Board hears frustrations about stormwater, freedom camping
The public forum preceding the Golden Bay Community Board’s April meeting was dominated by some heated contributions on topical issues.
Swiftsure Street. BJ White asked some questions about a meeting in Swiftsure Street, Collingwood, last Thursday. Cr Trevor Norriss, the chair of the engineering services committee, and Golden Bay’s ward councillors Noel Riley and Stuart Borlase met with Mr Bruce Hamlin, apparently at Mr Hamlin’s request, to discuss ongoing issues about stormwater there. The meeting was able to take place because all the councillors were already in Collingwood for the Annual Plan meeting.
Mr White asked why other residents of Swiftsure Street were not invited and why they had not been told of any outcomes. He also requested details of the original work done by Mr Hamlin in Swiftsure Street.
“The council has admitted that they funded the original work. We’d like to see the costings, the engineer’s report and be told who approved the work and who did the engineering work itself.”
“Cr Norriss was just gathering information about the situation. There were no engineering staff at the meeting and there were no minutes taken because nothing was decided. You’ll be given the whole nine yards,” said Cr Borlase.
Integrated health centre. Victoria Davis made an impassioned attack on the proposed integrated health centre, which she described as “probably the biggest move in Golden Bay since amalgamation”.
Victoria said that locating all our medical facilities on the community hospital site was a mistake, that the Interim Management Group (IMG) was “bulldozing forward with no mandate from the public” and that not only would there be no improved services, but she could name 10 services that would be seriously affected by integration. Furthermore, the IMG’s “refusal” to have a public meeting was because they said that “people would be too shy to speak up”.
Board member Carolyn McLellan and Cr Borlase are both IMG members. They defended the efficiencies and savings possible under integration. They said that there had been no point in having a public meeting until now because the IMG had nothing to tell the community.
“I’m quite excited about the way the integration project is going and I’m sure it will be the best thing for the Bay,” said Mrs McLellan.
Freedom campers. The challenges posed by freedom campers prompted lengthy discussion.
Mrs McLellan described the area under Waitapu Bridge as “apparently the number one campsite in the Bay” and a place where freedom campers routinely break branches or cut down trees to feed their cooking fires.
“We have businesses over here who are paying a targeted rate to attract more visitors to the Bay but what do [those visitors] do when they’re here? Maybe we need some money from the Government to cope with the problems. We don’t want our clean green image being stuffed up by indiscriminate toileting.”
Board member Karen Brookes is in favour of freedom camping as an inexpensive option for budget-conscious families, but said the toileting issue was eroding her support. Board chair Joe Bell explained that just providing more toilet facilities was not the answer.
“I think there are more innovative ways to get around it,” he said. Council CEO Paul Wylie is meeting with fellow South Island council CEOs to see what could be done on a wider scale.
Board member Leigh Gamby wondered what economic spin-off for the nation was likely from the visit of someone who claimed they could not afford $18 for a campsite.
Cr Riley said he has begun to take photos of tourists behaving illegally.
“It’s not our job to pay contractors to clean up so that visitors have a nice holiday. I’m getting frustrated. These people are living off us and I’m sick of watching them do it.”
Labyrinth Rocks. The Labyrinth Park Society is particularly impressed with the efforts of Phil Rawiri and his Saturday Community Work team. More than 30 cubic metres of green waste have been removed from Labyrinth Rocks by the workers and the rocks are reportedly looking “better than ever”. The board will send a letter to Mr Rawiri thanking him for his excellent supervision of the workers and their efforts on behalf of the community.
The Pohara Walk/Cycleway. Cr Borlase reported that council would not be maintaining the band rotunda because it would not now be part of the project.
Neil Wilson
