Like most successful businessmen, Paul Adams watches his pennies carefully but one thing he can't abide is what, in his opinion, is the penny-pinching mindset of local bodies in the Western Bay.
He somewhat disparagingly refers to it as "Tauranga's 10-dollar mentality" and is determined to shake it out of his adopted home.
And, as the Bay's biggest land developer, he knows how to rattle a few cages and get things done, which is why he got together with some like-minded souls and set up the Civic Amenities Group (CAG).
Like Martin Luther King, he and CAG have a dream, but in their case it's all about making Tauranga the best provincial city in New Zealand.
Moreover, they are prepared to collaborate with the Tauranga City Council to help funding the $172 million vision of bringing the city into the 21st century.
On their drawing board are plans for a new civic centre, stadium, high-performance sports centre, museum, hotel and university campus, among other things.
Adams believes the Bay's natural assets and climate make it the best place in the country to live, but says it has yet to reach its potential because of short-sighted policies and planning.
In CAG's opinion our elected members are "too timid or too slow to make the investment decisions needed to keep attracting businesses and families to the best climate in New Zealand", he told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend.
"We have the best natural assets but some of the worst civic amenities in the country.
In CAG's opinion, "Successive elected members have been remiss in not addressing most of the amenities now being demanded, thanks to a vocal minority who have argued against increasing rates and scared them from making decisions."
Not surprisingly Adams has plenty of support for his plans among the Tauranga business community.
Anne Pankhurst, the vice-chair of Downtown Tauranga, describes the proposals as "an incredible opportunity that the region should capture and run with".
"It is the first really good example of a public/private partnership that the region, not just the city, needs to kick-start and reinforce the development of the commercial civic and cultural hub.
"The projects have the ability to totally transform the CBD and add enormous benefit to the city. Bring it on!"
Paul Adams. Photo/George Novak
Andrew Coker of Priority One also sees considerable merit in what's planned.
"Council has invested strongly in the hard infrastructure like roading, water and wastewater etc.
"But as a city we also need to invest in the areas that make the city attractive to skilled and talented people, who in turn grow and attract the businesses here that seek those skill sets, and for which we compete nationally and internationally."
Former regional councillor Andrew von Dadelszen is another keen supporter.
"I am excited to see a long-awaited proposal that shows real vision, as vision has been lacking from Tauranga city councillors for the past decade.
"I believe current councillors do see merit in this proposal and are keen to work collaboratively to develop these ideas."
So where does Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby stand in this debate?
Is he, too, brimming over with enthusiasm and energy to change the face of the city and, in the words of Adams, stop it from remaining a provincial backwater?
He appears very matter-of- fact about what is on offer.
"We (Council) welcome the input from CAG. We have also received and will receive more options from other individuals and property developers, which we also welcome.
"The CAG's plans are an option that Council will put into the mix, either in full or in part, for consideration, and I, for one, appreciate their effort."
He singled out three projects that he would like to see prioritised.
"First, a building for council operations. Second, a public open space, city square concept, for all to relax in, meet and hold events. Third, a museum and upgraded Tauranga Domain."
Asked to comment on the opinion that the council had been too timid, Mr Crosby said successive councils had not been afraid of investing in Tauranga, with rates going up more in his 11 years as mayor than any previous mayor.
He said the council had put essential infrastructure, such as the $100 million to protect people's homes from flooding, ahead of building a museum.
"I don't apologise for that in any way or form. My priority is to invest in basic infrastructure first and museums and stadiums will always play second fiddle."
Mr Crosby said the council was now in a position where it could consider investing in civic amenities to the next level because it was addressing the terribly important but boring things like flooding and waste water.
Former city councillor Murray Guy says he's concerned that CAG's proposals to date "fail to include any initiatives that enhance our natural environment, which is the reason so many people choose to live in Tauranga.
We should applaud this group who are prepared to give back to a city that they are passionate about.
"I support and applaud any individual or organisation that takes an active interest in our community, but with the proviso that they have the utmost respect for the wider community and the democratic process."
JUST HOW much support there is in Tauranga for Guy's point of view is hard to gauge, especially when it comes to the important questions of who pays for what and who stands to gain the most.
Andrew von Dadelszen, for one, is in no doubt who stands to gain the most.
"I can see no self-interest in their proposal. In fact, the opposite appears to be the case, where a few 'wealthy' businessmen are now prepared to give something back to the city from where they derived a large portion of their wealth.
