Kinloch is growing, says Representative Group member Pat Kane.
Kinloch is growing, says Representative Group member Pat Kane.
OPINION
I’ve had one year on the Kinloch Representative Group and I’m impressed.
In 2017, big things were happening in Kinloch – unexpected growth was bringing rapid change from a sleepy village for holidays and retirement to a busy suburb with hopscotch on footpaths, a fleet of school buses and tradies raiding the only shop at lunchtimes.
The community was alarmed: “What’s happening? Can the infrastructure cope? Where are the basic amenities? We need a real connection with council! We need help!”
To its credit, the council responded immediately by creating a formal Kinloch subcommittee, the Kinloch Representative Group (KRG), with the mayor, three councillors and two (now four) community representatives.
It was similar to successful existing models in Mangakino and Tūrangi.
Kinloch Representative Group member Pat Kane says such groups are always worthwhile.
Our community reps bring a breadth of perspectives – a mother of school-aged kids, a long-time bach owner from Ōtorohanga, a Māori representative from Mokai with generations of history in the area, and myself.
I have had a bach in Kinloch for 30 years, after living in Napier I have now lived in the village for nearly nine.
Aside from the commitment of the mayor and councillors, the biggest surprise for me has been the connection with council staff.
I find these people are, without exception, knowledgeable, helpful and passionate.
The depth and value they add to the group, and hence to our community, is immense.
The transparency and willingness to engage is outstanding.
There was some angst for a time from people not understanding that these are formal council committee meetings, subject to rules that exclude public participation.
So, we’ve inserted informal Community Catchup meetings in between, where community concerns and ideas are gathered beforehand.
They provide excellent feed into the agenda, and most importantly a space for council officers to prepare informative responses - and indeed, to take immediate action where they can.
This two-step approach has overcome frustrations and made the whole process a lot more productive.
Operational issues such as fixing a pothole are dealt with by the customer services team and don’t appear on the agenda.
Bigger challenges are canvassed with elected representatives and relevant departments to get resolved, sometimes quickly, other times painfully slowly due to processes that have to be gone through.
The big issues facing Kinloch currently are around the lack of amenities – a community centre, recreation facilities such as playgrounds, and education facilities.
The village has outgrown itself- it’s well behind other centres.
Thankfully, private landowners are now seeking commercial development ideas, and Taupō District Council has recognised its reserve policies need changing to make better use of available funds – with no impact on rates. So, watch this space!
