KBA plans to rejuvenate Kaitaia

Plans are afoot to give central Kaitaia a major revamp. Picture / Peter Jackson

The Kaitaia Business Association wants to see some changes in the appearance of the town's Business Improvement District (BID), and has called a special general meeting at Frosty's Vault Bar & Cafe at 5.30pm on Monday to get the process moving.

The association's newly elected chairwoman, Andrea Panther, said a proposal to revitalise the town had been submitted to the KBA in June, calling on the association to provide $30,000 to cover the cost of commissioning Xcape Design Ltd to produce a landscape concept master plan for consideration. She would now be lobbying the Far North District Council to meet half that cost.

The request was on the agenda for discussion with the council on December 10, but a special general meeting with the BID was needed beforehand to approve the expenditure of the association's $15,000 share. The money would be taken from a surplus that had built up over the years as the result of unfulfilled budget plans, and funds set aside for the town's CCTV project.

"The CCTV repairs and maintenance will be complete before Christmas, with only a few cameras left to clean, and has come within budget, leaving us with ample funds to contribute towards the town centre rejuvenation plan," Ms Panther said.

"It is time to put that money to good use.

"In conjunction with a town centre rejuvenation we have a smaller project to clean up our main street, which will involve a working bee to water blast, weed gardens and paint poorly-kept areas," she added.

"We acknowledge that some property owners or business owners have spent money to improve the street frontages of some buildings, but overall we do not have a unified effort. We want to engage all areas of our community to get involved in this project, supporting #ilovekaitaia, and will keep everyone informed about when this work will take place."

Meanwhile the association would welcome any feedback or ideas, and was aiming for a full community consultation forum to contribute to the final design and plan of the BID area, from Te Hiku Sports Hub, in South Rd and through the main street, through to the north end of the town, including the business area around North Park Drive.

"We are aiming for a themed design to incorporate our history and our people. We will keep people informed, mainly through social media posts, with the aim of reducing administration expenses, so more money is spent on physical improvements to our town."

Anyone who had any questions or suggestions regarding the financial recommendations was urged to email the co-ordinator, or in response to their invitation to Monday's meeting.

"It is important that we have an open discussion prior to the meeting to keep the meeting short, as we know how busy our members are," she added. "Looking forward to working with the entire community to make Kaitaia a town to be proud of."