City to seize its moment, says Smith

Palmerston North’s top Rotarian has described mayor Grant Smith’s ambitions for the city as encouraging, and has urged others to tell the council what they think now rather than complain later.

Smith gave his State of the City address to business leaders on Monday, outlining the council’s big-city ambitions, and the spending plans behind the proposed 6.4 per cent rates rise for next year.

Club president Bruce Wilson said Smith had clearly established himself as a popular mayor, and his plans had given him optimism about the city’s future.

Smith said he was talking to an audience of people who had already invested heavily in the community and in businesses.

And he said the time was right for the council to invest in taking the city forward.

‘‘The decisions we make now have consequences for the next 10 to 20 years, or even three decades.’’

Government and businesses were pouring more than $1 billion into the regional economy over the next three to six years, and the city was enjoying a burst of momentum.

The basics of housing affordability, job and income growth were all looking positive.

But Palmerston North could not afford to be complacent, as other regional cities were competing for their slice of the action.

The city needed to imagine what would happen if other cities made investments that Palmerston North did not.

It was better to front-foot preparations for population growth than try to retro-fit essential services later.

‘‘We must seize the momentum, and take responsibility for enabling not just growth, but prosperity, and liveability for all of our residents.’’

Smith said the 6.4 per cent rates increase, about $2.80 a week for the average residential ratepayer, was vital.

‘‘Councillors and mayors do not like putting up rates. It’s career limiting. But we can’t afford not to. We need to be taking charge of our own destiny.’’

Smith said there were projects the council simply had to invest in during the next decade, including the estimated $128 million makeover of its wastewater treatment.

Roading was a big part of the equation, with $10m in the proposed plan for strategic roading and $9m for cycling and walking.

But events and improving the look and feel of the central city and upgrading reserves were just as important to attracting skilled people to the city.

That meant the city had to invest in art, sport and recreation, as well as roads, stormwater, fresh water and wastewater.

It was why the council proposed spending $30m on the central city streetscape improvements, supporting Te Manawa’s redevelopment and the City Library makeover.

‘‘It’s absolutely vital we have a vibrant CBD, and we have a real opportunity to grow our downtown business precinct.’’

The spending plan would see the council’s debt triple in the next decade, when it would be a city with close to 100,000 people, with $2.3b in assets.

‘‘We also have to consider the opportunity cost of not doing these things at this time.’’

In answer to questions, Smith said the future of rail was very much part of the council’s vision for future transport options, that the council would be ramping up its city branding work, and would look for partners in big projects to reduce their impact on ratepayers.