10-year plan meetings March, April

Pat Seymour

Opinion

One can’t write about council matters without acknowledging the Government boost for infrastructure projects in our region announced at the end of last week. The assistance to three tourism projects and the further development of the managed aquifer recharge project are all very important for the region. These funds will make a big difference as we try to stretch ratepayer funds as far as possible.

The $5 million for the Napier to Wairoa rail line will please rail supporters and take some log trucks off the road in that part of Hawke’s Bay.

There are other projects too that we would wish to see given a boost. Roading is critical and our region’s roads need a substantial injection of funds. I went to the East Cape lighthouse last week and that road, serving not only the local community but also many tourists, certainly needs an injection of tourism-related dollars. Let’s hope it will be in the next tranche of projects. The council and the Mayor have been raising it with Transport Minsters for several years.

This is a busy time as the 10-year plan is made available to our community for comment. The 10-year plan is reviewed on a three-year cycle and while it may be amended, it is a costly process.

Councillors and management have workshopped the issues and taken advice on issues such as interest rates, which have an important impact on the cost of projects. When plan for projects, construction costs, grants and then rates all have to be estimated and then an audit reviews our assumptions. They also review levels of service and the level of information we are providing to the public, then make a judgement on whether it is fair and adequate.

The 10-year plan consultation document is 70 pages. Most of the content has been discussed in meetings going back for six months.

Community meetings will be held through March and April and will be well advertised, so take the time to attend face-to-face where you can ask questions and be given factual answers. Not like online feedback where, believe it or not, we see some outrageous comments, possibly not what would be said in person.

There is a report on the possible name change, a project initiated by the Mayor. While some significant comments have been made, there are some really lightweight Facebook comments. If the questionnaire is to be taken seriously for a change of name, there are 49.46 percent voting No, 47.52 percent Yes and 3.02 percent unsure. So please give some feedback. The report covers 50 pages, so several people in GDC have spent considerable time on this report which should it pass “go” will be sent to the NZ Geographic Board for consideration of a change from Poverty Bay.

The Easter shop trading hours policy, now for councils to decide for their locality, is recommending that “any shop be allowed to open on Easter Sunday”. Of interest here is that there were 23 submissions in favour of the policy and 24 against when early consultation occurred. What is this telling us about interpretation of questionaries or the value of a submission? With only 47 people responding, does that mean the issue is not of great interest to our community and we should retain the status quo?

There are papers on the ward representation review, development contributions, the Titirangi summit redevelopment and the Regional Land Transport Plan. Look up the agenda or call into our offices or the library to read a hard copy.