CLINT GRIMSTONE
Clint Grimstone is a proud Levin local. he attended Levin North primary school and Horowhenua College. He’s married to Louise and together they have three boys.
“I have spent my life working in the finance industry. Most Saturdays you will find me at Donnelly or Weraroa coaching the next generation of footballers and cricketers, or brainstorming initiatives for St John Levin.
“I stand for Horowhenua District Council (HDC) to advocate for Taitoko/Levin, to be a part of creating a bright future for my children, for your children and for the generations to follow.
“The Three Waters Reform will be decided by central government, not HDC. If the Three Waters Reform goes ahead as planned, then council’s role will be to ensure a smooth transition and handover of assets to the new entity, and at the same time advocate strongly to remedy current infrastructure challenges, ensure assets are fit for future growth, and continue to have a voice and demonstrate strong leadership as shareholders.
“Three Waters is a large part of council’s core function, and a high percentage of rates income is allocated to this activity. If the responsibility is no longer with council, it will open up further discussion about what role council plays in the community, eg, community wellbeing.
“The Levin landfill is a complex challenge. Until I am fully informed on this issue I’m not in a position to have a clear stance on the matter. Once briefed, I will have the community at the forefront of any preferences.
“In order to better understand the challenges, I’d be requiring answers to the following questions:
■ What is financial impact of this decision on ratepayers?
■ Is there evidence that there are alternative solutions have been fully explored?
■ What are the proven environmental concerns?
■ How can we address the moderate non-compliant issues identified?
“I fully support recycling to reduce and avoid waste where we can. I believe there needs to be a focus on community engagement and education, particularly on what we can and can’t recycle to reduce contamination, but also on waste minimisation so that we can reduce, reuse, and recycle. I’d like there to be further exploration of obstacles that get in the way of recycling to make it as easier and safer for our community, but also lift the percentage of households actively recycling.
“The council adopted its Housing Action Plan in 2019, which included future direction on affordable housing.
“I’d like to see increased monitoring of progress on this plan, including reporting on the range of actions that would help improve our housing affordability. I’d like to see council continue with relevant amendments to the District Plan, partnering with central government, and community housing providers and to enable a different mix of housing to be delivered.
“I believe more can be done to support iwi to develop papakainga on their whenua and would be pushing for support from Te Puni Kokiri in this space. Affordable housing is not only about the house itself, but also the economic environment.
“Council’s role will be to advocate to all health agencies to improve the provision of services and to continue to focus our collaboration with existing health care providers. Council could work on a strategy that helps attract and retain more GPs to work in the Horowhenua.
“We need better regional connections. This can be done by continuing to work closely with Horizons to advocate for better regional connections, specifically to Levin, including extending the rail offerings into the capital.
“I support continued work on developing multi model transport that bests support Horowhenua including continued rollout of the Shared Pathway Strategy.
“I 100 per cent support the O¯ 2NL Expressway Plans. However, council needs to continue to be the voice of the community and advocate for road safety, linkages between our communities and a revocation plan that will serve our communities practically, but also enhance the look and feel of our towns.”