Sports Park

The recent disclosure that a $500 000 donation by Higgins Contracting towards the Regional Sports Park was conditional on the company being awarded $1.8 million in work, raises serious issues about the way council matters are being handled.

The announcement of the so called gift was made with great fan fair a week earlier by the Sports Park Chairman who happens to also be the Mayor. It is no secret the park has struggled to get sponsorship due to the economic downturn that started to bite way back in 2007 and it seemed like the first positive step in breaking the funding drought.

In the early days of the park development, local entrepreneur Sam Kelt was in charge of the fund raising and was being paid $300 000 a year for his troubles. Almost certainly nothing was raised though strenuous efforts were made to conceal the details. At the time we all believed he would be donating one million dollars towards the development. It is still not entirely clear if any money has, or ever will be received under this arrangement. Certainly the chances seemed to shrink after some sort of disagreement between the Mayor and Mr Kelt.

It's impossible to find out exactly what is going on at the Sports Park because many decisions have been made behind closed doors, and much of what has been said has been subject to serious spin doctoring, necessary only when the truth is unpalatable.

As I recall the contracts for construction of the all weather athletics track and parts of the Grandstand were also awarded to Higgins without any formal tender process.

Again the Mayor claimed these were very good deals. Perhaps!! But the reality is the only way to know for sure that something is a very good deal is for all interested parties to submit their best prices. Other than “for free” anything else costs ratepayers.

Now while nod nod, wink wink hand shake deals might be convenient there is no place for them when public money is involved. Remember we are talking about millions of dollars.

There are several things seriously wrong with the latest sports park deal. The fact that substantial contracts were let without being subject to competitive tender breaks the councils own rules. Shifting control to a 100% council owned trust is simply manipulating the situation to avoiding the rules that normally apply. For instance the price for work could have been jacked up to cover the cost of the donation. The next step on such a path is graft.

The process has also disadvantaged other contractors . They employ people, pay rates and contribute to our society. The risk is over time others may become cynical and not bother to submit their best deals in future because they know its a waste of time. It may even force some not to stay in business or not to stay in Hawke's Bay.

The fact it was necessary to exclude any public scrutiny makes clear the deal was not squeaky clean. The whole sordid business was opposed by only a handful of councillors who realised the full implications of favoritism when handing out valuable work. Full marks to those who did stand up and be counted but clearly nepotism is not dead at the Hastings District Council.

When I read of the Mayor claiming he had done no wrong, ringing in my ears was US President Richard Nixon proclaiming “I'm not a crook” just before he was impeached by congress over the Watergate scandal.

Its now time to ask other questions about the sports park. Much has been said about the $3.5 million pledged for the Velodrome by Unison and the Regional Council. On the surface quite generous but this money is in effect all public money that has been taken from the community. A lot more is still needed and it seems significant contributions will be required from Government and/or Bike New Zealand.

In addition to providing a valuable facility for aspiring Olympians such a facility could boost our visitor industry but we cannot count on it happening.

We are not the only ones pitching for official endorsement. Palmerston North, Wanganui and Auckland are all aspiring to have the first all weather north Island velodrome. So if we don't win this battle for funding do we lose the $3.5 million already pledged or can it be used for other Sports Park projects?

It is time for the Mayor to stop fudging the facts and reveal the exact state of affairs.