Christchurch's Mayor says he was shocked by the $400 thousand bill to restore Cathedral Square's Chalice.
The City Council's investigating ways to reduce the cost for work, including a complete re-paint and corrosion repairs.
It's the first maintenance work to the Chalice since installation in 2001.
Phil Mauger told John MacDonald options include touching up the Chalice leaves but leaving the actual structure as-is.
“The person that we’re dealing with, we’re working with them to see if we can lower it down.”
“It is far too much.”
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from News Talk Z'B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
And the doors have just opened mouth for christ Its Smith,
film major Phil make pete it very well. Just on
eight past ten. We had some pretty lively calls from
people a couple of days ago about the maintenance work
being done on the Chalice and the four hundred thousand dollars,
and I thought right, and people was saying how can
you get four hundred thousand dollars? And mad people bring
(00:34):
it up saying they could do it for two fifty
and I said you should should put a proposal And
I said, right, fill's it on Thursday and we'll get
them in to do a line by line breakdown of
the costs to explain it. Also, how can you break
down the costs.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
To explain I was I was shocked. I was surprised.
Shocked is the word on that cost. I couldn't believe
how it even got anywhere near that.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
So how did we get there?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
What has happened? It was a sort of we've had
there's no contract. Let the CEE has gone back and
said let's have a look at the see how we
can change the scope the main thing was to take
the whole pull the whole thing down, take it away,
and do it up and put it back. What has
happened in the meantime is the let people go down there.
They'll see now that the leaves have been taken off,
(01:18):
so you can actually see the structure. Me, not being
a structural engineered by any stretch of the imagination, went
down and looked at it yesterday. Looks sort of all
right to me. But people who know more than me
will look at it and go, we don't need to
do anything to the bones of the thing. Will tidy
up the leaves and put them back on. That could
be a way that it's going to get fixed.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
So what's the breakdown to get to the four hundred thousand?
Speaker 3 (01:41):
No, No, we're still we're we're talking the contractor that
we have not got a contract with the person that
we're dealing with. We're working with them to see if
we can lower it down. So I can't tell you
the breakdown of the numbers, but it is far too much.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
And why can't you tell us?
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Because it's it's we're commercially sensitive. I don't like hiding
behind that. But we're dealing with the contractor and he's
working with us to get it to a lower number.
Now we strip the leaves, we can all go down there.
He can see, Ah, you don't need to do this.
Let's just put the leaves back on and it may
be a lot, lot cheaper. So that's what we're aimed, George.
That's what the sea is pushing as well.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
And please you said you hate that term commercially sensitive
because the council got on hot water twenty eighteen, didn't
it with the ovus one getting excited because the council
wouldn't release the cost of the screen at the Tunger Library.
Remember that. Do you think if there's a chance the
council might have learned something from that experience.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
You've got to be as transparent as you can. I
get told off a lot of having an open mouth
policy and saying more than I should, So I got
a cave came around to you. But it's it's we've
got to learn by being too close, too tight.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Can you explain why the Council's told a community group
wanting to set up an orchard in the central city
that won't have to pay back a one hundred and
fifty thousand dollars loan from the council, and on top
of that, you're going to give them a one hundred
thousand dollars council grant.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Why is that now what we've got yesterday? I wasn't
actually there, I was openly a conference in town.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Would you not have voted for it?
Speaker 3 (03:11):
I was more for give them one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars loan off and the interest and let them
go away and borrow money against the building and do
their own thing. Counselors decided yesterday that they'd give them
an extra hundred They wanted a lot more than that.
But they've been given the right off of the line,
the right off off, the tiny little bit interest that
they owe us, and one hundred thousand dollars. So now
(03:34):
they are free to go and go to a bank
or go to someone and say, look, we'd like to
borrow some money to finish it, because they need more
than one hundred thousand dollars, not a lot more. From
what I'm told, they need a little bit more money
to finish it, so they can borrow it against their building,
which is actually still sitting on our land.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
What's going to stop other outfits with loans from the
Council to us for the same thing. Oh, if you
take a loan from someone, whether it be a bank
or whatever, even the council, how can you get off?
Speaker 3 (04:03):
It's they're right, you can, that's right, you can. What
we had two years ago, we had some stuff called
better off funding and I went round to the orchard
and they said, if you give us two hundred grand,
we don't need any more money. We're done. So we
gave them the two hundred grand and loan and behold
they've come back and said, oh, we need a little
bit more. So this is now, here's the right off
(04:23):
of the loan to take the pressure off you. Here
is one hundred thousand dollars to get you well into
it because it is so close to being finished.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
But let me just check them. Last year, the Council
was asked by the group involved in the restoration of
the chedity at Governor's Bay, right, if it was willing
to drop the interest in charging them for the loan
you've given them for their approject But the Council said, though,
because it didn't want to set a precedent, how much
of a president does the decision yesterday to forgive this
loan for the orchard. How much of a president does
that set?
