Franklin Local Board and Maraetai Beach Boating Club are celebrating their $46,500 toilet and shower project.
Chair Andy Baker says a $46,500 Franklin Sport and Active Recreation Facilities Plan has been well-spent, and what has been done is an example to others.
“This club is at the heart of its community,” Baker says. “It’s more than a boating club and that is down to it being a place where all are welcome.”
“It encourages groups to hire the clubrooms and has boating and community members, and actively encourages new people through its doors.”
The amount of money the club was able to commit to the project meant the board’s participation was like a partnership. Members, Baker says, have worked tirelessly.
The club was formed in 1957, its over the water rooms opened in 1973, and a breakwater was added in the 1980s.
In 2014 Maraetai Club’s redevelopment plans were unveiled.
Two years later, financed from reserves, loans and club memberships, stage one began.
This included asbestos removal, water leaks, fire protection, interior upgrades and deck work – it went just $2000 over-budget, which the club met.
Stage two develops the club as a community club: the $430,000 project aimed at upgrading and adding new toilets and showers with mobility access, storage and better kitchens, Auckland Council reports.
Board Wairoa representative Malcolm Bell says the club continues to be a major financier.
“It’s always a case of them making big contributions before seeking help,” he says.
When the club approached the Board, they had $30,000 and another $45,000 in pledges between Pub Charities and the NZ Communities Trust.
“We could see how hard they were working,” Bell says. “It was a case of chipping in to get the project over the line, rather than funding everything.”
“It was a privilege to play a small role, but it’s the club members who have made it happen.”
