Letters to the editor

Info behind decisions
K Thompson (letters, August 10) is quite right to ask for information about amalgamation to help form his opinion and to question why NCC is reluctant to fund a feasibility study.
He can find some important information on the NCC website www.napier.govt.nz under "agendas" or he can ring the committee secretary on 8344143 and ask for a copy of the supplementary information about Amalgamation and Shared Services.
These two weighty reports were discussed at the council meeting on Wednesday, August 10, and formed the basis for two significant decisions.
Firstly, Napier City Council agreed to investigate setting up a Council Controlled Organisation with Hastings District Council to undertake shared service initiatives. Hastings agreed to the same proposal on Tuesday.
Secondly, Napier City Council confirmed its earlier decision not to fund a feasibility study on amalgamation, based on the evidence presented by a staff report and backed up by independent reports from a local government finance and policy expert; two Australian reports which examine the efficacy of amalgamation in local government; and a Local Government New Zealand report on shared services.
These decisions were not a vote for or against amalgamation. That decision will be made sometime in the future by the ratepayers of Napier and Hastings.
Napier City councillors were unanimous in their contention that they are required by their oath to act in the best interests of Napier ratepayers. On the evidence presented in the above reports, they believe that they are fulfilling their responsibilities.
Cr Kathie Furlong, Deputy Mayor, Napier City Council

Beach shame
Third world scene at Westshore Beach and domain.
I am increasingly appalled at the devastation and state of neglect this area has fallen into. What remains of the beach is blighted by pieces of old pipes from useless stormwater drains washed away by erosion.
Scaffolding pipe hangs in space from the few remnants of solid beachhead. Rotting fish carcasses and plastic litter the beach.
It puts me in mind of photographs of the devastation of some Soviet-era beach dying from pollution and neglect.
The domain bordered by a new cycle track will now take visitors past piles of grey rubble left over from the track, these will probably be there forever, even the weeds won't grow on it. The domain is now a scene of salt-damaged grass, leaning dying trees, even a root ball, left almost a year now, and pools of stagnant saltwater. The domain is retreating as the sea takes new bites out of banks and grass each day. The few picnic tables that remain are covered in filth and moss, and you would not eat a picnic off them.
As a motelier, I am now ashamed to direct people to the beach and cycle path, and very soon we will be hosting tourists from France, Canada and Japan. Our motel is hosting 20 journalists from France, perhaps they would like to take a tour through third-world Napier, we could take them in the new coaches that the council has purchased.
It is time the council took a look at this area themselves, removed the rose-tinted glasses and cleaned up the mess before it is too late.
David Rayner, Westshore