Are cheque-writing ratepayers again going to have to underwrite a City Hall-sponsored commercial operation? Last time, just a year ago, City Hall, backed by a recommendation from the mayor, bulldozed councillors into voting for a resolution calling for us to underwrite a $12,000,000 loan to purchase the Baypark Stadium. See Baypark blog here.

Now all the stops are out to drum up public support for a ratepayer underwritten $9,000,000 loan to Tauranga City Aquatics Ltd (TCAL) to enable that company, a council controlled and funded organisation (CCO), to transform the popular community-use Mount Hot Pools into a tourist attraction health spa.

TCAL are mounting and funding a 'Have Your Say' programme.

The company has done a great job of it and the site is well worth a visit to understand the extent of the redevelopment they want to undertake. If private investment capital was funding this project by way of a public/private undertaking, in return for a slice of the profits, I'd be standing up and cheering them on. Provided always, of course, that access by locals to the existing hot pools was at an affordable price for families.

pools_planThe company's publicity blitz, which began on November 13, is to continue through until the middle of January, in time for TCAL to put a revised proposal before council in February. By that time TCAL will undoubtedly claim the proposal is community backed. (I don't remember City Hall producing anything like this when they 'consulted' on the Art Gallery takeover!)

As the majority of citizens do not actually pay the rate bills, there's a very good chance a majority will be enthusiastically in favour of the project. After all, TCAL are categorically stating in their infomercial that ratepayers are not funding it.

What they do not own up to is that if for one reason or another the business risk doesn't turn out so well, then of course we ratepayers will be funding it. Just as we are now, in effect, funding Baywave, the Art Gallery and Baypark, all City Hall Iconic Tower status symbol projects. They are all also CCOs -- that is, owned and controlled by the City Hall on behalf of the city.

The fact that, as City Hall at last acknowledges, we are heading into a near zero growth period of indeterminate length hasn't slowed down the promoters one bit - and why should it? They don't have to bear any financial risk. If the rich tourists, international or domestic, don't turn up, then tough. Ratepayers will carry the loss until the good times come roaring back. Then the pool-minding contractors will again pick up their profit-sharing bonuses, as they do now.

Towards the end of August this year, council, with Cr Greg Brownless on leave, voted five to five on a motion by newcomer, Cr Catherine Stewart, to halt the project in the meantime. In effect those voting for the project to proceed were Mayor Stuart Crosby along with Crs David Stewart, Mike Baker, Bill Faulkner and Wayne Moultrie. Against were Crs Catherine Stewart, Rick Curach, Murray Guy, Bill Granger and Hayden Evans. It took the Mayor's casting vote to keep the project on track.

Last week, during the marathon perusal of the new ten-year capital expenditure plan, an attempt by some councillors to again debate the matter received short shrift when Mayor Crosby ruled that there were was no sense considering the ongoing status of this project as council had already decided to revisit it in February. A fair enough ruling in view of the councillors having just asked TCAL to come back with revised plans and some feedback from the community.

I noted with some interest, however, that there were no such scruples in connection with the community-backed proposal to introduce cost sharing in the operation of boat ramps. Councillors had asked City Hall to come up with a figure of what it would cost to implement such an idea.

This showed up as a $70,000 one-off cost. In no time at all the Mayor called for a straw vote, one of only three held throughout the four-day session, and out of the plan it flew.

"Gone before morning tea," deadpanned Cr Bill Faulkner to the colleague sitting next to him. The fact is it was all but impossible to say just who voted for and against as the mayor accepted the hand count with such alacrity. I noted the exuberant flourish with which the mayor swept a hand-held pen into the air to indicate unequivocally where his thoughts lay.

I also noted that while including the $70,000 cost in that particular line item, no mention was made of the potential income user charges would have produced. As one who often walks Marine Park alongside the channel used by trailer boat skippers on their way out into the harbour or through the heads, I can say with confidence that the vast majority of the boats launched via the Sulphur Point boat ramp are in the luxury class. Given the owners' obvious place in the economic scale of things, wouldn't it be reasonable to suppose they could afford to pay at least the same to use the boat ramp as families now pay to use the Mt Hot Pools?

At least one councillor has repeatedly told me that while it is free to enter the million-dollar-a-year ratepayer-funded Tauranga Art Gallery he's not about to ask boaties to pay to enter their boats into the water via ratepayer-funded boat ramps.

An obviously flawed argument. Two wrongs don't make a right.