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Yeah, it does. We could have people queuing up at
the door, but we have to do them on a
one by one basis to see how they come up.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Just spine it. You don't agree with it, though, I myself.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Would have easily forgone the loan. Sorry that the loan
that they've already got one hundred and fifty and the interest.
I'd be struggling a bit with the extra hundred, But
that's what the council decided and it went through.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
What do you think of local government New Zealand saying
that they're against the idea of the government putting a
cap on rates and increases. Where do you stand on this?
Speaker 3 (05:16):
I don't know if I don't know if it's the answer.
The government has put a lot of extra costs on
us with all the reforms that we're doing it. Our
staff don't just sit around there twiddling their fingers, and
as you might think, they certainly they're doing a hell
of a lot of work on all the transforms that
(05:37):
various governments have thrown on us. And one of the
ones we got the other day was when we're doing
an annual plan. Is Tomato or y come along? Said
all we're now going to charge you for our services
is one point three million bucks, so an extra point
twenty five on the rates, and it all just keeps
going up the cost of borrowing insurance, as I've told
you before.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
So yes, you were well the I think the government
will be dreaming with the camp because you guys then
carry more debt.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
You'd go backwards and a cap is not the silver bullet.
As you might remember that, I had a Wayne Brown
and I threw a letter into the government say hey,
how's about given us a GST back, even if it's
half the GST for our areas, it's better. Every little
bit helps because we've got all these extra costs you
jumped on us.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
The stadium it is just said we're going up night
and with are working day. As I was reading at
the weekend, but what do you think of this idea
of putting a levee on stadium tickets sold to people
outside christ Church to some sort of artificial special deal
for locals.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
I look at it as being right if you go
right back various governments. One government gave us the land,
Another government gave us two hundred and thirty million, not
two hundred that was actually in the press, was actually
two thirty in the council of perking up the rest
of it that the taxpayer taxpayer has paid one held
a lot of money towards it already. I would like
(07:00):
to actually see, for one, if we go out to
other areas, if we go down to the deed. So
i'nful to go to out and John concert or like
I have done in different queen we don't get dogged
more for going to their areas. So I struggle with
with it. The other way I looking at it is
we could as far as operational expense goes, we need
(07:21):
to run it for a year to see how much
money it's Some people say it's going to lose a fortune.
I'm not really that sure. The best thing in my
mind is that it makes one dollar profit after all
this expenses and the benefit of everyone coming to christ
each and spending a shed load of money on wine, booze, accommodation,
all that sort of stuff is going to make Christ
(07:41):
each even hum better.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
So words in your mouth, but you think this leavy
things a dog of an idea.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
We should look at it, but it's not something that
I'd be crawling over.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
It's a dog of an idea.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
I wouldn't be crawling over broken glass.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
I think aud and Halls will junce and ride. You've
admitted that that's been a dog's breakfast. What are you
going to do about it other than just fix it
or more? The people who are saying theyre can I've
got cracks in the ouses and all that stuff put
under great stress because of.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
It, I yes, I agree totally with them. I am
an absolute fan of Ashfeldt smoothing roads. If it was
up to me, I'd have every road in christ use
Chesh felt that the downside to that is in a
lot of places, especially Horsfall Junction Road, it used to
be a little country lane and it's been made wider
and wider, and not the depth of gravel underneath it. It
should have so parts of it, of a fair percentage
(08:33):
of it, you can put Ashveldt on it because the ground,
the road surfer, the road structure is strong enough. There
are other places which it isn't and they will have
to be dug out. And I think that's what's going to.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Happen whereabouts on Harsele Road elsewhere in the city.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
One thing I am very pleased to say is because
I've been bitching on for a while about Mason's Road
and Masa's. If anyone wants to go down a road
that's not good is go down Mason's Road. I'm very
pleased to say that by the end of next month,
Macer's Road will be Ashvelt smooth from Ruu Road to Bromley.
And I'm very pleased to have that because over there
(09:09):
the ground underneath is firm and it's hard. So the
structure of the existing road, even though it's up and down,
is good enough to put Ashfeldt straight on it.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
So on, because my view is you should ditch the
chip seal into more ass felt everywhere, but I suppose
that involved working preparing the subsurface. It is, but carry.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
It it is, and Ashfeldt is a number of times
dearer than chip seal. But when say Tatelkes of Boha
Road and down and Brighton, they Asheldt smooth that everyone's
as happy as hell. Beard Road was the same when
I was build counselor. It takes away the washing board
effect and it makes a nice smooth and it makes
it quiet and people love it because it's it's it's better.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
You love it, don't you? Talking about the stuff.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
I just felt, Chip Seal, it's one of the few
things I actually know something about.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Here in the second time, second time of the interview,
I couldn't possibly comment, Phil. Thank you, take care all right?
