Over the last two weeks, people going into downtown Palmerston North will have noticed that the clocktower has changed somewhat. Our iconic clocktower is undergoing an upgrade with considerable strengthening. At the end of September, the top section was cut using a hydraulic saw, using a timber edge that was attached just below the saw line to ensure it was kept straight. This photograph shows how the cut was done.

The top of the clocktower was then removed for refurbishment. The overall weight of the whole section was 35,000kg i.e the weight of about 20 cars!

The weather was kind for a few hours today and I joined two council staff members on a trip to the Turitea Reserve. All councillors have been given several opportunities to go up to the reserve by 4-wheel-drive to familiarise ourselves properly with the “lay of the land” prior to our workshops and later decision-making over the proposed change in status of the Turitea Reserve. Until my trip today, nobody had taken up the road-trip offers; however, several of us have been trying for weeks now to get an aerial view (the only way the entirety of the reserve can be seen) and, with luck, the weather will be kind enough to let us take off tomorrow.

Last week I was asked why I had not written anything about the proposed change of purpose of the Turitea Reserve and proposed amendments to the Turitea Reserve Management Plan. Well, I wrote about the submissions and hearings in my post of 15th September. I can update you now on things that are a matter of public record, but that is all I am able to do.

Palmerston North City Council issued this press release:

The Local Government Commission will decide on the sort of representation Palmerston North will have at next year’s local authority elections when it holds a one day hearing in the city next week. The commission will hear submissions, appeals and objections to the decision the City Council made earlier this year when it supported city wide voting, a community ward for Ashhurst but decided to retain the number of Councillors at 15.

In all 30 people have lodged objections to the Council’s decision and these will be heard at the Seminar Room, Te Manawa from 10-4.30pm on Thursday, September 28.

Some readers have asked if I would do a weekly round-up of my council activities. I will certainly try to do this for you (and hopefully busy weeks won’t result in me forgetting).

This week was a busy week with council. On Monday and Wednesday evenings, I attended the first two of the three days of hearings on the proposed change of purpose of the Turitea Reserve and proposed amendments to the Turitea Reserve Management Plan. Council received 530 submissions to these changes. These were distributed to councillors in three packages. I followed my usual routine of reading all submissions as they come in to me, then re-reading the lot the day before the hearings. The hearings are set in three sessions on each of the three days - starting 5pm, 7.30pm and 9pm. The final day of hearings is on Wednesday, 27th September.

When the cross on top of the clocktower was blown down by wind back in March, I missed seeing it before what remained was taken down. In conversation with a friend today, I was informed about a series of photographs that captured the removal. The photographs are well worth looking at and can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/obsethive/sets/72057594095478604/

This, from a council press release. I suspect the Standard will not publish this (I can’t recall any instance of them ever publishing a correction).

The City Council has never questioned the decision by Horizons to allow Fonterra effluent to be discharged into the Manawatu River or taken a position over it.

Water and Waste Services Manager, Chris Pepper, is concerned at a Manawatu Standard report that suggests the Council has taken a stance over Horizon’s decision to grant a resource consent to Fonterra.

From a council press release sent out today:

Owners of unregistered dogs who haven’t paid the annual licence fee for the 2006/2007 financial year will be receiving a $300 reminder in the mail in the next few days.

About 440 owners have yet to register their animals despite receiving letters and reminders over the last three months.

This month’s correspondence will include a $300 fine plus the cost of the licence fee, a late payment penalty and the likelihood that the animal’s preferred owner status will be revoked.

The City Council has estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 ratepayers could qualify for some remission of rates and, so far, just over 1,100 applications have been processed with the majority of ratepayers receiving the maximum rebate of $500.

Following the government announcement that, from July 1, 2006, it was raising the thresholds to allow more people to qualify, the Council established a dedicated team to handle inquiries. For the last month the team has been meeting ratepayers and processing applications and is encouraging ratepayers to take advantage of the service as quickly as they can.

From the PNCC press release: “SUPERMARKETS TOLD TO POLICE DISABILITY PARKS “

Palmerston North’s Mayor has written to local supermarkets asking them to be more vigilant about the misuse of mobility car parks.

Mayor Heather Tanguay was disappointed that supermarket representatives didn’t attend a forum organised this week by the Disabled Person’s Assembly to address the abuse of mobility parks by able bodied motorists.

She says the problem is growing and a recent survey has found that 50 percent of vehicles occupying mobility parks did not display mobility parking permits.