Your Questions Answered - Mangawhai future looks bright

 

This has been a fantastic holiday season for those enjoying the beaches and outdoors generally. For the Kaipara farming community, there was enough regular moisture to keep the grass growing through December and early January, in stark contrast to last year. Let us hope that the weather patterns continue.

Kaipara’s population grows dramatically during the summer holiday period as holiday makers flock to our many and varied attractions. I spent the day on January 2 surveying some of these to review the ability of Council’s services to cope.

Of service to those who love to surf, the Mangawhai Heads car park and ablution facilities were being used to capacity. Thanks also to those involved with surf lifesaving, for your contribution to safety and rescue.

The Mangawhai Community Gala day at the Mangawhai Domain was a huge success, thanks to the organisers and volunteers. The roads servicing this event of many thousands of visitors coped, just.

Our food service retailers were busy through this period. Parking capacity remains a challenge at the Wood Street retail area in Mangawhai. Reconfiguration of some of this precinct is possible in the future.

At Kai Iwi Lakes, the Council campgrounds at Pine Beach and Promenade Point were full of overnight campers and day trippers, from toddlers to the retired. These pristine lakes are a campers and swimmers paradise. Thanks to management, the public facilities coped well.

And at Glinks Gully the traditional January 1 family open sports day was reported as a huge success. This event goes back many decades. The new beach speed restrictions put in place in front of Glinks Gully and Baylys seemed to have been effective, though vandals attacked some of the signage.

Looking forward to 2015

Commissioners are keen to leave the Council in good shape when their term expires. What is on our agenda in 2015?

The work to engage positively with community development will continue. Locally, the Mangawhai Community Park has a development plan behind it. With the Museum open, St John’s new premises under construction, and the skate park, walking tracks and other children and youth facilities being actively advanced by community groups, public facilities provided by Council will follow. In Kaiwaka, community engagement has begun, and a group is discussing town development and vision.

With clean harbours and waterways in mind, maintaining and enhancing wastewater systems are a priority for Council throughout the District. A multitude of septic tanks in built up areas risks our environment. In Mangawhai, this means project planning and extending the reach of the Mangawhai community wastewater system. The plant has plenty of capacity for additional hook-ups. The local Mangawhai Advisory Panel, chaired by D’Arcy Quinn, is underway.

Sheeting home accountability for past poor advice and decision-making with respect to rating and the Mangawhai Wastewater Scheme is a priority. Having filed papers in December, we hope that this calendar year will see those responsible brought to account.

Bringing to an end community division in the District is important. That is why Commissioners have urged the executive of the Mangawhai Ratepayers and Residents Association to drop their appeal over the judgment handed down by the High Court. This judgment might not have been to their liking, but continuing to use the Courts to fight the Council at great cost to ratepayers seems pointless. The chair of the Association has promised to have his executive consider our suggestion that they pull out of litigation. We appreciate their commitment to reconsider and look forward to their response.

Finally, the work to build a high performing Council organisation will continue in 2015. Acting Chief Executive Dr Jill McPherson has this task.