You do film Major with us every two weeks.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
For more from Category Mornings with John McDonald, listen live
to news talks at be Christchurch from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from News Talk Z'B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
And the doors have just opened mouth for christ Its Smith,
film major Phil make pete it very well. Just on
eight past ten. We had some pretty lively calls from
people a couple of days ago about the maintenance work
being done on the Chalice and the four hundred thousand dollars,
and I thought right, and people was saying how can
you get four hundred thousand dollars? And mad people bring
(00:34):
it up saying they could do it for two fifty
and I said you should should put a proposal And
I said, right, fill's it on Thursday and we'll get
them in to do a line by line breakdown of
the costs to explain it. Also, how can you break
down the costs.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
To explain I was I was shocked. I was surprised.
Shocked is the word on that cost. I couldn't believe
how it even got anywhere near that.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
So how did we get there?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
What has happened? It was a sort of we've had
there's no contract. Let the CEE has gone back and
said let's have a look at the see how we
can change the scope the main thing was to take
the whole pull the whole thing down, take it away,
and do it up and put it back. What has
happened in the meantime is the let people go down there.
They'll see now that the leaves have been taken off,
(01:18):
so you can actually see the structure. Me, not being
a structural engineered by any stretch of the imagination, went
down and looked at it yesterday. Looks sort of all
right to me. But people who know more than me
will look at it and go, we don't need to
do anything to the bones of the thing. Will tidy
up the leaves and put them back on. That could
be a way that it's going to get fixed.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
So what's the breakdown to get to the four hundred thousand?
Speaker 3 (01:41):
No, No, we're still we're we're talking the contractor that
we have not got a contract with the person that
we're dealing with. We're working with them to see if
we can lower it down. So I can't tell you
the breakdown of the numbers, but it is far too much.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
And why can't you tell us?
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Because it's it's we're commercially sensitive. I don't like hiding
behind that. But we're dealing with the contractor and he's
working with us to get it to a lower number.
Now we strip the leaves, we can all go down there.
He can see, Ah, you don't need to do this.
Let's just put the leaves back on and it may
be a lot, lot cheaper. So that's what we're aimed, George.
That's what the sea is pushing as well.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
And please you said you hate that term commercially sensitive
because the council got on hot water twenty eighteen, didn't
it with the ovus one getting excited because the council
wouldn't release the cost of the screen at the Tunger Library.
Remember that. Do you think if there's a chance the
council might have learned something from that experience.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
You've got to be as transparent as you can. I
get told off a lot of having an open mouth
policy and saying more than I should, So I got
a cave came around to you. But it's it's we've
got to learn by being too close, too tight.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Can you explain why the Council's told a community group
wanting to set up an orchard in the central city
that won't have to pay back a one hundred and
fifty thousand dollars loan from the council, and on top
of that, you're going to give them a one hundred
thousand dollars council grant.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Why is that now what we've got yesterday? I wasn't
actually there, I was openly a conference in town.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Would you not have voted for it?
Speaker 3 (03:11):
I was more for give them one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars loan off and the interest and let them
go away and borrow money against the building and do
their own thing. Counselors decided yesterday that they'd give them
an extra hundred They wanted a lot more than that.
But they've been given the right off of the line,
the right off off, the tiny little bit interest that
they owe us, and one hundred thousand dollars. So now
(03:34):
they are free to go and go to a bank
or go to someone and say, look, we'd like to
borrow some money to finish it, because they need more
than one hundred thousand dollars, not a lot more. From
what I'm told, they need a little bit more money
to finish it, so they can borrow it against their building,
which is actually still sitting on our land.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
What's going to stop other outfits with loans from the
Council to us for the same thing. Oh, if you
take a loan from someone, whether it be a bank
or whatever, even the council, how can you get off?
Speaker 3 (04:03):
It's they're right, you can, that's right, you can. What
we had two years ago, we had some stuff called
better off funding and I went round to the orchard
and they said, if you give us two hundred grand,
we don't need any more money. We're done. So we
gave them the two hundred grand and loan and behold
they've come back and said, oh, we need a little
bit more. So this is now, here's the right off
(04:23):
of the loan to take the pressure off you. Here
is one hundred thousand dollars to get you well into
it because it is so close to being finished.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
But let me just check them. Last year, the Council
was asked by the group involved in the restoration of
the chedity at Governor's Bay, right, if it was willing
to drop the interest in charging them for the loan
you've given them for their approject But the Council said, though,
because it didn't want to set a precedent, how much
of a president does the decision yesterday to forgive this
loan for the orchard. How much of a president does
that set?
