Haast-Hollyford highway cost queried by councillor

A Southland District councillor has questioned whether money should be set aside for dealing with the HaastHollyford highway proposal.

At a meeting yesterday, councillor Lyall Bailey asked whether the council had put aside any money for the project if it was to agree to the proposal in principal.

The council is waiting for Haast Hollyford Highway Ltd to provide more information and clarification on the project before making a decision on whether to support it.

Council chief executive Steve Ruru said no money had been put aside, but evaluation of the project and consultation with government agencies as well as the public could cost $1 million or more.

However, more information was needed before any decisions could be made, he said.

Bailey said he firmly believed that as part of the consultation process the council needed to make sure it kept stakeholders and ratepayers well aware of the costs.

Mayor Gary Tong said the proponents of the road had promised there would be no cost to the council in setting it up.

Dining policy

An alfresco dining policy has been adopted. Changes include an application fee of $120, with restaurants required to pay an occupation fee of $20 per square metre per year. Community boards and CDAs will have the power to waive those fees if applied for by the business owner. Consultation on the draft dog control policy and bylaw has been extended. Sig- nificant changes since the last round of consultation include several community boards asking for changes to dog exercise areas. Submissions are invited between June 6 and July 6 and hearings are set down for early August.

Video-links allowed

Some Southland District councillors could soon be attending meetings via video link in case of emergency. Yesterday, councillors agreed to amend standing orders so that both elected members and members of the public could dial-in to meetings by phone or by audio/video link. The idea has been trialled at the council during the past several years. The change does not mean that the council chambers will be empty, however. Elected members appearing via video link or teleconference can still take part in discussion and voting, but do not count towards a quorum.