Editorial: Answers needed on fence cost

Fences were installed by Napier City Council around BBQ areas last month before being removed at a cost of thousands of dollars. Photo / Supplied

I have had cause to drive along Marine Parade a number of times recently and the area is looking pretty good.

When I first arrived in the Bay more than three years ago, I was amazed at how under-developed the seafront was. It was a vast expanse of nothing that did not say much about the city one was entering.

Since then, the Napier City Council has done a lot to improve the area and it is good to see it so well used, especially at weekends. The pump bike track seems to be a big hit with the kids. The council should be commended for the speed with which they have developed the area.

However, there is one area where the council was maybe a little too speedy - the fences installed around barbecue areas on Marine Parade. The fences suddenly appeared last month and a council spokeswoman said at the time that they were put up to protect surrounding plants, which had been damaged. Once they were put up, they were deemed not to be suitable, so were removed.

That is all well and good, but the sting in the tail (or tale) is that the combined cost of installing and removing the fences was $7487.

In the grand scheme of things, that $7000-odd may not seem like much, but it is still ratepayers' hard-earned money. One thing I have learned over the years is that it is the needless "little" expenditures like this that really irk ratepayers.

Mayor Bill Dalton has decided not to comment on the situation. Judging by the feedback we are getting from Napier ratepayers, he should probably reconsider that position.

I am sure the residents of his city would be most interested to hear his views.