Board chair’s report recommends action on several issues
Golden Bay Community Board chair Joe Bell has made recommendations regarding council charges, the Takaka River and Abbeyfield for next week’s meeting from his monthly report which is summarised here.
Unexplained council charges.
Deductions have continued to be made for staff time from the community board budget without the requested details of the staff person, date, time and work done being provided. We have been advised that all staff time is recorded in ¼-hour segments and therefore there should be no difficulty in providing this information. The record shows we have requested this information nine times since 8 December 2008.
At the meeting next week the board will consider taking the matter of the withholding of details explaining staff charges being levied against the community board budget up with government agencies responsible for over-viewing such matters, including the Commerce Commission, Office of the Ombudsmen and the Office of the Auditor General.”
Takaka River Oxbow.
Keep Golden Bay Beautiful members have been working with over 50 other community volunteers on a riparian vegetation project beside the spring-fed Takaka River Oxbow and flood channel since 2005.
Plants have been donated and purchased, and funding has been obtained from various sources, including the Cobb Dam mitigation fund for fencing. KGBB has worked closely with Crown agencies and TDC staff and holds a formal lease for the area to be planted next.
From a letter recently received by KGBB it is apparent that another limb of TDC is proposing to privatise land in the vicinity. The Golden Bay Community Board has been delegated the role of an advisor for all TDC property sales and purchases within the ward.
The board will consider requesting that any transaction concerning the privatisation of public land under the jurisdiction of Tasman District Council in the vicinity of the Takaka Oxbow be subject to an open and transparent process and that public access, and all other riparian cultural, environmental and economic values are fully and fairly considered as integral parts of any proposal.”
Abbeyfield Loan.
Loan monies allocated by Tasman District Council to Abbeyfield were paid temporarily from the Golden Bay Reserves Development Infrastructure Levies (DILs) account. As with Motueka Abbeyfield, TDC had agreed to make a contribution to the capital cost of the project. We have had this matter on our action list for some time.
At the meeting the board will consider requesting that the loan monies advanced to the Abbeyfield project from the Golden Bay DILs account be reimbursed to that account from other council funds as originally agreed.
