A seismic report on the Geraldine Town Hall, within which the cinema operates, was undertaken and showed the building was at around 15% of new building standard, making it earthquake prone.

As part of any future decision making about the building, the report needs to be updated to take into account current standards, as well as the future use of the building, which would define the scope of work needed going ahead and ultimately the cost.

This has yet to be done, so no final decisions about strengthening the building have been made, nor has there been any consideration given to demolishing the building at this time.

Cinema Operations in the Building

We continue to be in discussion with the cinema owner around this issue, no final decisions regarding the lease have been made, but we have to take into consideration the suitability of having a cinema operating from a building with a relatively low seismic strength.

The cinema is a private business, albeit one that operates within a publicly owned building. We wouldn’t normally consult the public on lease negotiations with an individual to protect their privacy.

Options about the strengthening of the Geraldine Town Hall building will be presented to council at a future meeting.