Road cones, empty flower beds, butchered roses and not a
daffodil in sight have got a Carterton High St retailer
accusing councillors of apathy and neglect as spring _ and the
local body elections _ loom.
``I've spent the past year sitting on my hands and
breathing through my nose,'' Bambino
Cafe owner Carolyn
Wait said yesterday as she looked at a plot of iceberg roses
on the corner of Broadway and High St that she says have been
mutilated by the council's parks and reserves department.
She said council gardeners used hedgetrimmers on the
roses, causing rough edges, disease and ruined bushes _ a
far cry from the ``wonderful'' state they were in when she arrived six years ago.
CBD upgrades expected to finish in June 2009 were also grating on
the nerves as work on ``crappy flowerbeds'' still continues, more
than a year after deadline.
Wilting polyanthus in hanging baskets along the main street
and the replacing of flower beds due to the poor quality of soil
put down initially is compounding Mrs Wait's ire.
``I can't stand by _ especially with an election coming up _
and wait while another bunch of councillors are elected who have
no passion for the town and can't get things done properly.
``These may seem like little things, but they're actually a
symptom of all the things that are not done properly in this
town,'' Mrs Wait said.
She said sitting councillors responded to her complaints with ``answers and no action''.
Carterton District Council planning and regulatory manager Milan Hautler refuted
Mrs Wait's claims.
``Council staff take great pride in the gardens and we get a
number of complimentary remarks about the condition of
the gardens both from out-of-towners and residents.''
Mr Hautler said remedial work on flowerbeds at the intersection of High St and Broadway was undertaken to maintain the town's water reticulation and had nothing to do with poor-quality soil.
He refuted Mrs Wait's claim that the council had neglected High St's hanging polyanthus.
``It's not the case at all _ operations staff take great pride in maintaining the beautification of the town.''
