March is nearly over, with some vineyards already harvesting and others about to start. The mornings are feeling cooler, letting us know that autumn is here and winter around the corner.
March has been busy for both councillors and staff with the consultations on both the Long Term Plan and Water Services reform occurring. I hope you attended one of the many drop-in sessions that have occurred around the district where we have been able to discuss the two consultations with ratepayers and residents and that you have then provided submissions for councillors to consider.
You may remember back in 2023, one of the first consultations that Council ran was the Speed Management Plan, resulting in councillors deciding, based on community feedback, which roads should have speed limits reduced around the district. The draft plan was submitted to NZTA and accepted. However, the new Government quickly changed the legislation stating that those Plans were no longer valid and requiring councils to redo them and run a further six-week consultation.
Our response: councillors have directed the CEO write to the Minister of Transport, requesting the 2023 Speed Management Plan be enacted. Letters from residents have already been sent to Council and the Martinborough Community Board supporting this approach.
At the recent MCB meeting, CEO Janice Smith suggested that members of the Martinborough community could also provide emails of support to implement the Speed Management Plan and she asked that they be sent to her by the 17th April. Her email address is janice.smith@swdc.govt.nz
As you will see in another article, MCB members have initiated an online petition calling for the Speed Management Plan to be implemented and I would encourage as many folks as possible to do this. Hopefully people power here in Martinborough will have the desired effect!
With the next local body election occurring in October, there have already been people announcing that they will be standing for various roles both within local Council and the regional Council, as well as talk within the community about who should stand and who shouldn’t.
I would like to encourage people who are passionate about their community, who while they may already have strong ideas and opinions about how Council should be run, need to be open to listening/learning, accepting new ideas and ways of doing things. Council is unlike any other business or organisation. There are opportunities to affect change – but to do that people need to build relationships, learn and obtain both the trust and respect of others for change to occur.
I have found that this approach works in the many other roles I have had, as well as more recently as a Community Board member and now councillor. Talking about Community Board, I would highly recommend anyone wanting to get involved in Council, to stand for the Martinborough Community Board and complete a term as I did before standing for Council. I found that a term on MCB was a great apprenticeship for Council.
Finally if you do want to stand either for the Community Board or Council, there is a lot of work involved, not just attending meetings, but reading agendas, emails/phone calls, attending community events etc.
So if you are passionate about your community, open to learning and accepting new ideas, prepared to build new relationships and have the time to put into both local government and your community, put your hand up in July when nominations open. If you wish to contact me to discuss any issues, email me: aidan.ellims@swdc.govt.nz
