09/02/2006

Community board too valuable for Kawhia to lose

Aotea residents may get a louder voice after Otorohanga District Council finishes reviewing its community board representation.
The review wad discussed at a Kawhia Community Board meeting on January 26 following a report from chief executive David Hall.
In his report Mr Hall said the Local Electoral Act 2001 required councils to review their community board representation once every six years.
Because Otorohanga District Council chose not to carry out a review prior to the 2004 elections one must be undertaken this year.
The review must determine whether existing boards should be abolished or new boards created, community boundaries altered and the appropriate number of elected members for each community.
In his report Mr Hall was adamant the Kawhia Community Board should not be abolished.
"The Kawhia community satisfies ail of the criteria for the establishment and continuation of a community Board.
The board provided the council with a valuable link to the community.
The loss of a local, democratically elected board would detract from the ability of the council to provide consistently good governance at Kawhia, and is therefore considered undesirable."
He said that while Kawhia ratepayers have questioned the affordability of the community board in the past, board members and council "have always been very diligent to ensure that costs are kept to a minimum".
"I guess the Kawhia community had to say what they consider to be the value of having representation. I think the Kawhia Community Board had proved valuable and will continue to provide value in the future," said Mr Hall.
Two major issues raised in the report were the high level of growth at Aotea and the desire for the board to take a wider view of harbour management issues.
Mr Hall suggested ways in which these matters could be addressed, including by maintaining the Kawhia board and creating a separate board in Aotea, uniting the communities together in a single board, expanding the boundaries of the Kawhia board to include Aotea and rural communities in between, or to expand the boundaries to include the whole of the catchments, of the Aotea and Kawhia Harbours.
"Each of the options are technically feasible, however there is cleanly a need for consultation not only with the
Kawhia community but also with Aotea and rural residents and ratepayers," stated the report.
Mr Hall wad unsure whether incorporating two non-adjourning communities, such as Aotea and Kawhia, within a single community board had been previously tested in New Zealand.
While a subdivision system (equivalent to a ward system across a district) has not been applied to the Kawhia community in the past Mr Hall suggested it might be appropriate if the board chooses to incorporate Aotea ensuring both communities are appropriately represented on the new board.
The minimum number of elected members on a community board is four, however until the review is carried out and boundaries are determined, it id not known how many members would. be required for a new board.
Currently the Kawhia Community Board comprises Allan RuBay (chairman), Murray Livingstone, Raymond Tooman and Lewis Sherman.
Kawhia ward councillor Deborah Pilkington is also appointed to the board and acts ad a link between them and council.
Mayor Dale Williams said he could see major benefit in providing Aotea with community board representation, with recent informal discussions with residents indicating they favoured the concept.
"At present, Aotea does not have a voice on council other than through Deborah Pilkington," said Mr Williams.
It was agreed that Kawhia Community Board be retained and that public opinion gauged on the issue before making any changed to the board's structure.
The board agree it would be beneficial to hear residents' opinions.
"I think it would be quite nice to hear what the communities have to day," said Mr RuBay.
"I think they will be appreciative of the chance to voice their concerns and have a say," said Mr Tooman.
Since the meeting council had distributed information on the review to Aotea ratepayers.

Magic holiday programme

A record number of children completed Otorohanga District Library's holiday reading programme this summer.
In total, 39 children completed the 'reading is fantastic' programme, which required them to read and report on at least three books during the summer holidays.
Librarian Sarah Osborne was thrilled with this year's response.
"It is the highest number that has ever completed the programme so we are really pleased," she said.
The free annual summer holiday programme is organised locally by the Otorohanga District Library and also held at other libraries throughout the country.
It aims to interest, encourage and stimulate preschool to pre-teen aged children to enjoy reading.
Those Otorohanga children who completed this year's programme were awarded for their efforts during a 'finale' last Wednesday.
The event included afternoon tea and a visit from Hamilton's Mitchell the Magician, who entertained children with a series of magic tricks.
Otorohanga mayor Dale Williams also attended the finale to personally present each child with a certificate, medal and book.
He said the children all deserved to be proud of their efforts and encouraged them to participate in the programme next year.