Former gang members have received assistance from the Dunedin City Council (DCC) to lease a flat situated in the student area on Dundas St.
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull has confirmed that he helped arrange for the tenants – ex-Black Power members – to lease the council flat until May this year. Cull’s decision to help the tenants, and his personal involvement in the matter, was criticised in a DCC public forum on February 9.
Property manager Tim Calder, the owner of a neighbouring flat, voiced his concerns at the forum that ex-gang members and their associates should not be living among students. He claimed that the move undermined the university’s reputation and had prevented him from re-tenanting the neighbouring student flat. Tenants who had lived in the property last year had indicated they would stay on for 2011, but Calder claims they pulled out of the lease because of the new neighbours.
After the forum, Mayor Cull said that the tenancy had safeguards around it. He described the group as “some guys who have decided to change their lifestyle and rehabilitate themselves with their families.” Former mayor Peter Chin had previously mentored the tenants, a role which Cull had taken on upon being elected mayor last year. The flat is to serve as a “temporary new home at short notice to maintain their stability,” according to Cull, as the tenants had been forced to leave their last flat when the landlord required it for personal use. The arrangement is temporary and the tenants will be out in May.
OUSA President Harriet Geoghegan assured Critic that the situation is well under control and the tenancy agreement likely to prevent any potential problems arising. Geoghegan urges students who may have concerns to contact OUSA, the Proctor or Campus Watch.
The Chairman of the Public Forum, Councilor Paul Hudson, said that Calder’s concerns are to be investigated by staff.
Gangbang? Or clusterfuck?
