Broken works promises embarrass board

Ruapehu Bulletin, 11 July 1995, Page 9

Broken works promises embarrass board

Public promises to complete road works in the Waimarino in summer havebeen broken, leaving councillors and community board members embarrassed, according to Waimarino Community Board member John Compton. He told the Waimarino Community Board at their meeting last Thursday that council management had promised that items on the Waimarino Ward Roading Improvements list would be done in summer. He said he had been given conflicting reasons for why they had not been done: that flood damage repairs had delayed the work; and that mistakes in letting the contracts had been made. "Now it seems there was a balls-up in the contractor requirements." "We told people last June the work would be done and the management have let us down," he said. He said people should be able to expect that if

promises were made to do work, then the work would be done. Mr Compton' s statements were in contradiction to the report presented to the board which stated that completion was held up "while investigations were undertaken with resource consents and sites for excess material dump sites". "We' ve got to do better than this," he said. "We want results, not reasons (for delays)." , "It' s not Ruapehu Construction Limited' s fault," said Winston Oliver, "they've done a marvellous job doing as little as possible so as to make a profit." The board called for a report from council officers on the current works programme showing expected project start and finishing dates. "The public has got an expectation (that work promised would be done). If it's not fulfilled, why bother having a council?" he stated.

Board says no to Seddon Street seats being reinstated Reinstalling bench seats in Seddon Street, Raetihi, was given the thumbs-down by the Waimarino Community Board at their meeting on Thursday night last week. The seats were removed at the request of local shop keepers after a period of intimidation of shoppers, especially older people, by youths. The seats are now a permanent fixture at the Raetihi Memorial Swimming Baths. The Te Iwi Waiata Incorporated Society made the request. The society said they were setting up a youth

resource centre in Seddon Street and with the influx of

people, they would request that the seats be reinstated. They said they understood the reasons why the seating was abolished and that they were introducing programmes beneficial to the needs of with "ways of combating the insecurities faced by the majority of youth in our town". Area engineer Don Sattler told the board by way of his report that if the seats were to be reinstated they would have to address the question of where the funding was to come from, Upon hearing that most shopkeepers did not want the seats reinstalled, the board chose not to support the request.