hawkesbaycouncilwatch

So the newspaper report said that Hastings District Council were not going to sell parks to fund the sports park.The Mayor was clear.

But…….now we know they are planning to sell part of Windsor Park and part of Cornwall Park.
They want to get rid of the netball courts at Windsor Park and the council nursery at Cornwall.
What sort of thinking is this?
The deeper they get in the shite the deeper they dig.
Ratepayers should be up in arms.Leave the bloody parks alone.The RSP was supposedly rates neutral.Well the ratepayers own the parks don,t they? Do they want the parks partly sold?
I bet they don’t.
It’s time there was a revolt but everyone is too apathetic, too busy.
Sometimes I really wonder.

The Hastings District Council has announced the Trustees of the Regional Sports Park.
 It is disappointing it is more people with an interest rather than a good independent team or mixed team.
The Trustees are the Mayor , Murray McCaw,Colin Stone ,and Rex Graham.

A report on Radio NZ this morning said the local Green Party Candidate was unhappy that the ratepayers were subsidising the new bus service . I thought that is great.Commonsense at last,but before I could draw another breath he said the taxpayer should subsidise the service.
Wholly smolly subsidy used to be a despised word.Roger Douglas saw to that.But no the greens want others to subsidise buses.
One local bus operator told me the subsidy would have to be increased substantially and new Government regulations were going to mean buses would be run as a favour.There is nothing in it for the Company.
Subsidies distort and tend to grow .Taxpayers can,t afford to subsidise buses.

It has to be pretty serious stuff to discuss ratepayer business in public excluded.It is usually for specific reasons of critical financial information or items of a sensitive nature.
Hastings District Council appear to use this ability far too often and for dubious reason.
The marketing of Hastings CBD is an issue all ratepayers have an interest in. The new plans of Charter Hall and the effect on the CBD should be debated in public by councillors  for all to hear.
On Tuesday Hastings DC chose to exclude the  public from this debate, depriving ratepayers of  the opportunity to scrutinize just what is happening and where councillors sit on this change in direction.
This is an appalling manipulation of a situation to suit a council that some say is dysfunctional.
Where is the new CEO in all this.It’s time he realised what is going on and had the gumption to take control.

The Aramoana woolshed saga continues.There are some strong feelings among CHB ratepayers about funding the ongoing existence of this historic site.
It’s always good to have big ideas and especially when one can spend other peoples money it makes it easy to propose a lovely solution to an approach from well meaning people.

Maybe this one is just not going to work.

The Regional Council has an agenda paper today that wrestles with the question of air quality and what to do about it to meet national  guidelines developed by central government.
It is another one of those situations that is supposed to make us all feel good and stop us dying from breathing in disgusting pm10 pollutants.
On a few days a year when it is calm and fine in the winter (those lovely days we enjoy getting outside) we have all contributed to pm10 levels by keeping warm in front of our fires. How long have we been doing this? 
Now an option is to ban open fires,ban warmth, ban something man has been doing since he found Beehive Matches.
The cost of this exercise and the cost to ratepayers is unacceptable.It is another do good attempt at trying to achieve an impossible end.
In Hawkes Bay we are lucky we live by the sea and on those few days we experience most fires burning it is not long before the wind is up and the air is cleared.
The council should tell the government where to stick their legislation and see the response.  

The leaked environmental policy from the National Party is pretty short on detail.I can understand that at this stage but reading between the lines could mean there are a few fishhooks hanging around.
The mention of an environmental protection agency is possibly a good move but if it means they are going to restructure local authoritys and mess with regional councils it is of major concern.
One of the hardest tasks is trying to explain to politicians the difference between TLA’s and Regional authoritys. Many just don’t comprehend.
It would be preferable to rein in Regional Councils and amend the stupid changes that Labour brought in by way of ‘general competence’.This has allowed them to stray from their core functions and embark on journeys they shouldn’t start.
Regional Councils are essential to deliver in the future.

Last night the last surviving dolphin at Napiers marineland died.

It is going to be a tough time for all those who have fond memories of Kelly,those who have swum with her and fed her and those who have been touched by being close to such  a magnificent mammal.

Napier is going to be lost without this attraction and it would be wonderful to see marineland to be able to continue with dolphins that have already been in captivity or are injured.

Napier is in mourning

It is time to vote for members on the Power Trust. It was a surprise to see so many names pop up for the trust and there is certainly a good mix to choose from.

The big issue is whether consumers in Hawkes Bay wish to retain ownership of this critical body. From observation I would say people want to retain ownership.It’s not just because of the cheque they receive .Owning assets is still a strong preference among Hawkes Bay residents.
Homework on candidates has given a plus for candidate Trevor  Powell.
He has a website  trevorpowell.co.nz
Have a look.

Meerkat has learned from a faithfull scout that the Mayor,who had expressed surprise at the latest move by Charter Hall to build more shops,new at least a year ago that this was going to occur.
Just what is going on?
What is the Mayor playing at?