106 | COMMUNITY Ruakaka Recreation Centre T T Sue Russell New facility boon for community The project, including car park is valued at just over $5million. “The building is almost entirely steel framed, so we have to wait for all the steel members to be constructed and delivered before we can get underway with the build.” It is a time of development and growth for the team at Ruakaka Recreation Centre as they look forward to construction and opening of a new community facility close to the town centre and existing rec centre. For Christine Thirling, co-ordinator and administrator of RRC, the day the doors open on the new centre can’t come soon enough after many years of planning, fundraising, community and council engagement. “Our centre is actually here to provide facilities in response to the needs of the community. It is an organisation independent of Council and dependent on the goodwill and support of the community it serves in order to grow and meet future needs,” Christine says. Assisting with the birthing of the new centre is recreation consultant, Paul MacDonald, who brings a wealth of experience into the feasibility, planning, funding and project management of centres such as that planned for the Northland township. “My role is specifically for the new build and development of the various stages of that. I was involved in the early feasibility studies in 2017. As the funding streams have become available I’ve taken direction from the committee leading the project to ensure the project keeps moving forward postively,” Paul says. The existing building offers gym, squash courts, soccer changing rooms, a meeting room and a large community hall and is well supported by locals of all ages. Christine says it plays a vital role for those who may struggle otherwise to access recreational, social and support services. “We deliberately ensure our charges are as minimal as possible to enable everyone to come and make use of what we offer, to exercise, meet people, have a place to look forward to coming to frequently. All this helps build a strong and resilient community for everyone.” The existing centre has required substantial attention lately with the replacement of a new roof and fire safety upgrade, fundraised by the organisation. Now these have been completed, this building will continue to be available for the public to enjoy. Foundations have been laid for the new building, and when Business North spoke with Christine and Paul, finalising of the steel componentry for the building was almost complete. “The building is almost entirely steel framed, so we have to wait for all the steel members to be constructed and delivered before we can get underway with the build,” Paul explains. Overall, the project, including car park which Council is responsible for, is valued at just over $5million with $1 million injected into a new car park from Whangarei District Council and $800,000 from the Better Off Funding Grants. The new building will be home to a ladies and a unisex gym of a much larger size than the existing rec centre provides along with a meeting room for local and business groups and a larger community hall for community group purposes. There will also be a treatment room which can be hired for physiotherapy services. Christine says plans don’t stop there either, with longer-term a cafe for visitors to access. Assisting with the ongoing costs of running the new centre is an annual operational grant received from Council. In all, the footprint extends over 880m2 in the new single level building with construction due to be completed by April 1 next year, all going according to plan. “The existing centre is like the new centre and is also owned by the community and we will continue to manage this building as well, so this is very much a time of growth for us. We see so many benefits coming from this new building and the aligned upgrade of the park,” says Christine. 0800 101 232 | 10 Cameron St, Whangarei fireco.co.nz | info@fireco.co.nz PROFESSIONAL FIRE SAFETY SOLUTIONS For your Business, Home, or School Building Warrant of Fitness (BWOF) | Fire Training Fire Alarm Systems installations & maintenance IQP inspection and tests | Evacuations A PART OF
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