It doesn’t feel like long since we saw in the New Year, so it’s hard to believe we’re already in October, with Christmas decorations beginning to adorn shop aisles and shelves.
This
time next year it will be election time for councils and for the first time two Māori ward candidates will sit at the council table, along with the mayor and 10 councillors.
With time marching so quickly, I don’t think it’s too early to start thinking about running for a seat at the council table — nominations open in July, so why not give it some thought?
While we are on the subject of dates and timelines, we’re very close to the opening of Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery. Everyone is welcome to come along to Pukenamu Queen’s Park on Saturday, November 9 and to the many events planned to celebrate the opening over the coming month.
Even if you’ve never set foot in a gallery before, I urge you to come along and experience it — it is truly a place of inspiration.
We all know Whanganui is a special place and people are drawn here for many reasons, whether it’s the people, the dramatic natural beauty, the heritage architecture or the creative scene.
Whanganui certainly has a reputation as a creative locale and this was given international recognition when we were awarded Unesco City of Design status in 2021. The reopened Sarjeant Gallery will be a huge drawcard for visitors.
It’s projected the reopened gallery will inject $11.4 million a year into Whanganui’s economy, bringing international and domestic visitors here to spend money at businesses around the district.
You will have heard costs increased for this project, as they have for other projects in this time of unprecedented cost pressures — but did you know that 73% of construction costs for the Sarjeant have been funded either by central Government or other non-council funders and $16.6 million of construction costs have gone directly to Whanganui sub-contractors?
You might also have heard some important decisions are coming up for councils around water infrastructure in response to Government legislation passed in August that sets a new direction for water services — it’s called Local Water Done Well.
An important aspect of this is that we will retain ownership of and make decisions on our water assets, which was not the case under the originally proposed Three Waters model.
Under the new legislation, councils will need to meet stricter rules and regulations around financial management and the quality of drinking water, stormwater and wastewater.
By the middle of next year, councils need to submit a Water Services Delivery Plan setting out how financially sustainable water services will be delivered while meeting new regulatory standards.
I believe Whanganui District Council has invested well in water infrastructure in the past and, through the recent Long-Term Plan, has committed to increased investment over the next 10 years.
The immediate decision ahead of us is whether we choose to go it alone with water infrastructure or join up with neighbouring councils. Right now, we’re in the final stages of appraising the options, both as an individual council and with our neighbours in the Manawatū-Whanganui region, and we’ll present options for your feedback in early 2025.
So far, the financial modelling shows there is only a very small difference in costs to water users whether we go it alone or join up with our neighbours. Regardless of which option we choose, the Government’s new rules are expected to increase the cost of water services for water users.
We will consider a range of factors when we make our decision, including the financial impact on water users, community views and the strategic benefits and disadvantages of joining up with our neighbours.
We have had some great engagements to date with our community and I want to thank those who have shown up to our Local Water Done Well community kōrero.
In my view, we also need to think strategically about collaboration beyond just water infrastructure governance and management. I have sensed that a mountain-to-sea collaboration model is one worth exploring in consideration of synergies and efficiencies with Ruapehu and Rangitīkei.
We also have strong links with our Manawatū and Palmerston North neighbours and others in the Horizons region as well as to our west in the Taranaki region.
With a population of not quite 50,000, we are in reality a small council, so getting geographical scale and population scale with collaboration is something we should not be scared about — this is different to amalgamation — but we should not be scared to talk about that either.
