Ratepayers need action now on improving core services
"If this council spent as much of officers’ time and our money as they do on vanity projects as they should on water and sewage, then these health issues would have been resolved. "Shaun Bates
The challenges of running a business in the hospitality industry in Napier have never been more onerous.
Our water and sewage systems remain third world.
Sure, a paltry sum has been budgeted for our water and sewage infrastructure, but it is spread over the next 10 years!
The ratepayers need these core services resolved over the next 10 months — not years.
If this council spent as much of officers’ time and our money as they do on vanity projects as they should on water and sewage, then these health issues would have been resolved by now.
Instead we have a severe chlorine problem which badly affects my restaurant and clientele, both local and tourists.
Meanwhile, raw sewage pollutes the only safe swimmable area in Napier at the Pandora pond.
How does our council justify spending millions at the expense of our health and well being ?
How can I market my business when tourists are subjected to a rank water supply and a polluted beach?
Time for a change next year of our mayor and ageing councillors.
Shaun Bates
Napier
You said it
Andrew Martin, I hope people read your piece in the paper. Just want to thank you — thought your letter said it all. God bless, thank you once again. S Bishop Havelock North
Tardy timepiece
Napier City Council must be congratulated for some great work on Marine Parade. It’s something that we can all be proud of and it must make a very good impression on the thousands of cruise ship passengers that visit.
However, the clock on our landmark “Dome” building is something that needs attention. I went past one afternoon and was pleased to see that it showed the correct time but the next morning I found the hands hadn’t moved.
Our visitors must think we are a pathetic lot when they see it consistently showing the incorrect time. No doubt the NCC don’t own the clock but surely they could enter into some sort of arrangement that would allow them to take the responsibility for keeping it showing the right time.
If fixing it is an insurmountable problem then it should be improved by taking the hands off of it.
I have heard that the clock on the ex Post Office building has the same problem and I noticed some time ago that a Hastings St pharmacy had a sophisticated electronic sign that showed the wrong time too.
Do we want thousands of visitors to think of us as a city of idiots?
F E Wharton Napier
Multiple Steps
The Hawkes Bay Multiple Sclerosis Society would like to thank participants, volunteers and sponsors for the success of their recent fundraising event Multiple Steps for Multiple Sclerosis.
We celebrated our 7th year of running the event and had our biggest crowd yet of just over 500 participants with over $4600 raised.
We are proud to have kept the event at an affordable $10 per entry and it has been pleasing to see families, our members, “serious” runners/walkers, gyms, schools, workplaces, clubs and people with disabilities attending. All of this could not happen without the help of the many people who donate their time to assist us and the grants we receive for the expenses involved in running an event such as this. Bring on 2019!
Thanks very much. Nicola Brown Office Manager Multiple Sclerosis HB