The only certainty is uncertainty . . .
Summer nights events, speedway canned in red setting
The festive and holiday season seems a distant memory, the children are back at school and it’s now time to focus on the year ahead. As with the last two years, Covid will continue to bring its share of challenges and uncertainty to our lives, but as a council we are prepared and we will continue to work on delivering services and projects as planned. So let’s look ahead in 2022.
My hope for 2022 was to have a year that had more stability and certainty about it, but already that thought has gone out the window. All the indications are that the only certainty we will have is uncertainty itself. Omicron has already resulted in significant changes and restrictions, and as we await with some trepidation the arrival of large numbers of cases, we have to take a “life goes on” approach and strike a balance between prevention, safety and response.
Unfortunately, already our popular summer nights events have been postponed, along with a number of community events planned by other organisations. An example is the Stratford Speedway, which has been already impacted again this season — this is a great shame, because the weather has been great and the competitors and fans are raring to go.
One project that has been drawn out for some months because of the recent Covid restrictions in Auckland is the new bike park. We look forward to this being completed within the next few weeks. The “pump track” has been sealed and will soon be ready for action. There are just a few finishing touches to be made before the overall facility will be officially opened. This is an outstanding attraction that caters for a wide group of people and is something that we as a community can all be proud of.
Work on the new aquatic centre stopped over the Christmas period but is back in full swing. It is really shaping up well, with the construction of the roof being the most recent milestone. As the building takes shape it is easier to imagine what the final result will look like and the quality of facility the community will enjoy. We are still on target to have this open later this year.
Another major project under way is the construction of a second water main feeding into the Stratford town supply network. This is a crucial piece of infrastructure that will give muchimproved resilience to our existing water supply network, and regardless of the outcomes of the Government’s Three Waters Reform programme the work still needs to be done. For this specific project the $2.4 million cost is externally funded through the Government’s Covid recovery programme and is not funded by Stratford ratepayers.
Activity in the residential construction sector continues to thrive with 65 new houses built last year and with the amount of land subdivision occurring at present, it suggests we are in for another bumper year. This is crucial for our future and the local economy.
Politically, I see the Government’s massive reforms programme presenting council with some major changes and challenges that will certainly keep us on our toes as we try and keep up with the issues. Three Waters Reforms, the Future of Local Government Reforms and the overhaul of the Resource Management Act are sure to attract plenty of attention.
At a local political level, the highlight will be the Local Government Elections in October. This time there will be one additional councillor elected from the newly established Ma¯ ori Ward, as well as the four rural, six urban councillors and Mayor that currently make up the council. Incidentally, it’s not too early to check if your details are correct on the electoral role, so that you can have your say when it comes to voting later in the year.