The Rakaia Salmon sculpture is in need of an estimated $300,000 refurbishment.
On Wednesday, Ashburton District councillors will be asked to sign off on the expense, with funding being pulled from the Reserve Contributions pot to cover the unbudgeted project.
The work was first signalled to the council in June last year when a structural and maintenance assessment revealed that the 12-metre-high statue required extensive repairs.
The project was put out for tender, and only one proposal was received: Phil Price Sculptures Ltd, the original creator of the famous fish.
The submitted price of $215,000 was based on completing the refurbishment on site; however, it did not include craning, transportation, sandblasting, cutting and welding of the support pole.
This is estimated to be around $82,000, bringing the total budget to $297,000.
In the report in the council agenda, open spaces manager Ian Soper said the salmon sculpture is over 34 years old and, while it was repainted in 2006, it “is now showing evidence of ageing”.
The structural condition assessment “confirmed the fibreglass body has deteriorated and requires repair”.
“In addition to faded paint and algae growth, ‘cracking and crazing’ are visible on various areas of the sculpture.
“In some areas, the underlying yellow polyurethane foam is also visible.”
Soper also notes that there is a risk the inner core of the sculpture has been exposed to moisture intrusion, “which could ultimately necessitate more extensive repairs and affect its long-term structural integrity”.
The refurbishment was briefly discussed at last week’s activity briefing meeting, where Cr Rob Mackle raised concerns about having to cut and re-weld the statue in place.
Soper agreed that “cutting it off and rewelding it time and time and time again is not a good long-term solution”.
“Something that’s detachable would be desirable.”
It will likely be considered in the debate on Wednesday.
If the council approves the funding, the refurbishment is expected to take up to 12 weeks to complete.
As the funding is recommended to come from the Reserve Contributions Reserve, it would not impact rates.
The statue, built in 1991 for $44,893 by the Rakaia Lions Club, was gifted to the council about 18 years ago.
In 2006, the sculpture was removed and repainted in a warehouse in Rakaia.
The area around the salmon was redeveloped between 2020 and 2021.
That project received a $739,945 grant from the Tourism Infrastructure Fund, $20,000 from the Rakaia Lions, and the council funded the remaining $198,000. The bulk of the project budget was spent on a new public toilet facility.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.