18/10/2005

OTOROHANGA COMMUNITY BOARD BRIEFS

The following issues were discussed at an Otorohanga Community Board meeting on October 10:

Railway station restoration
The overall value of restoring Otorohanga's old railway station building cannot be quantified in dollars and cents.
That was the response from board member Liz Cowan to news that the renovations were costing council more than initially expected.
Chief executive David Hall said renovations were "progressing reasonably well" however,several additional jobs had to be added to the project.
"In general the work is progressing well and it is going to look very good when it is finished. Cost-wise it isn't as good as we would have hoped."
"The overall cost will be significantly in excess of the original budget," said Mr Hall.
Mrs Cowan reassured the board that the overall benefit of the restored building would justify the expense.

Soccer club requests
Where else can you go and pay 50c for anything these days?
That was the reaction from community board members to a request from Otorohanga Soccer Club that their summer soccer player levy be reduced.
Last month the board agreed to cut the domain rental fee for winter soccer from $900 to $500.
On September 21 the board received a letter from Otorohanga Soccer Club requesting the board install additional rubbish bins around the domain and consider reducing the summer soccer player levy of 50 cents per player per night.
"The committee and captains believe the fee is excessive. When the player levy was originally set a number of years ago it was before rates and other charges were being imposed," stated the letter.
Councillor Kit Jeffries said that while he was pleased to see soccer thriving he did not consider the fee to be excessive.
"It is great to see the soccer club so strong but where else can you go and pay 50c for anything these days. You can't even buy bubble gum for that"
It was agreed that the board would invite representatives of the soccer club to discuss the issue further.

Sandwich board regulations
Some Otorohanga businesses are not adhering to the council's sandwich board bylaws.
The issue was raised when the board held discussions with Otorohanga Business Association members Dianne Murphy, Peter Burton and Andrew Giltrap.
Mrs Murphy said she believed only a handful of businesses were not within the council bylaw, and were consequently obstructing pedestrian traffic with their sandwich boards.
"I think a quiet word in their ear would make a difference," she said.

Oto: all day parking fines considered

Do not ruin it for everyone.
That is the message to a group of repeat parking offenders in Otorohanga who continue to refuse to adhere to parking limits.
Otorohanga Community Board and Otorohanga Business Association members discussed the issue of parking violations last week after concerns were raised about certain individuals who repeatedly park their vehicles in Maniapoto St all day despite the 60 minute parking limit.
The board and OBA have been considering whether to introduce policing of parking restrictions. and say it may be necessarv if the individuals concerned do not change their attitude.
OBA president Dianne Murphy said those concerned are aware they are violating the restrictions and have been spoken to, but do not seem willing to change their behaviour.
"The problem is they are local employers and employees who should know better."
Mrs Murphy said many local businesses feel strongly parking limits should be followed, as a lack of available parks often means potential customers choose not to stop.
With the holiday season approaching, manv businesses hope the issue can be solved in time to attract Christmas shoppers.
However, council chief executive David Hall said he was unsure whether a system for policing parking would be able to be established before Christmas as aspects such as finding someone to police parking, selecting an appropriate penalty and financing the system would have to be agreed upon first.
Other members expressed their concern at the idea of policing parking as they feared "innocent people" would be "stung in the pocket".
Mayor Dale Williams said he is concerned visitors would be put off returning to the town if they received tickets as he was, following a recent trip to Katikati.
Mr Williams said he had parked his vehicle on yellow lines while using public toilets in the town, only to return to find a $200 ticket on his windscreen.
While he accepts he deserved a ticket he felt the $200 fine was excessive and has avoided the town since the incident.
"To me it left a very sour taste in my mouth and I just think that is what is going to happen here," he said.
Mr Hall will compile a report on various policing options and report back to the community board and OBA.