With the local body elections looming and a number of people throwing their hats in the ring for Council, it is an opportune time to let everyone know a little more about the role of the community board member.
Like Councillors we are elected members and in the Martinborough ward we have four members and then we have 2 Councillors who are appointed by Council to be on our Board.
It is often said that we are the eyes and ears of Council – and to that regard this has an element of truth. We are the advocates to Council for all the people in our Ward. The best way we can do this is to hear your views and suggestions/ideas and we can then advocate on your behalf.
At the beginning of each Trimester (our 3 year elected term) we meet and put a plan in place for the 3 years and then we review this annually or more often as required. This plan is based around the following criteria:-
Our vision for Martinborough and District
Our vision for Martinborough Community Board
Priority Areas
Our young people
Pedestrian and cycle friendly district
Community assets
Supporting the Martinborough ward’s rural and coastal communities
We also set a budget from the funds allocated to us from Council. From these funds we set aside monies for grants, items we have identified in the 3 year plan, expenses and our salaries (which are set by the Local Government Renumeration Board and are approximately $2,500 pa gross).
One of the highlights of the year has been being able to support local groups such as the Tora Fire Party in purchasing a defibrillator, Pirinoa Netball in resurfacing the netball courts, Martinborough Community Patrol to purchase a vehicle to name a few.
At Council Annual Plan time, we make submissions to ensure that future planning is in place with regard to things like Cycleways, Footpaths, Town Hall, parks and reserves to name just a few. During the year we also submit recommendations to Council on documents they put out for public consultations the one that springs to mind is “Looking to the Future” We advocated strongly with regard to the development of a Cycle Strategy to improve pedestrian and cycle access across the district. Included in this we recommended that council look to reduce some of the 100km speeds zones to 70km and some 70km areas to 50km and around the school zone this move to a 40km speed limit.
One of the big issues over the last 3 years has been amalgamation – there was a lot of work put into the proposal that was submitted to local government by a large number of people across the district. This is still an ongoing issue and will need further work, contributions and public consultation. It is very important that we get this right as it will affect not only us, but our children and grandchildren going forward.
If you feel passionate about Martinborough ward, both rural and urban, then I would strongly recommend standing for the Martinborough Community Board so that you can have your say and be part of a team that has everyone’s best interests at heart. Both for our local area and the wider community.
Pam Colenso.
