Whanganui letters: Velodrome important to council

People can have their say on the velodrome roof issue during the Whanganui District Council's Long-Term Plan consultation. Photo / File

Velodrome important to council

I agree with Mr Hewson and Mrs Campion that "the temporary closure of the velodrome is a tragic result for the city" (Letters, March 1 & 11) but this does not mean the council doesn't support the velodrome; it just unfortunately coincides with the key consideration for council and our community regarding a roofed velodrome.

Believe me, I'm near the top of the list of those most frustrated by the complexity and reasons behind the time it has taken to progress the roofing of this significant asset to Whanganui, but it hasn't been for lack of time and effort on many people's behalf.

The council has invested enormous effort into this project over time and certainly the last year, with a key report and decision due to council in public on Tuesday, March 23, where the council will put three options on the table and elected members will vote on their preference for Long-Term Plan consultation due to start shortly.

Please read the council item and email councillors/mayor: councillors@whanganui.govt.nz with your support to ensure the preference is to "roof" the velodrome, regardless of which design.

Following that positive result, there will be wide consultation with the community, including a velodrome-only public forum scheduled for Wednesday, March 31, 5.30pm to 7pm in the War Memorial Hall.

Public submissions in support of this project will be important, prior to the council adopting the 2022-2031 10-Year Plan in late May 2021, at which time it will need to decide if it commits to roofing the velodrome or not and the amount of capital funding to set aside, to push the go button.

COUNCILLOR PHILIPPA BAKER-HOGAN
Chair, Sport & Recreation Working Party

Police intelligence gathering

Congratulations to the two women who took their teenagers to the police station to request an apology following their police photo shoot (Chronicle, March 10).

If the story is accurate, they are entitled to receive an apology from the Commissioner of Police, in my opinion.

The safety of our communities depends on accurate, appropriate, police intelligence gathering and a harmonious relationship between police and communities as a basis for policing by consent.

Random, intrusive, apparently unwarranted, mugshots in public of two young people with brown skins who happened to be waiting outside a Cash Converters shop will erode trust and achieve the opposite of the intentions of Commissioner Coster.

The term "Police Intelligence", applied in this instance, might provide a new example of "oxymoron".

DAVE CAMERON
Whanganui

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