"We should applaud this group who are prepared to give back to a city that they are passionate about."
But this doesn't cut much ice with Guy who is concerned about what CAG's proposals might ultimately cost.
"How long is a piece of string?" he asks rhetorically. "An increased debt burden is a given as no external funding ever includes ongoing operational and depreciation costs, and rarely the full capital construction costs."
Guy believes the principal beneficiaries of the proposed development will be "a very small proportion of our 128,000 residents". Such an assertion riles Adams who says CAG members have put a huge amount of time and effort into a project that will benefit everyone in Tauranga and not just a select few.
Adams says the Tauranga City Council will only have to stump up about 15 to 20 per cent of the overall cost of the projects.
A new civic centre, which at $35 million is one of the big ticket items, could be funded with a community bond that all ratepayers could invest in.
This would avoid the council having to borrow $25 million to fix the existing building.
Adams maintains there is no way that ratepayers will be saddled with huge debts as a result of the development.
"The proposed amenities will all add to the financial wellbeing and fabric of Tauranga and if we don't provide them we will stop attracting the well-paid new residents coming from Auckland and elsewhere presently.
"We need to change the image of Tauranga from a retirement town to a fast-growing centre of business excellence, offering tertiary education, elite sports training and professional career options.
"For example, the university campus that we are about to develop will have a major impact on the CBD and parts of the Tauranga economy."
Adams does not take kindly to suggestions that CAG is trying to impose its vision of the future on a democratically elected city council.
"We want to work collaboratively with Tauranga City Council but we want action now.
"If they procrastinate it will need to become an election issue in 2016 and existing elected members will have to state their individual position on civic amenities, while ratepayers will have to decide who they wish to vote for in terms of progress or more talkfests."
Adams says another major stumbling block to development in the region is having two local bodies governing the Western Bay.
"They are not only duplicating services but often have conflicting policies.
"The two councils, Tauranga City Council and the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, have talked about a merger but it's like turkeys being asked to vote for an early Christmas. "
Chief executive of Priority One, Andrew Coker. Photo/George Novak.
Adams contends a merger would help the public become more engaged in local government and create clear, long-term strategic plans in tourism, education, events, infrastructure and business growth.
"Political interference of minority vested interests stopped the creation of one council in 1989, but everyone will be a winner if we unite, and we would become a real united force in New Zealand politics with a stronger voice in central government.
"We have so much in common, even a natural geographic boundary and a commonality of interest, but we have an artificial boundary creating inequitable contributions to various things, including civic amenities."
FOR HER PART, Anne Pankhurst also sees merit in a merger.
"I think you could merge a greater amount of operational functions first and then take time to work out the representation discussion.
"If you look at Auckland, the biggest negative was how people felt represented and that was because that was rushed.
"It is easy to amalgamate operational processes and some steps have already been done in this direction through BOPLASS (the company established to promote shared services between local authorities in the Bay of Plenty/Gisborne regions and elsewhere)."
Adams' connection to the Bay of Plenty goes back more than 30 years when he moved from Lower Hutt to Tauranga with his young family. A civil engineer, he was asked to help develop a kiwifruit orchard that he had invested in.
One thing led to another and he ended up becoming the largest operator in the kiwifruit industry, employing about 200 permanent staff and personally owning around 1 million trays.
Along the way he became involved with the then-Tauranga District Council to develop a growth strategy that saw him convert some of his orchards into residential subdivisions.
Today his company, Carrus Group, is the largest land developer in the area having developed some 4000 lots, not to mention another 4000 elsewhere in the North Island.
Bethlehem Heights, The Lakes, Sterling Gate and Mayfield are just some of the company's developments in the Bay.
Adams is a committed philanthropist and supports many causes, such as IHC, Te Kura Correspondence School, Waipuna Hospice, Te Tuinga Whanau Support Trust and is on the Council of the University of Waikato.
So it irks him when some people paint developers like him in a less-than-favourable light.
"Some see developers as causing the city's debt and see development as a liability, which is a very short-sighted view.
"Carrus has created the opportunity to build homes that now pay rates to the Tauranga City Council in the order of $10 million a year, so this funds approximately $200 million of city debt and also creates the opportunity for elected members to represent the TCC ratepayers."
Adams says he has great empathy for the underprivileged and spends more time "in philanthropic endeavours than my own business these days".
He was raised by his mother in a state house in the Hutt Valley and was educated at Naenae College.
