26 June 2018
Invercargill City Council

Dear Sir / Madam

Chief Executive's 9 April 2018 report on Southland Museum and Art Gallery closure

We request an update on several of the issues raised by the Chief Executive in her report of 9 April recommending the withdrawal of Council staff from the SMAG building on safety grounds. For your convenience, we have reproduced (below) part of page 3 of the report relating to these issues.

The Chief Executive notes in her report (Pg.3) that she has not followed the EPB Methodology in relation to the SMAG. Given this we would also like to enquire about the ICC's current compliance status in relation to this Methodology (Questions 7 – 9 below)

Updated information on the following points would therefore be appreciated: -

1. Has the ICC formally delegated the authority to a council officer to manage the EPB process for the ICC as Territorial Authority, and if so, when was this done?

2. If the above has not been done then could you please indicate the planned timing (month / year) for the delegation to be made?

3. Is there currently a Development Liaison Manager employed by ICC?

4. If YES then could you please advise his / her name and the date of their appointment?

5. Can you please explain why the work behind the classification of the museum should not be done now rather than in 2020, given that the building has already been closed because it is deemed (unofficially) to be earthquake-prone?

6. Specifically what further guidelines and checklists does ICC require from Government to be able to classify the museum as earthquake-prone? In asking this, it is noted that in excess of 1600 buildings nation-wide have already been able to be classified by other councils (as Territorial Authorities) as EPBs – using existing documentation.

7. Has the Council (as Territorial Authority) started the process of identifying potentially earthquake-prone buildings as required by the Building Act, section 133AG?

8. Has the Council (as Territorial Authority) requested any engineering assessments of potentially earthquake-prone buildings (Building Act, section 133AH), and if so, how many?

9. Has the Council (as Territorial Authority) formally determined that any buildings in its jurisdiction are earthquake-prone (Building Act, section 133AK); and if so, how many, and when will they be entered into the National Register of Earthquake-prone Buildings (none are currently listed for Invercargill).

We look forward to your prompt reply.

Yours sincerely

Brian Denny & Douglas Black

Part Page 3 of Chief Executives report to Council on 9 April 2018 reads as follows: -

The Building Act 2004 (through its 2017 amendments) contains the earthquake-prone building provisions and sets out the scope of buildings to which those provisions apply. In 2017 Invercargill City was identified as a medium seismic risk area. This identification has meant that building owners have 12½ years to either fix or demolish their building following its identification as earthquake prone. It is the local territorial authority that must determine if a building is earthquake-prone.

The Invercargill City Council has identified priority areas for investigation (refer to Appendix 1). This shows that the Museum building will likely be considered by Council staff to determine whether it is earthquake-prone by the end of 2020.

The process for identification of an earthquake prone building by the Invercargill City Council is likely to be that the Development Liaison Manager assesses the engineers report against a checklist to determine if the building is earthquake-prone.

The Council has not yet delegated the authority to make this decision to an officer of the Council and, as the Government is still providing guidance and updating the checklists to be used, the Council is not yet in a position to classify a building as earthquake-prone.

Notwithstanding this legal process, the Chief Executive considers it inappropriate to continue occupation of the building without recognition of the engineers’ advice. Council as occupier and service provider within the building should not delay decision making, purely on the basis that Council has not issued an appropriate notice under the Building
Act.

The Southland Museum and Art Gallery building is owned by the Southland Museum and Art Gallery Trust.

SOUTHLAND MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY

Management Contract

In 2004 the Southland Museum and Art Gallery Trust Board entered into a contract with the Invercargill City Council to manage the Southland Museum on its behalf. The staff who operate and manage the Southland Museum are employed by the Invercargill City Council. The Chief Executive is ultimately accountable for the staff at the Museum.
The i-SITE located at the Museum is operated by Venture Southland on behalf of the Invercargill City Council. Venture Southland does not employ staff; the employees of the iSITE are also Invercargill City Council staff.

Seismic Assessment

In 2013 a seismic assessment of the museum building was undertaken by Opus International Consultants. The report described the museum as consisting of three older buildings ……….