Letter to the Editor Tuesday July 10

In the dark

As a property and business owner in Kaitaia I am still awaiting an approach from a BID committee member to discuss this proposal.

After the results of the ballot were announced over nine months ago I personally contacted Mr Phillips and asked why I had not been contacted by anyone, who the contact person was, and also requested a list of all of the up to 300 people who had the right to vote.

He could not offer me a plausible answer to the first two requests, and on the third he told me the voting papers had been sent out by a firm from Auckland, and that all voting papers had probably been destroyed after counting.

He also could not give me a list of the people who had a right to vote as he did not have one.

Now in Thursday's Age I note that only the property owners had a right to vote. What about the business owners that occupy these properties?

It is going to impact a lot more on them than the owners of said properties, as no doubt all costs will be added to their rates demands, and they have been given no right to vote on something that will have an added cost to their business. Since the results of the ballot were announced I have received no information as to the real cost to us for this 'project,' except for reading the average cost per property will be roughly $200 per annum.

Now stop right there: $200 times approximately 300 properties, to me adds up to roughly $60,000.

Not the budget of $23,000 as mentioned by Mr Phillips.

Is the balance of approximately $37,000 going to be eaten up on administration costs?

I know I am not the only property and/ or business owner in this situation of not being approached personally, of not being sent any details, or of not receiving voting papers, and am far from convinced this proposal and ballot was done fairly and in a correct manner.

Throw away any percentages; the vote by my calculations was close to 44 for, 41 against, out of the supposed approximate 300 property owners.

ANGRY AND DISILLUSIONED PROPERTY/BUSINESS OWNER

Kaitaia

PS: I would love some feedback either for or against this project.