At our last council meeting of the year we debated The Square redevelopment yet again. It seems that this is an issue which will dominate this term of council. The Mayor stated that it is “an unnecessary luxury which the city cannot afford”. This was certainly my feeling when I first stood for council. However, the proposals put forward last night ignored the fact that the Stage 2 works had been previously approved, relitigated, and approved again numerous times. Also ignored was the fact that the current rates include the Stage 2 works. The recommendation to not proceed with the proposed kowhai grove and lime chip paths was unnecessary as the designers, landscapers, stakeholders (including the Police) and safety experts had already agreed that pohutukawa and grass was more suitable in this location. The type of pohutukawa under investigation is one of the new hybrids, a cross between pohutukawa and rata, which lends itself to limbing up.

A few months back, then-Mayor Mark Bell-Booth suggested that we consider adding an extra event or two to the weekend of the Christmas Parade to celebrate the end of the first stage of the City Heart project. This got majority support in council however I was concerned that any “weekend of celebrations” had to be easily accessible to all Palmerston North residents - including those for whom transport is a problem. I put forward the recommendation that council arrange for free bus services to and from The Square on Saturday, 20th November.
Sadly, somewhere along the line in discussions with Horizons (who operate the bus services) this proved to be too difficult to manage.
I hope everyone who wants to come will be able to. I couldn’t get a free bus service but council has made provisions for parking which will assist rest home residents.

In July 2004 a small group of councillors put forward a resolution to stop the City Heart project. This was defeated by a majority of council. However, this is election time and misinformation is spreading around the city. I was asked to explain what happened and as the explanation may be of interest to more than just the person who asked me, I have decided to post it here.

Councillor Kelly had been complaining that debate on City Heart was being stifled. City Heart had been on the agenda of the July City Council meeting with the Chair of the City Heart Steering Group scheduled to give an oral report on progress. However, when the Chairperson, Marilyn Craig, did not attend the item was dropped. I was approached by Cr. Claridge and asked if I would support a resolution which would allow debate on the issue to take place. The resolution required the signatures of six councillors to enable an extraordinary meeting to take place. Cr Kelly had support from Cr’s Claridge, Tanguary, Findlay and Brown.

I am a firm believer in democracy and I also felt that there needed to be an opportunity for debate on the City Heart project, so I was happy to sign a resolution which would enable this debate to take place.