They came, they sat, presented – and in some cases sang.
Groups as diverse as the Taupō Tokelau Trust, sports clubs, Māori land incorporations, accommodation providers, arts groups and land developers presented submissions as part of the Taupō District Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP) hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday .
Some asked for little – the Tokelau community gave thanks for assistance in securing government funding to fix a hall, finishing with a song, and looked to future help with a site for their own marae – but others were more challenging.
Paul Henson, who called for the council to engage more with ratepayer groups on weighty issues, received pushback from councillors suggesting dialogue was a two-way process.
Kevin Taylor, who had attended a meeting organised by Henson and traffic engineer Duncan Campbell to discuss changes to the central business district under the Taupō Town Centre Transformation (TTCT), said “to characterise my korero as defensive, means I am damned if I do, damned if I don’t.”
The pair have been questioning the rationale in treating a number of intersections in the TTCT plans with traffic lights rather than roundabouts – which they say were signalled in earlier council plans.
A council spokesperson has said designs are yet to be finalised though confirmed there are “initial designs for lights along Spa Rd.”
Detailed design had also “confirmed one set of lights on Titiraupenga St/Heu Heu St and a pedestrianised crossing for Taupō Primary School,” she said.
Taylor said he was “trying to find something in your submission to go forward with rather than what I would characterise as a litany of disasters from the past.”
Henson had also criticised the council for demolishing its administrative building on Lake Terrace, consenting to a six-storey hotel, and suggesting the new council offices could be on the Tongariro Domain, which would require changing its reserve status.
A number of Māori land trusts, presenting with the Tūwharetoa Maori Trust Board, challenged the council to do more in encouraging the use of te reo Māori, ensuring access to potable water for small communities and becoming a zero waste district.
They also brought up the need to discuss papakāinga housing and where Māori land close to the town could be rezoned.
The cost of developer contributions for companies creating subdivisions was an issue concerning Phil Reilly of Seven Oaks Kinloch Limited.
While Reilly said his company was prepared to pay its dues, he felt the draft Developer Contributions policy sought to significantly increase the amount for new residential lots in Kinloch without providing sufficient explanation or justification.
By lumping consultation on it in with the LTP, the council had not met its legislative obligations, he said, calling for it to be re-notified and consultation extended.
Council controlled organisations, Destination Great Lake Taupō and recently renamed Amplify (Enterprise Great Lake Taupō) both called for increases in funding.
DGLT deputy chairman Torben Landl and board member Nicola Harvey stressed the need for an extra $230,000 in 12 months’ time for the organisation, so promotions could ensure the district capitalised on trans-Tasman visitors.
Murray McCaw, board chairman of Amplify, felt council needed to ensure tertiary education providers, such as Toi Ohomai, stayed in the district and signalled a major business announcement might be imminent for the town.
The geothermal and primary sectors were two areas of critical advantage for the district and leveraging these assets was quite critical, McCaw said.
“There is an opportunity to bring a very large business to town, and we will know that by the end of May.”
The potential of 140 positions coming to the area was “a direct result of us putting in place the geothermal cluster... It links very nicely into horticulture, dairy and forestry.”
He said he was appreciative of council funding of $500,000 but felt to retain expertise and contribute to the council’s aim of a ‘vibrant and prosperous district’, this needed to be increased to $635,000 – about 13 per cent of the LTP money budgeted overall for economic development activities – which Amplify would leverage into a million-dollar business.
Other issues raised by submitters were the potential need for a school to cater for growth in Kinloch, that the council needed to do more to meet its obligations on climate change by setting reduction targets and dedicating staff to it, the need for regulation of the short term residential accommodation market and the council’s commitment to funding the creative arts and the future development of the Taupō Museum and Art Gallery.
The consultation on the draft LTP 2021-31, draft Fees and Charges 2021-24, Development Contributions and Rates Remission and Postponement Policies attracted 470 submissions, with about 60 submitters making presentations.
The council will deliberate on the submissions on May 12 and 13 with May 17 set aside for joint hearings with the Waikato Regional Council on the future of the Lake Taupō Protection Project.
Credit: Stuff.co.nz
