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

There was a very interesting coming together between members of our community and some elected members on the waterfront at Pilot Bay last week.

Council proposed to build a walkway along Pilot Bay last year.
The final resolution to proceed (it was a project in progress) was carried 10-one with only Catherine Stewart against. Port of Tauranga contributed $200,000 of the estimated budget of $495,000. Once again there has been misinformation and horror stories conjured up as some people imagine all sorts of things that aren't going to be. The walkway, not yet fully decided in fine details, would ‘meander' along Pilot Bay varying in width from 2-3 metres wide. The artist's impression on public display shows ample room for picnic areas, plenty of grassed area and pretty much business (or more properly recreation) as usual.

At the gathering there was a wide range of views from high emotion against to great enthusiasm in support of. People I spoke to were in favour about 75 per cent for the project. A ‘have your say' indicator poll reflected this with about two thirds in favour. And of the one third recording dissatisfaction some were only commenting on specifics. For instance, too many pedestrian crossings along The Mall.

I floated the idea of removing the waka ama gear storage shed near the public toilets and replacing it with storage facilities along the front of the toilets. The waka ama representative was receptive to this idea as were others. The shed adds little to the Pilot Bay environment. Pilot Bay is big enough for all waterfront users with careful planning but it's not standing up well to the sheer volume of people wanting to use the grass verge. Something has to be done to make it usable on an on-going basis for large numbers of people and it is certainly no longer an 'open space” as some seem to think it should be.
There was similar controversy when the walkways were built along the oceanside but they were necessary and timely. So it will be with this walkway. Apparently a ‘protest' meeting on Sunday promising 400 or more drew about 30 people, some of my colleagues reported. One thing is agreed by most and that is Pilot Bay's grass verge can't be left as it is at present.

A workshop on Central Government's proposed reforms of Resource Management Act told elected members that the RMA will be altered significantly in short time. Whether it will be for the better remains to be seen. The Government officials doing the presentation were just doing their masters bidding and telling us how it will be. Some salient points were that courts would now have to have it proved that Council decisions were wrong, rather than reiterating the case and Maori perspective and input would be increased. There would have to be a one stop shop where all the region's plans could be accessed at one time – rather than going from council to council as at present.

Hopefully this will ‘encourage' plans to be similar.
At Full Council we had a 330 page agenda consisting principally of administrative matters. The boring bits to you out there in ratepayer land but which can have great impact if they affect you individually. More parking restrictions around the city – delegated authority to our new CEO Garry Poole (due to start April 15). Our shared services company BOPLASS negotiated a 4.5 per cent discount for all member councils with NZ Post. The Bay of Plenty Canoe Club received approval, in principle, for use of part of Parau Farms, the future sports area for Bethlehem, which is on the left hand side of the State Highway running down to the Wairoa River.
There is a chance this may become a national training area for high performance water sports athletes.

Council appointed new directors for the new Council Controlled Organisation that will run ASB Baypark Stadium and the aquatics operations: Peter Farmer will be chairman, Shirley Baker (present chair of TCAL), Graeme Elvin (present chair of TCVL), Murray Gutry (from Perry Foundation), John Laughlin (past chair of Zespri) and Keith Tempest (past CEO of Trustpower).

There is some good horsepower here and expectations are high that these appointments will iron out problems from the past, minimise ratepayer exposure to risk, remove political influence from sound business practice and minimise and reduce ratepayer contribution – at least for operational subsidy.

Peter Farmer will be paid $55,000 as chair and the other directors $30,000 each – per year.
Michael Smith is appointed chair of the Holding Company. Michael is currently chair of Quayside, the company that holds the Regional Council shares in Port of Tauranga. The holding company is comprised Michael, Mayor Stuart Crosby and deputy chief executive Christine Jones. Michael will receive $25,000 per year as chair.
My item last week on Rena received welcome attention from the salvors and insurers.

They protest my information that 300 tonnes of oil remain on Rena is incorrect, according to a message relayed to me via the Sun Live newsroom. They say there is 'only” two tonnes left on board. Maritime NZ figures apparently show there were 1712 tonnes on Rena when she hit Astrolabe Reef. Of this 1300 tonnes were removed, 350 tonnes floated away – some onto our beaches – and that leaves 72 tonnes by my reckoning. You can see the point in keeping this in the public domain so that facts remain facts and don't get clouded with opinion and confusion nor lost in the mists of time.
An unfortunate item in the Bay Times headlined 'Secret payout to widow” featuring a photo of our past CEO, the late Ken Paterson.

In my view publishing this is grossly unfair. As Mayor Stuart Crosby is quoted as saying 'The man is not here to defend himself”. Whoever leaked this to the Bay Times is reprehensible and totally irresponsible – probably for some perceived self- aggrandisement and/or gain.

It is obvious the CEO position is a high pressure position and occupation. Mr Paterson's death came as a real shock to elected members and it was equally surprising to learn after the event that he had undergone heart surgery before taking up his earlier job as Northland Regional Council chief executive. The 'secret” payment was a 'without prejudice” payment for some outstanding negotiated considerations – not a golden handshake – and was not a unanimous decision. The sum was not significant in terms of Council finances.

This week's mindbender from John Watson. 'Be kind. Remember everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”