Rototuna: ‘Let’s do it guys’
Rototuna’s $18 million community hub could get the nod to go ahead after sitting in the planning phase since 2006.
The project has resurfaced in Hamilton City Council’s draft 10-year plan and it included a pool and library for the community in the north east of the city.
It would take pressure off Chartwell Library which was servicing all of the north-east population and was facing significant space and capacity issues, the council said.
A community hub in Rototuna would also act as a gathering and meeting place for residents.
A briefing on the project was delivered to Hamilton city councillors recently.
But not everyone thought it was a good idea, with suggestions the private sector could do a better job managing such a project.
If the project budget is adopted by the council in June, the upgrade would cost the city $18m over three years, from 2019.
The draft plan will be released to the public on March 29 but there’s already a wealth of information on a website run by former council candidate, Nick Johnston.
On that site, there is a link to city council discussions on the community hub from December.
In those discussions, Hamilton Mayor Andrew King said the council had to stop ‘‘talking the walk, and start walking the talk’’.
‘‘For decades this council has talked about and promised Peacockes, turning the city around to the face the river, and amenities in the north-east. ‘‘Let’s do it guys,’’ he said. The recommended option sought to fund construction of a community hub and library and public square.
It also sought to select a private partner to construct and operate a swimming facility and a ‘‘Learn to Swim’’ service.
The motion was declared carried, with only two councillors - Garry Mallett and Leo Tooman - dissenting.
‘‘I’m really supportive of the project, and really unsupportive of the way we’re going about it,’’ Mallett said in December.
‘‘There are things we can’t do very well. Maybe we might want to be the tenant of the library, but I certainly don’t think we want to be the landlord of the library.
‘‘I think the private sector could provide this a heck of a lot cheaper, make a heck of a lot of money out of it for themselves, and save the ratepayer millions,’’ Mallett said.
A feasibility study for the Rototuna Town Centre is scheduled to be undertaken in 2018/19. said younger people engaging in local politics could debunk the idea that millennials weren’t proactive.
They planned to make a formal submission to council ahead of the final plan being released to public consultation on March 29.
‘‘Often I think our voice is discounted because we’re so young and have no experience,’’ Major, 25, said.
‘‘Or other things give us a bad rap, like smashed avocado instead of saving for a house.’’
Lehi Duncan, 26, Hamilton manager for Zeal, said transport is a big worry for the younger population.
Some from poorer areas don’t have money for the bus and rarely leave their suburb, Duncan said.
‘‘You’ve got young people in Fairfield for example who have never been to the CBD side of the bridge.
‘‘To happen in our backyard, it’s pretty saddening.’’