Cr Bill Faulkner Faulkners Corner www.sunlive.co.nz

There is still discontent amongst some elected members over the proposed selection of tsunami warning sirens.

On one hand, it's often not a good idea acting on a layman's perception from a sometimes oxygen deprived atmosphere in the Council Chamber. On the other hand, a dose of reality from laymen with feet planted firmly on the ground can introduce practical pragmatic solutions. Process such as council is going through over tsunami sirens can be self-defeating along the lines of – well, we followed due process and therefore this must be the correct outcome. In my view the outcome is all important and process is a distant second. After all, the process is written by someone and errors and omissions do occur. I'm not saying that's happened here but it could be that there are more cost-effective solutions. The reason I'm raising this issue again is twofold. First, there is every likelihood ratepayers won't have to pay for this. Council's involvement is hopefully only to ensure continuity up and down the coast. But, more importantly, the actual function of tsunami warnings.

Last weekend the traffic shambles that occurred at the Wairoa River Bridge with the closure of SH29 over the Kaimais at Ruahihi gives an indication of what might happen in the event of a mass evacuation at short notice from the low lying Tauranga environs. All the traffic management plans in the world and tsunami warning sirens won't overcome the fact that there are very few routes to sufficiently high ground to cope with our population in the event of a moderate tsunami. A tsunami about five metres high went 10km inland in the 1500s, apparently.

A related issue is the Maunganui/Girven Road intersection. NZTA is budgeting $60 million over three years to fix this number one traffic problem. It's intertwined with Te Maunga, in that you need to address both intersections because fixing one just shifts the problem. So evacuating the coastal strip would be a major logistical event requiring many hours of lead time, which might indicate that a tsunami event close enough to warrant immediate warning by sirens would be over almost before it started.

Other items at full council included council agreeing in principle the use of council land at Cliff Road for a (non ratepayer funded) museum. An amendment was moved 'or other site options” and passed and $100,000 has also been confirmed for resource consent costs contribution. A facilitated workshop between the Museum Trust, Elms Foundation (Mission House) and tangata whenua 'to identify commonalities” is to happen shortly. Plus council satisfaction with the business case and funding plan. We don't want this proposal to fail part-way through and then have ratepayers pick it up. This would/could be a back door funding mechanism and variations have happened before – sometimes unintentionally. A potential funding source identified by the Museum Trust is the Bay of Plenty Regional Council Infrastructure Fund. Good luck with that one!

The Tauranga Community Housing Trust has completed its purchase of the Clarke Street pensioner flats from council. Purchase price is $850,000. This is a community initiative to make better use of housing amenities and is self-supporting. If successful, this model could be a way forward for all council pensioner flats. Council is only involved by an accident of history when Central Government tried to devolve its responsibilities to councils in these and other matters by offering cheap loans. Once locked in, Government soon hiked up interest rates so that ratepayers were then compelled to subsidise pensioner housing. Most unfair when you consider many homeowners are struggling to pay their own high interest mortgages to house themselves. We got this back on an even keel eventually and rents now make this activity self-supporting but it is an activity better suited to the likes of the Community Housing Trust.

Council accepted a Relationship Agreement with the Tauranga Environment Centre Charitable Trust. The stated purpose is to describe the way TCC and TEC will work together to provide environmental services to the communities of our city. TEC chairperson, ex-councillor Mary Dillon, presented the draft agreement. One clause in it reads interalia 'TCC will do its best to understand and respond to the constrained resources of TEC…” Catherine Stewart successfully moved a contra clause stating that TEC would do the same for TCC.

In another part it outlines 'In relation to the environment TCC plays multiple roles including that of Funder.” No thanks, and I moved an amendment stating no ratepayer funding for administration or operations. This set Larry Baldock off and he said it was a waste of time and the only purpose I had in moving this amendment was 'to generate a headline for my next column” amongst other incorrect assumptions. I've heard soothing assurances before when questions are answered verbally and learned the hard way that all that counts is what is written down. In the end the amendment succeeded 7-3 with Larry, Terry Molly, Mayor Stuart Crosby opposing and Tony Christiansen absent. Terry Molloy will be council's representative for the TEC. Council does contract some service work to TEC and that will continue. With council's stated intention of cutting costs, it's important not to set future councils/ratepayers up for ongoing expenditure with this sort of organisation. TEC are already getting funding from the regional council.

Four section lots for marine-related commercial purposes were approved adjacent to the recently approved boat park on Keith Allen Drive, Sulphur Point. This may go some way to relocate small business dislocated from the private complex across the road when their leases were not renewed some years ago.

This week's mindbender from General George Patton – 'Take calculated risks. This is quite different from being rash.”