Business as unusual
Stoke, the final frontier. Without wanting to trivialise it too much, Stoke has historically been seen as the place to go if you’re old and need to be near a hardware store.
Until recent times it sat quietly perched as a satellite suburb on the outer rim of Nelson, like the borderlands before you embarked on the lonely ride to Richmond.
But as Nelson and Richmond rapidly evolved the gap shrunk and now Stoke is more of a connecting pin between the two main centres.
Almost a central hub.
So it makes sense that we take a new look at Stoke and the way we’ve organised our resources.
It may not be coming any time soon but should we get a new police station there’s a strong argument for putting it in Stoke to improve reach throughout the district.
Saxton Field has grown into a world class sporting venue, one that attracts international events and capably accommodates local competitions.
Stoke is also home to retirement villages that have reset the whole paradigm of colourless, imposing institutions for the elderly.
And a new community centre makes good sense. Consolidate the growing demand from sporting and cultural groups in one facility.
The Stoke Hall has done its share of heavy lifting over the years but what better to reflect this region’s buoyant outlook and progressive approach than a shiny new testament to the district’s confidence. That’s certainly the impression visitors will get when they rock up at our new airport.
So far so good. On paper the whole thing is gold plated – it just had to be kept on the rails.
No one said bringing together a project of this size would be easy. There’s a bit to keeping it on time and on budget. Mistakes get made, unforseen circumstances pop up. Just ask the engineers who turned over Queen St what that looks like.
It starts with homework. Due diligence. Plans, quantity surveyors doing their thing helping flesh out the cost and timeframe.
Then fully armed with this information, put it out to tender and the numbers should match up.
Should a tender come in well south of the original figure alarm bells should be clanging. This is not a bargain hunt.
The Nelson City Council has plenty of competent engineers and planners with the experience to take a steady-as-she-goes approach.
So quite how we got to this point with Greenmeadows is puzzling.
Cost overruns, shoddy workmanship and poor subcontracting arrangements are hanging over this project like a fallout cloud.
Similar rumblings have not come from other bigger developments like the hospice or even one as chunky as the airport.
The damage has been done. The only hope now is that the finished product is fit for purpose and, even if it has been expensive, the lessons haven’t been lost.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch we still have a costly modellers pond headache to sort and a lot of nice-to-haves like an enhanced waterfront to find the money for.
The rates take is not an inexhaustible well. Start hiking rates and then you’ll see a community truly baying for blood.