a couple of questions;
• Would that be enough to do the job, and once they were committed would they pony up the extra if it did actually cost more? If a Board has pledged to do something, do they just absorb any cost overruns – which would be good in my book?
• Would they allocate the same amount to build a new replacement structure – and what would we get for that amount?
I think we should also investigate just what the Waiheke Board intends.
Mark McNeill
It seems that over the last 9 years a number of reports have been commissioned by the Waiheke Board proposing what to do with the Rakino Hall – including 2012 build a replacement seawall, 2014 re-site the hall, 2018 allocate $290k from renewals budget to relocate on existing reclamation, and a Dec 2018 resolution that ‘doing nothing’ was ‘not an option’. Yet not a single report or proposal has been acted on. It doesn’t seem as if anyone is holding the Board to account – not the least being (if this is really the case) paying Tonkin Taylor $20,000 to write a report where no-one actually did a site visit. Surely the Rakino community can do something.