Covid, Sarjeant Gallery and Port dominate Whanganui District Council's first year

(From left) Gerrard Albert, Hamish McDouall, Rachel Keedwell, Tracey Waitokia and Ken Mair celebrate the new governance group for Whanganui Port. Photo / supplied

With the current Whanganui District Council now together for a full year, Laurel Stowell asks how its going and what's in store for 2021.

Local body elections a year ago this month returned a relatively stable Whanganui District Council with just two new members and a second-term mayor.

The previous 2017 election ushered in Hamish McDouall to the top job along with a handful of new councillors with factions fighting pitched battles over the Whanganui Wastewater Treatment Plant.

"We have improved on that," McDouall said.

He said that class of 2017 council settled quickly but believed the current council was even better.

2021 - the middle year of this current term - will be about the Covid-19 recovery and setting council's long term plan for the next 10 years.

Whanganui Chamber of Commerce and Industry director Joamari van der Walt said the first year of council's term had been "naturally a challenging time during the Covid-19 pandemic".

"We appreciate the unknown territory that had to be navigated by all, including council," she said.

"The progress on some visible projects such as the Sarjeant Gallery Redevelopment project and Port Revitalisation project has been very good which although not solely the result of the past year's work, the current first term council had vast involvement in this.

"Council's work around social issues including the implemented Housing Strategy will help alleviate some of the pressing housing supply issues. We look forward to seeing momentum on this."

Van der Walt said the Chamber would like to see a finalised Covid-19 Economic Recovery plan for Whanganui to act as supporting document for the remaining two years of term.

"It is vital to see this document finalised and ready for implementation when or if needed.

"Better visibility of council strategies will boost community confidence as the next economic cycle might be trying with the continued worldwide Covid-19 turbulence. Good collaboration with all stakeholders is important for our district to navigate through this term."

McDouall said it had been exciting to watch other councillors "stretch their legs" into chosen areas - Helen Craig with heritage and Philippa Baker-Hogan with sport, and deputy mayor Jenny Duncan has been fantastic.

He cited Covid-19 rates relief policy, and getting Government funding to progress the Sarjeant Gallery and Whanganui Port projects as its achievements so far.

"Finally locking those things in has been significant," he said.

Councillor Hadleigh Reid is in his second term, and said it just feels like a continuation of the first.

"We have had no big dramas. We have got the Sarjeant and port under way, which is really what I was keen to see coming into the second term."

Covid-19 hasn't been much of a disruption, he said.

"Whanganui has bounced back incredibly well and everything just seems to be humming around the town."

All the councillors are working hard and making good decisions, councillor Helen Craig said - but the work never gets any easier.

"It seems like we just solve one issue and another one comes along. What next do we need to change to keep our community ahead of the pack, plus keep rates affordable? It's a constant challenge.

"It's a very capable, keen team and staff, but it continues to be a heavy workload."

New councillor James Barron spent the first six months listening and said he had an advantage in that his corporate experience made him reasonably comfortable in a government role.

He's used to being a specialist, and is adjusting to becoming a generalist. He's been surprised at how long it takes the council to do little things, and how quickly big things can be decided.

As deputy property and community services chair he's interested in how council assets work for residents, and how the council can provide "joined up" services - services that are not necessarily centralised.

The other new councillor, Brent Crossan, has not been available for comment.

Pahia Turia, the chairman of council-controlled organisation Whanganui & Partners, believes the council is progressing well overall.

"There are a number of issues we as a town are going to be faced with," he said. "We do have an increasing population, and as a result of that we are going to have an increased demand in the limited housing stock we've got."

The other issue is the availability of industrial land.

"We can't have Whanganui chosen by people as a place to live when we're not able to cater for that."

In terms of its day-to-day operations, Turia finds the council a cohesive unit.

This council seems to be getting along better than past ones, he said.

"Everyone seems to be on the same page, and I think their response as a council to Covid was a good response that we've learnt a lot from."

Whanganui's wins in the Keep New Zealand Beautiful awards are accolades to the council for the work it does. It just needs to carry on with this and be courageous, Turia said.