Waiouru Community Council News

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 1, Issue 26, 29 November 1983, Page 7

Waiouru Community Council News

This month's meeting of . the Waiouru Community Advisory Council was chaired by Ivan Carswell in the absence of Bruce Meldrum who had another prior commitment. The meeting was attended by 15 members of the council and 4 members of the public. The meeting welcomed and congratulated the newly elected member for the Ruanui Riding of the Rangitikei County, Mr Ashley Strachan. The following minutes of the previous month's meeting were ratified: • Repaint / Refurbishment of Community Centre to be prcgrammed for 1984/85, with a budget figure of $50/60,000. • Rubbish Bins for Shopping Area — a bin with a swing top is likely to be purchased. • HELWAN Camp Access — road improvement with the possible addition of an d^ra lane to allow through ^Riffic to by-pass turning traffic is under discussion and will need to be referred tb N.R.B. for final agreement. • Main Road Rubbish Collection — discussions have taken place between County Council and contractor. Decision expected shortly. The estimated cost for rubbish collection west of SH1 is $50-$60 per year per household. Present rates

for these properties, without rubbish collection is about $80 per year for water, sewerage and roading. • Playground Committee — it is understood that the committee no longer exists as such, although some former members may be interested to rCcommence meetings. The following items under 'genera'l business' were also endorsed. • Toy Library. A prepared statement from Mrs Hansen outlining the proposal and aims of a Toy Library was studied. The committee unanimously agreed that it was a worth-while venture and will support Mrs Hansen's proposal. • Double- Burning Slow Combustion Heaters. The Chairman advised that a sum of money had been allocated which would enable approximately 40 Combustion Heaters to be installed. • Waiouru Child Care Centre. George MacLachlan explained the financial state of the Centre and gave a brief run down of expenditure and improvements since opening 2 years ago. He said at this month's meeting that the position of the Child Care Centre finances and the operations of the Centre itself have never been in better health with increasing assets. • Waiouru Kindergarten. Alan Peck had advised that a joint Kindergarten Association would be formed within the district which will be supported by the Wanganui Education Board. However at this month's meeting he reported that the whole plan had fallen through after 3 hours of negotiation and the proposal is now in abeyance. • Retail Prices. The questioner who queried prices being charged in Waiouru was advised to contact the shop concerned. Concern was expressed at the meeting that some

trading organisations are not giving the 'captive consumers' in Waiouru a fair go' and were taking advantage of their almost unique monopoly situation. • Home Business'es. Folowing a question from the floor at last month's meeting regarding Direct Saies Agents not being able to advertise in the 'Empty Page', a general discussion took place. The 'Krafty Kiwi' concept was explained and advised that it would be against the spirit of the purpose of the 'Krafty Kiwi' for Direct Saies Agents to have stalls there. At this month's meeting the reason for the restriction on door-to-door saies in the residential area was explained — an archaic ruling to stop wives on small army allowances from overspending. However some members of the committee felt that by denying door-to-door saies and restricting direct saies, the ruling was perhaps protecting people from products they may actually want. • Roller Skating Rink. At this month's meeting the question of the Roller Skating Rink was again raised. At the previous meeting it was explained that a sum of money had been allocated for concreting an area which had been selected a few years ago but this had to be changed when it was found this area was included in future ATG developments. Some committee members were asked to investigate and evaluate alternatives and report back at this month's meeting. They reported that there were a number of alternative sites. It was pointed out that a roller skating rink would cater for a very wide age group from 3-year-olds up to adults. The" possibility of having an indoor rink using particle board was mentioned as an alternative to an outdoor concrete rink. Costs would determine decision. It was noted that the Raetihi roller skating rink cost $20,000 for materials and professional labour with about another $10,000 of voluntary labour being contributed.