Legacy project

The mayor’s lambast ‘More than a duck pond’, July 25, is classic Gurunathan. Attack and denigrate the messengers, who he mentions at least six times, rather than deal in facts. Paraparaumu Raumati Community Board members Randall and Burns press release proposed a ‘review’ of the O¯ taraua Park Development Plan. Given the potential of spending tens of millions of ratepayers dollars on this pipe dream this seems a sensible move. Remember similar past projects that wasted millions of ratepayers dollars: sewage to glass balls, the Clean Tech Centre, and the escalated costs around the aquatic centre, grants to a loss-making hockey tournament and a music festival. The mayor might consider Otaraua ¯ Park’s location to be pivotal but its got only one conjested access off O¯ taihanga Rd via the old state highway. There is currently only limited indirect pedestrian access from the Waikanae side at Jim Cooke Park with limited parking. O¯ taraua Park is partly within a flood plain. The boulders protecting the south bank walking track on the Waikanae river bend immediately east of the site have been frequently scoured out resulting in extensive flooding. The playing fields are frequently sodden from a high water table and have required additional drainage. Climate change and rising river levels are exacerbating the problem of flooding generally. The Waikanae River is not always ‘gentle flowing’. There have been at least four major floods in the last 20 years. None of these were more than 20 year events. Gurunathan in his own information releases proposed a new railway station. While this might seem desirable it is not going to happen due to the close proximity of the existing stations at Waikanae and Paraparaumu. The cost of an additional road access across the railway line will be considerable. Where is the business plan with realistic economic projections to demonstrate viability especially the potential for actual visitors from outside the area? Has anyone actually assessed whether our existing facilities are at capacity? Gurunathan’s election campaign promised, ‘Openness Transparency and Accountability’. Holding a public excluded sessions on a very expensive project is hardly that. Naturally sports aficionados will welcome proposals for new facilities especially if they are not the ratepayers having to foot the bill. Council needs to stick to its knitting and core business and at the very least get that right. We do not need legacy projects. JOHN LE HARIVEL O¯ TAIHANGA