At a council workshop last week, elected members had a discussion about the Historic Village.
Apart from a $1 million ratepayer capital injection for upgrading infrastructure (over 10 years) the Village is no longer costing ratepayers for operational expenditure.

But it's also languishing, in my opinion, with no apparent purpose. Tourist buses turn up and visitors just wander around. It's a sometime venue for events – like this weekend's Jazz Festival – but again on an ad hoc basis. Last Easter, 17,000 people turned up and had a great time. There was no charge for admission and overhead costs like cleaning, power etc had to be met from Village income which stems from rental income. Many tenants are not retailers and there is no benefit to them from events.
On the one hand, while it's true that costs are being met from income, it's also true that the Village is not meeting some people's expectations, nor its potential for income generation. Ratepayers have tipped in millions of dollars (in today's dollar terms) over the years and we certainly don't want to go down that road again. The old buildings are getting older and some probably only remain standing by the borer and termites holding hands so there is a real medium to long term problem there. The old Wickham School site is vacant and there is potential for income generation there. It won't be for a museum site according to the independent museum committee recommendation.

Finding a way forward
After a wide ranging discussion, elected members decided to invite interested parties to a further meeting on a way forward. This will include an interesting proposal from the Tauranga Charitable Trust which has a long association there.
They have offered to take up a management contract with one of many objects of livening up the Village. With council retaining ownership. An independent management trust, like this, removed from council has many attractive benefits. They have access to charitable funding that council does not. A return to an extensive volunteer group provides first hand community buy in. Witness Classic Flyers' successful operation, including the recent airshow.
One of my first tasks when I was elected to council in the early ‘80s was to negotiate peace between the administration down at the Village and city hall. Basically Noel Nicholls, the original Village visionary, had run foul of then city manager Mervyn Montacute. An armed neutrality was arrived at, with the help from former Mayor Bob Owens and others, but the real problem was, and always has been, chronic funding problems after the government pulled the pin once again on funding coupled with large maintenance because of the nature of the Village. Old buildings sited on low-lying, flood-prone, soggy land. With a flood bund being started soon as part of the $1 million upgrade, it may be time to involve the private sector and volunteers again – with lessons learned from the past as part of the deal.

Passing the buck
At strategy and policy elected members 'received” a seemingly innocuous report on National Growth and Housing Initiatives. In my view it's a veiled warning from central government of more bad news for ratepayers as central government tries to unload more unpopular and expensive issues onto local government. According to the report there are four issues of significance:
1. Spatial Planning – 'Provides a clear long term strategic direction for the growth and development of a region.” Whatever that means! (We've had Smartgrowth chewing up ratepayer money for 10 years).
2. Urban Design Advisory Panel (to recommend change to RMA). Oh joy – this has the potential to tell you what kind of front door knob and other individual choice removal.
3. Infrastructure Advisory Panel – a suitably weasel-worded, vague outline of recommendations to the minister for infrastructure requirements to local
government. You can bet your bottom dollar it will include legislation with no accompanying cheque to assist with implementation. There are some things
that ratepayers just can't afford in my view. And the best for last.
4. Housing Advisory Group – addresses issues associated with the provision of social housing by central government. 'Understanding the current and likely future demand for subsidised housing in NZ.” I can help here. It will be never-ending and bottomless!

Cuttin' the grass
The discussion from Rick Curach's notice of motion attempting to produce savings from the budget turned into a fizzer, it was always going to be. Open Spaces cost ratepayers $17 million, but as we went through the detail, no-one including Rick was keen to alter the levels of service. For example, reducing frequency of mowing or letting grass grow longer produced its own problems. Staff did well in explaining the reality. Mayor Stuart Crosby said that the level of service was pitched about right. I think that's the feeling in the community too. Staff attempted to invoke a 'Public Art” policy. This is where there are sculptures, statues and other artistic items on public land. There is no problem now and some of us were concerned that a public art policy could produce demands for public art at ratepayers' expense. It got kicked for touch.

Keep the flow going
Waste Management and Minimisation Plan issues and options were discussed in short order. It's working, so leave it alone seemed to be the thrust from elected members. Councils have a requirement to ensure waste is dealt with responsibly, but it doesn't have to actually handle it. We (ratepayers/council) will retain ownership of the transfer stations and the Mathers Road Landfill site. No inorganic waste collection (cost $200-$300,000), but will continue to facilitate the resource recovery centre at Te Maunga transfer station. Household hazardous waste collection will continue at a budgeted cost of $20,000 and probably the biggest investment for waste into the future is the Schools Education Programme, which is a Year 3 to 7 student project in 28 schools – cost $70,000. Over and above your own individual waste disposal service ratepayers pay about $1.7 million towards waste disposal (transfer stations, education, Mathers Road etc).