Councillor comments

ANZAC Day will have been commemorated by the time this goes to print but it is so important to “remember them” as we do and we now have grandchildren who are appreciating what the Old Soldiers did for the country and want to know more of the history of the battles and love looking through the old black and white photo albums.  They will never be forgotten and the war medals and memorabilia all the more precious to the families. 

The draft Annual Plan is out now and Council will be taking it to the people in our annual roadshow so it will be coming to a Town Hall near you on Monday 6 May Martinborough, Tuesday 13 May Featherston and Wednesday 14 May Greytown.  We have a good power point presentation with questions and answers time. The indicated rates increase will be 3.87% against a predicted forecast of 4.7%.

Council will be responsible for administering the Sale & Supply of Alcohol from 18 December 2013 and to this end we are developing a Wairarapa Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) with a project team consisting of Deputy Mayor Viv Napier and myself and Officers from Planning and Environmental Health and the Resource Management Team.  We are working in conjunction with the Masterton District Council Team and have had 3 Webinars with fortnightly meetings.

The project team will be responsible for ensuring that Council is ready for the implementation of the Act and $40,000 has been allocated in the Draft Annual Plan.  There will be a consultation process with key stakeholders and the community.
 
Finally the Library is ready for business in its new location – a huge thank you to Shirley and  the staff who have struggled with the temporary container and have been packing and shifting for ages as well as maintaining “business as usual”.  Now is the time to go in for a look at the new set-up and take some of those books off their new shelves.

Local Governance and the ongoing work regarding do we go with a Wellington Super City or a Wairarapa Unitary Authority has involved us all but there is a small focus group who are taking the lead in this which includes Cr Max so he will keep you up to date on that.

I went on a recent visit with 20 Councillors to the Central Hawkes Bay to view the Ruataniwha site where they are going to put their lake in for the Irrigation Scheme which will provide water for 30,000 ha of currently dry land.
 
It is very inspirational to see what progrress the team has made and how this will ultimately increase the production of primary industry products in the Bay.  To date the uptake from farmers signing up is 1/3 dairy, 1/3 sheep and beef and 1/3 cropping so a good mix.  This Lake is going to become a recreational venue so benefits all round.   

I am a strong supporter of the Wairarapa Irrigation Project. 
 
Julie Riddell