A progressive city
The naysayers of our community continue to deride and fear any progressive plans that our city makes.
Jon Turner (Letters, October 15) fearfully suggests that we should be spending not a penny on our Lakefront and Redwoods, nothing on our museum and convention centre, and still nothing on our aquatic centre and airport because such expenditure is certain, in his mind, to lead us all to poverty.
In other words, spend nothing to allow progress. And Harry Brasser derides the removal of the Scout Hall from the lakefront, a building that is underused and of minimal historic importance, claiming that its removal will only benefit the owners of a new hotel and do nothing towards improving our lakefront. In other words, concentrate on a smudge and ignore the picture.
Rotorua is a progressive city, a city that thankfully makes decisions that will take us into the future, as evidenced by the community consultations that gave us our Long Term Plan. We can, and must, see beyond those who have no vision.
John Pakes
Ngongotaha
