"We were getting steady growth and the world was looking exactly as we predicted, really. It was on target."
She says Rotorua was doing "remarkably well" until the "peculiarity" of Covid-19 hit and the district's response to it showed her the community was resilient.
Part of the response was bolstered by networks and relationships with government agencies, Te Arawa and emergency response experience from the 2018 Ngongotahā floods, she says.
"I was also amazed at how everybody complied [with the lockdown]. People did what they were asked to do and they … stayed at home, they looked after each other.
Housing is still a focus for Chadwick, as it was in January and during her re-election campaign, but she says it's not just about housing but "thriving communities" - perhaps not coincidentally, part of the title of the council's housing strategy, which was adopted on September 24.
"It wasn't just about building 1700 homes … it's also about building communities."
She says Crown Infrastructure Partners 'shovel-ready' funding - $55 million for State Highway 30/Te Ngae Rd upgrades, $5m for local road improvements and $15m for stormwater infrastructure - would help to enable the quicker development of subdivisions.
However, she wants it to go even faster because of the demand.
"We're seen as quite the place to come to, and we need the houses."
The council had voted - not always unanimously - for a business-as-usual response to the Covid-19 economic recovery, rather than an austerity approach.
That included continuing with major projects such as the redevelopment of the Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre, the Rotorua Museum and the lakefront.
Chadwick says the approach was about "civic pride" and "prudent" financial management.
"We have shown prudent management, actually, of council spending but we also believed in investing for our future.
"I certainly wouldn't support stripping back to just seeing infrastructure and essential services as the only aspect of delivery from this council. It's civic pride but it's wellbeing of our community.
"We need to invest in all of the four wellbeings.
"Now more than ever we need to keep investing in what will attract people to our city and our district.
"You have to invest in growth."
It had also been important to "keep our foot" on the housing strategy, she says.
"In democracy, you never get consensus. You try, and on some issues we have. There's been some delightful moments where we've all agreed, it's lovely. I respect the right of individuals to vote the way they do, or feel the way they do."
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick. Photo / Andrew Warner
She says the investigation was "a worry".
"I didn't enjoy it, we'd never had it before, but we found new ways of working on our code of conduct."
"Events give me great joy. Prizegivings at schools - I sit there and think our young people coming through are particularly strong, proud of who they are, where they came from, they've got a sense of place.
"They will launch into what they're doing next well, with resilience. I love that."
Rotorua Lakes Council was also "being recognised" by other councils "about how innovative this place is", she says.
"It's not done with envy, they knew that we had managed with the partnership with Te Arawa … to get substantial investment from the Provincial Growth Fund to do some wonderful things."
Looking ahead to 2021, Chadwick says she's looking forward to the completion of some major projects and the implementation of the council's housing strategy.