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Yeah, it does. We could have people queuing up at
the door, but we have to do them on a
one by one basis to see how they come up.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Just spine it. You don't agree with it, though, I myself.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Would have easily forgone the loan. Sorry that the loan
that they've already got one hundred and fifty and the interest.
I'd be struggling a bit with the extra hundred, But
that's what the council decided and it went through.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
What do you think of local government New Zealand saying
that they're against the idea of the government putting a
cap on rates and increases. Where do you stand on this?
Speaker 3 (05:16):
I don't know if I don't know if it's the answer.
The government has put a lot of extra costs on
us with all the reforms that we're doing it. Our
staff don't just sit around there twiddling their fingers, and
as you might think, they certainly they're doing a hell
of a lot of work on all the transforms that
(05:37):
various governments have thrown on us. And one of the
ones we got the other day was when we're doing
an annual plan. Is Tomato or y come along? Said
all we're now going to charge you for our services
is one point three million bucks, so an extra point
twenty five on the rates, and it all just keeps
going up the cost of borrowing insurance, as I've told
you before.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
So yes, you were well the I think the government
will be dreaming with the camp because you guys then
carry more debt.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
You'd go backwards and a cap is not the silver bullet.
As you might remember that, I had a Wayne Brown
and I threw a letter into the government say hey,
how's about given us a GST back, even if it's
half the GST for our areas, it's better. Every little
bit helps because we've got all these extra costs you
jumped on us.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
The stadium it is just said we're going up night
and with are working day. As I was reading at
the weekend, but what do you think of this idea
of putting a levee on stadium tickets sold to people
outside christ Church to some sort of artificial special deal
for locals.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
I look at it as being right if you go
right back various governments. One government gave us the land,
Another government gave us two hundred and thirty million, not
two hundred that was actually in the press, was actually
two thirty in the council of perking up the rest
of it that the taxpayer taxpayer has paid one held
a lot of money towards it already. I would like
(07:00):
to actually see, for one, if we go out to
other areas, if we go down to the deed. So
i'nful to go to out and John concert or like
I have done in different queen we don't get dogged
more for going to their areas. So I struggle with
with it. The other way I looking at it is
we could as far as operational expense goes, we need
(07:21):
to run it for a year to see how much
money it's Some people say it's going to lose a fortune.
I'm not really that sure. The best thing in my
mind is that it makes one dollar profit after all
this expenses and the benefit of everyone coming to christ
each and spending a shed load of money on wine, booze, accommodation,
all that sort of stuff is going to make Christ
(07:41):
each even hum better.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
So words in your mouth, but you think this leavy
things a dog of an idea.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
We should look at it, but it's not something that
I'd be crawling over.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
It's a dog of an idea.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
I wouldn't be crawling over broken glass.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
I think aud and Halls will junce and ride. You've
admitted that that's been a dog's breakfast. What are you
going to do about it other than just fix it
or more? The people who are saying theyre can I've
got cracks in the ouses and all that stuff put
under great stress because of.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
It, I yes, I agree totally with them. I am
an absolute fan of Ashfeldt smoothing roads. If it was
up to me, I'd have every road in christ use
Chesh felt that the downside to that is in a
lot of places, especially Horsfall Junction Road, it used to
be a little country lane and it's been made wider
and wider, and not the depth of gravel underneath it. It
should have so parts of it, of a fair percentage
(08:33):
of it, you can put Ashveldt on it because the ground,
the road surfer, the road structure is strong enough. There
are other places which it isn't and they will have
to be dug out. And I think that's what's going to.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Happen whereabouts on Harsele Road elsewhere in the city.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
One thing I am very pleased to say is because
I've been bitching on for a while about Mason's Road
and Masa's. If anyone wants to go down a road
that's not good is go down Mason's Road. I'm very
pleased to say that by the end of next month,
Macer's Road will be Ashvelt smooth from Ruu Road to Bromley.
And I'm very pleased to have that because over there
(09:09):
the ground underneath is firm and it's hard. So the
structure of the existing road, even though it's up and down,
is good enough to put Ashfeldt straight on it.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
So on, because my view is you should ditch the
chip seal into more ass felt everywhere, but I suppose
that involved working preparing the subsurface. It is, but carry.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
It it is, and Ashfeldt is a number of times
dearer than chip seal. But when say Tatelkes of Boha
Road and down and Brighton, they Asheldt smooth that everyone's
as happy as hell. Beard Road was the same when
I was build counselor. It takes away the washing board
effect and it makes a nice smooth and it makes
it quiet and people love it because it's it's it's better.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
You love it, don't you? Talking about the stuff.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
I just felt, Chip Seal, it's one of the few
things I actually know something about.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Here in the second time, second time of the interview,
I couldn't possibly comment, Phil. Thank you, take care all right?
You do film Major with us every two weeks.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
For more from Category Mornings with John McDonald, listen live
to news talks at be Christchurch from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.