Letters: Tauranga City Council CEO Marty Grenfell a breath of fresh air

Tauranga City Council chief executive Marty Grenfell. Photo / File

Our speaker at Monday night's monthly Papamoa Residents & Ratepayers Association meeting was new Tauranga City Council chief executive Marty Grenfell.

What a breath of fresh air, so outgoing with a positive attitude.

He was inspirational. It was hard to believe he actually works for the council.

His vision to have our council be more consultative and accountable, and connect with the community more, is something I believe every ratepayer in the meeting room on Monday hopes will come to fruition.

Good luck Marty. You have superior leadership skills and are already leading by example. I am confident your employees will wish to follow in your footsteps because success cascades from the top-down.

Let's look back on what you and your council have achieved in 12 months' time, April 2020. (Abridged)

Ron Melville
Tauranga

National language

I note in your "Hot Topics" quiz that you state that English is one of the three official languages of New Zealand.

You know this is incorrect because for many years a prolific letter writer on this very subject to your paper, the late Robin Bishop, had tried right up until her passing to get English accepted into law as an official language.

She even presented her petition which I also signed to her local Simon Bridges for him to table in Parliament, but not surprisingly that disappeared into the ether never to be seen again.

Can I respectfully ask that before putting incorrect answers to your quizzes that you indeed research your subjects more thoroughly?

Brian Brown
Tauranga

Congestion No 1 priority

I am appalled to think that the traffic woes in Greerton were caused because the engineers did not think, or choose to take into account the effect on traffic congestion.

Cameron Rd is a main artery of the Tauranga peninsula.

How can they not have congestion as a factor?

A major problem in our society is that too many bureaucrats sit in their ivory towers and ignore the real world.

At the next meeting, councillors should adopt a roading policy of Priority 1 Congestion, Priority 2 Congestion, Priority 3 Congestion. Yes, there are other factors and common sense will address those.

Then we have the debacle over the magnificent Welcome Bay interchange. A vital slip road has been closed for months because of a possible problem regarding cyclists. A solution, possibly temporary, should have been found within a week. Why shouldn't cyclists go up the slip lane and cross later when it is safe? If there is a design fault why do thousands of motorists have to be inconvenienced?

It's time bureaucrats and some councillors woke up to the fact that motorists along with buses and trucks are very important to our lives. (Abridged)

Bill Capamagian

Tauranga

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