Palmerston North has a higher Māori population than New Zealand as a whole (18.7 per cent and 16.5 per cent respectively in 2018). The 2018 census showed there are 126 languages spoken here.
The council wants to identify and facilitate opportunities for new community events, particularly those that appeal to Māori, people aged 18 to 34 and 55-plus, and people with children at home.
The 10-Year Plan is also proposing to remove overdue library fines for youth and children, which is expected to mean a $368,000 drop in operating revenue.
Housing is a big part of goal three and the council is looking at redeveloping industrial and commercial areas such as Roxburgh Cres and council land such as Huia St Reserve and Albert St Depot for housing.
It has excluded programmes to develop community hubs at Kelvin Grove and Highbury while it carries out a city-wide community facilities stocktake and needs assessment.
The council's fourth goal is an eco city. It has allocated $271,000 to investigate a kerbside food waste collection and processing service.
It is also proposing building a recycling and green waste drop-off facility for Whakarongo/Kelvin Grove in years 4 and 5 of plan at a cost of $2,284,000. This would serve urban growth in that area of the city.
Other eco city proposals are trialling a programme for the recycling of mattresses and establishing a polystyrene recycling programme.
Goal 5 is a driven and enabling council with active citizenship being a priority. The council wants residents to understand what it does and for a range of voices to be heard in decision-making processes.
The council considered allocating $177,000 to develop a civics education pack for schools but for budget reasons has not included it in the proposed 10-Year Plan.
Submissions close at 5pm on May 14 and will be available to view on the council's website from May 21.
The Committee of Council will deliberate on the submissions at its June 9 meeting.
