Gardens to stay free . . . but $5 to park there
Visitors to the Hamilton Gardens could soon have to pay $5 to park their cars there each time they visit.
The pay-for-your-park proposal – formulated and moved by councillors Dave Macpherson and Maxine van Oosten at a meeting yesterday – is one of a host of overtures the Hamilton City Council will soon present to the public as part of the organisation’s draft long term plan. However, the plan does not have the support of the city’s mayor or deputy mayor, who are wary of deterring locals from visiting a place long considered the jewel in Hamilton’s crown.
Under Macpherson and van Oosten’s proposal, numberplate recognition technology similar to that used on toll roads will be used to charge visitors arriving by cars, buses and other motorised vehicles.
It could also be based on a timer – meaning the parking charge could kick in after, say, two hours of a car remaining in the car park.
It is estimated charging for parking will add about $500,000 per year to council coffers – money that will flow directly back into the ongoing development and upgrades of the revered site.
There would be a one-off cost of about $400,000 to set up the new system.
‘‘This will be an opportunity to bring in more revenue, and . . . enhance things,’’ Macpherson said. ‘‘We have heard the grievance that people outside of Hamilton don’t pay anything towards it, and only Hamiltonians [do].’’
Added van Oosten: ‘‘It’s important that we capture, wherever we can, additional income.’’
However they will have a hard time winning over mayor Paula Southgate – who described it as ‘‘full of little fish hooks’’ – and deputy mayor Geoff Taylor, who was particularly underwhelmed.
‘‘I understand what you are trying to do here, but I think it’s flawed,’’ Taylor said. ‘‘We should be charging people from outside the city to go to the themed gardens.
‘‘We will be charging residents $5 to go and have a picnic . . . Just watch one of our most popular attractions empty out.’’
Only Southgate, Taylor and councillor Kesh Naidoo-Rauf voted against including the parking proposal in the draft plan.
The rates rise the council will go to ratepayers with was still being formulated when the Times went to press last night.
The councillors started what was the second of two days of budgeting decisions yesterdaywith a note of alarm, and the realisation that on the preceding day they had made only the slightest of dents in the estimated rates increase.
If the council chose to use all of its available debt capacity – 280 per cent – to offset the rates increase, they could get the overall increase in year one down to 10.6 per cent, marginally down on the 11.3 per cent starting point.
‘‘We are a long way from where we need to be,’’ mayor Paula Southgate said.
Added Cr Angela O’Leary: ‘‘We are moving deck chairs on the Titanic right now.’’
Declared Cr Ewan Wilson: ‘‘We are facing the highest rate rise in modern Hamilton’s history.’’
Another proposition that will be included in the plan is the building of a dome or cover over the lido (outdoor) pool at Waterworld. Like the gardens parking, it is anticipated the cost of building the cover will be offset by the increased revenue, in this case in the form of more swimmers being able to use the pool for longer into the colder months.
Among the budget adjustments and initiatives made on the second day were:
■ Reducing a planned $4.2m spend on terracing and new toilets at the Wellington St beach down to
$100,000 in year one, and $1m in year two.
■ Deferring a $6.6m Waikato Museum river entrance to year seven.
■ Reducing a $4.9m acquisition and development for a neighbourhood park in Rototuna down to $2.5m.
■ Deferring plans for two new animal exhibits at the Hamilton Zoo, at a cost of $2.5m, from years one to five to year six.
■ Allocating a sports parks drainage and irrigation programme with a budget of
$3.6m, down from $8.4m, and at a rate of $500,000 per year, from years one to seven.
■ Allocating $138,000 per year for venue and event security.
■ Increasing revenue from the Waikato Museum at a rate of at least $100,000 per year.
■ Reducing the Hamilton Gardens’ marketing budget by
$50,000 per year.
■ Increasing the entry fees at Hamilton Zoo by $1, following the completion of the first stages of the new Zoo/Waiwhakareke entry precinct, and the resulting additional $150,000 of additional revenue be used to fund conservation initiatives in the natural heritage park.
■ Shunting $3.6m of the budgeted
$47.3m for gully restoration in the recently adopted Nature in the City strategy to years 6 to 10.
Public consultation on the draft plan will run from early March to early April, with the final plan being adopted in June.