"The meetings were quite productive as there were a lot of issues raised," Spooner said.
"Apart from the issues raised people found it useful to put faces to names and many felt we were more approachable than council members."
But Tararua District Council governance manager Richard Taylor assured board members that councillors represented the whole district, not just Dannevirke, and were approachable.
Councillor Carole Isaacson asked what were the main issues raised over the course of the month.
They ranged from moss on the town's footpaths to a mini-bus service to Palmerston North and many other issues in between.
An Edward St resident raised concerns about parking on the grass berms which cut up badly during wet weather and turned to mud. The resident asked whether sealing these areas could be considered.
Also raised was the danger for northbound traffic turning right into Makirikiri Rd at the State Highway 2 intersection. It was suggested this be highlighted with NZ Transport Agency.
The trees at the BP Service Station on High St were also seen as a safety issue because they impede the view of traffic.
Problems with pedestrian crossings were also raised.
The crossing on High St by Huia Range School that was trapping mobility scooters was raised at the second coffee forum and had a successful outcome during the recent school holidays when the Higgins residential team remedied the problem.
Further concern was raised about the accessibility of other crossings for mobility scooters, particularly in the Station and Grey street areas.
A weightier issue was raised by a concerned ratepayer who lives on one of the town's known heavy traffic bypasses.
With ratepayers being responsible for their water main connections from the middle of the road to their properties serious concern was raised as to the potential long-term damage to the water connections by increased heavy traffic volumes on the bypass.
"Should not the responsibility for all water connections within the boundaries of the road become the responsibility of the council and not the ratepayer," was the question asked.
This same ratepayer also expressed concern at the difficulty in trying to connect with councillors when ratepayers wanted to air their concerns.
A different kind of transport issue was raised by an elderly resident who asked whether consideration could be given to organising a mini-bus service to Palmerston North.
Community board members said this suggestion would be passed on to the Dannevirke Community Vehicle Trust to see if its service could be extended.
The subject of entertainment arose with one resident asking community board members to investigate the possibility of establishing a cinema in the town.
A suggestion was made that the Fountain Theatre could be a possible venue.
Also on the subject of entertainment was a request for more music events in the town and for these to be widely publicised when they did occur.
Board members saw this as one of the functions of a new digital community sign soon to be erected on Dannevirke Town Hall.
On the subject of the Town Hall one resident complained about the unclean state of the area surrounding it while another commented on rubbish which accumulates in the gratings around the High St trees.
Cracked footpath tiles outside the old BNZ building also came in for criticism.
Other comments on the appearance of the town's main thoroughfare were that the Town Clock needs repainting and that the windmill in Copenhagen Square needs refurbishing.
