Whakaaro: Old library site
The Golden Bay Community Board needs our input into the decision about what happens on the old library site.
The whole site is a Special Purpose Reserve and, unless that status is changed, anything that is built there must have a charitable, community or welfare focus.
In what can only be seen as a very fortunate coincidence the council is also embarking on a complete rethink of the playground that is sited on the reserve. The fact that both issues are being considered together seems to give this community an ideal opportunity to achieve something it has needed for a long time.
Council could build a home for the Golden Bay Community Workers – the NGO that dispenses a huge range of social services in the Bay. The current facilities at the Community Centre are inadequate and have been for some time. Up to ten employees share cramped and very public office space and there is very little storage for such essential pieces of community infrastructure as the food-bank.
The community workers sometimes provide services to people who have few options or who are in emergency situations. The workers and their clients deserve more privacy and a better, more child-friendly and more secure environment.
Constructing a purpose-built headquarters for the community workers somewhere on the reserve between Reilly Street and Commercial Street has several advantages:
· The Community Workers would make perfect “neighbours” for a revamped playground
· A facility for youth could be designed as part of the building. This would be a perfect fit for the building because of the workers’ involvement in youth affairs such as counselling, the youth council, youth week etc. A Golden Bay youth facility has been the subject of submissions to the council’s annual plan for decades.
· The current facilities at the community centre would become available for a range of worthy tenants
· The hazardous car-parking situation adjacent to the Golden Kids centre would be greatly improved.
· The community workers would be able to perform their roles more effectively, securely and respectfully. In their present offices privacy and/or security are frequently compromised.
· The community workers, who are near the heart of nearly every important social network in the Bay, would have a main-street presence. This would improve their visibility and accessibility to clients and potential clients.
Whatever you masy think about the issue, it’s important to have your say. Contact the community board before 11 Feb by dropping your submission into the TDC Service Centre or emailing on gbcb@tasman.govt.nz
Neil Wilson, chair, Golden Bay Community Workers Board
