East Devon District Council officials have requested the financial details relating to Honiton's community complex from the town council.
A district council spokesperson confirmed that as title holder for the Beehive and a financial contributor, requesting such information is "routine" and the authority was ensuring a "thorough" approach.
A district council spokesperson, said: "The district council has asked Honiton Town Council to provide a financial statement and other information relating to the completion of the Beehive, details of any relevant operational issues and an outline of the proposed new management regime for the facility.
"As title holder for the building and also as a financial contributor to the project, following due process is a matter of routine.
"This is what the district council is doing by ensuring that it is thorough in its pursuance of all relevant documentation as to the current and future governance of the Beehive."
As previously reported by the Echo, HONITON town councillors this month agreed to borrow an extra £100,000 in case extra payment is required to cover the costs of the construction of the town's ambitious £2m Beehive project.
After a heated discussion at the full council meeting on Monday, November 10, there was a 50/50 split between the councillors, with half in favour of the borrowing plan and half against it. The mayor's casting vote swung it in favour of the recommendation.
An application will now be made to the Public Works Loan Board for the funds.
The council was informed that an estimated £98,000 is needed to cover any outstanding construction costs, as a "worst case" scenario.
The Beehive Community Complex has been a 20-year vision of the town council and is widely regarded as a huge asset to the community, with about 1,000 people making use of it each week.
The controversy arose in discussion about a current dispute over invoices covering additional building costs of about £75,000 for the Beehive Community Complex, which are described as a variation to the initial build quote by building contractor Midas.
But it is understood that this disputed amount has already been paid, so some councillors were concerned at the prospect of taking out a loan while the dispute over the invoices still had not been settled, in case a rebate is in fact due to the council.
According to a report drawn up by the town clerk and presented to the council, the loan would be repaid over 25 years, at no extra cost to the tax payer, through funds generated from the Beehive car park and surplus money accrued via the precept for the existing loan.
The report confirms that the loan is to ensure that the council's reserves are not depleted.
The report added: "Although the building is complete and a Certificate of Completion is obtained, additional variations brought to the town council's attention are being addressed and discussions are continuing to establish why these were not included in the original specification.
"Every attempt is being made to ensure that the town council only pays for genuine variations that were essential to the project.
"The council is working closely with the project management team to ensure that final account will only reflect the actual cost that the town council is liable to pay."
Deputy mayor, councillor John Zarczynski, who voted against the loan, said: "I understand the reasons the council needs to raise the extra funds – in case we are held liable for contractual changes that our project management team is in the process of negotiating with Midas over.
"But, as councillors are fully aware, there has been an overspend of disputed invoices and until this is fully resolved we don't know how much we will be liable for on the final bill."
Residents have recently seen a 30 per cent council tax rise to help pay for a 28-year, £53,500-per-year loan that the town council took out to pay for the Beehive. Some town councillors have raised concerns at the financial impact.
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