Interim CE
Peter Tynan is on the job and off to a strong start. He intends to live in Mangawhai and spend three days in the Dargaville office and two at Mangawhai which should work well and keep him connected to our district.
We have shortlisted three firms to assist us in finding a permanent CE. The Remuneration Committee will interview all three, then make a decision on which to go with. The whole process will take us into the New Year. The time to have a new person on the job is dependent on any notice period that the successful applicant will be required to give.
Roading
Roading is our single biggest issue. Soon our roading committees will be up and running. Thanks to everyone who has put their name forward. Getting on-the-ground advice to management will certainly be helpful. As many of you are farming and it’s a tough period at the moment I have delayed the first meetings until farm conditions improve and everyone has time to attend. Our roading network is longer than the drive to Wellington and back which causes some huge logistical issues around oversight.
We have completed the assessment of the subsurface of the unsealed network. That work has identified that 20 percent of our roads are down to the clay, so the cost to remedy this going to add up. That will not be a surprise to some. This is ongoing and very trying with wet weather being our current challenge. We currently have 222 slips on our network which amongst other things will test our budget.
Mangawhai Community Plan
We will be holding two consultation meetings on Saturday September 30 and Saturday October 7 at 2pm at the Mangawhai Club, Molesworth Drive, to gain feedback. I am aware the local group who delivered the plan consulted throughout their process however Council is still required to seek feedback.
The plan largely remains unchanged although the priority areas around spending have changed order.
Dargaville Town Plan
We only received a couple of expressions of interest in being involved in the group that was mooted, so we will not proceed with that model. We are currently looking at some good historical work that has been completed to ensure we are not reinventing the wheel and we'll have a further think about how to make progress.
Annual Plan (last financial year’s performance)
The Audit, Risk and Finance Committee will have met in Mangawhai by the time you read this column. We will need to sign off last financial year’s result, which was a positive one. Before year end I wish to hold an AGM of Council where we can report directly to you on our performance for the last year. You will be advised of the time/place but it will probably be at a district mid-point, such as Maungaturoto.
