It’s argued Ōpārau – pictured following the Cyclone Gabrielle flood in February 2023 - would be better off with a fixed up hall than a charger for electric vehicles.
It’s hearings week at both Ōtorohanga and Waitomo district councils as the public of both councils get to tell their councils what they think of their proposals.
Waitomo’s Long Term Plan hearings were on Tuesday with the council preparing to hear the views of 132 people who responded to invitation to make a submission.
Ōtorohanga District Council’s hearings started on Monday at Kāwhia where less than a dozen people who wanted to speak to their submissions on the Kāwhai Aotea Ōpārau concept plan appeared before Mayor Max Baxter, council staff, the and the community board.
On Tuesday, Ōtorohanga’s rural concept plan hearings in council chambers were followed by submissions on the draft long term plan and the draft economic well-being strategy.
While Ōtorohanga town is the economic hub of the district, about 70 per cent of the community lives rurally. The economic wellbeing discussion enabled a cross boundary discussion with neighbours and acknowledged that Ōtorohanga district residents moved in and out of the district for work, learning and to access services.
Kāwhia residents were concerned about beach access for both pedestrians and vehicles, with some wanting vehicles prevented from accessing the hot water Te Puia springs, and others wanting things left as they are. With that were submissions about future access to the Te Puia springs.
A suggestion to place an Ev bike charger at Ōpārau was opposed as a waste of money which could instead be spent of restoring the hall which has been unusable since the 2023 flood.
The Ōtorohanga plans are expected to be adopted at the June meeting, following deliberations.
In Waitomo the council decision to reduce funding to Hamilton Waikato Tourism received a predictable response from that organisation and its parent body Hamilton Waikato Regional Airport Ltd.
The council ‘s plan to levy forestry companies for road damage during logging operations by increasing their roading rate by nearly 1200 per cent was opposed by forestry interests, investors and a resident who labelled it a money-grab, and asked what had happened to the rates the forestry companies had been paying for the 30 years during the trees growth – saying they had already paid.
Federated Farmers submitted the roading differential be added immediately, saying it was unfortunate the costs from roading degradation caused by forestry activities had been borne for so long by ratepayers at large.
A proposal to extend the Te Kūiti rural rating area south to include a farm and Universal Beef Packers so they can be rated for stormwater was opposed by a lawyer acting for the property owners.
The only current stormwater piping was under SH30 and the railway where the stormwater from both properties discharged into the Mangaokewa stream. Neither property was serviced by the Te Kūiti urban services.
It was argued the council method of calculating stormwater rates from owners of properties within the urban rating area was not formulated to produce fairness for properties such as the farm, where the property value was relatively high but the relationship with the urban stormwater network was very low.
