Matt Cowley Tauranga City Councillor

Parking was the hot topic during Council's meeting on Wednesday, which went longer than anyone expected.

The first issue was our submission on the resource consent to keep the Rena wreck parked on Astrolabe Reef.

We've directed staff to draft a neutral submission noting areas that we're concerned about. The owners have provided their own impact assessments, but it's only the tip of the iceberg.

The government is commissioning peer-reviews of the information supplied by the owners and other submitters will provide more information.

A neutral submission will give Council the choice to throw our weight behind any good information to ensure we get the best outcome for the city.

The second issue was about a free parking trial in the CBD. By free, I mean the ratepayer subsidises up to $400,000 of lost revenue.

It was a contentious debate and please note I can only write from my perspective.

Council deferred the decision until we have more information. The information provided was just on the trial and was unclear on on-going implications.

It is disingenuous to hold a trial without considering whether it can be sustained into the future. In other words, how will the $25 million for future parking buildings be funded if 'free' parking continues?

The new council has proven we're not afraid to make decisions when we have good information. If we think free carparking is the answer we should give the trial a fair chance.

I personally doubt it's the right move for our CBD, for many reasons.

The other big decision was to fund up to $95,000 to do feasibility and design of the Mount cosmopolitian club to become a high performance training facility based next to Blake Park.

We'll find out whether the building can handle it and whether people will use it. Council will make a decision whether to proceed in December 2014.

Feel free to email me your thoughts (matt.cowley@tauranga.govt.nz), call/text me on 027 6989 548, and follow me at www.facebook.com/a.younger.voice.