Guy Burns, Raumati/Paraparaumu Community Board Deputy Chair, is surprised and disappointed Mayor Gurunathan decided to use his casting vote, at the 15 December Council meeting, to reject a recommendation from the Raumati Paraparaumu Community Board to keep the 50 year old MacLean Park pond full of water over the summer period.
“It’s a brave and reckless decision to ignore the community — it was the community who lobbied our Community Board to keep the pond filled over the summer months when MacLean Park is packed with holiday makers and visitors.
“The pond has been sitting unfilled for nearly 6 months after Council discovered it was leaking larger amounts of water after contractors undertook repair and maintenance work in mid-2015.
“The current saga of the MacLean Park is a woeful and depressing tale of ineptitude and poor management, with no accountability of ratepayer’s money, regarding the $85,000 spent in the last two years on maintenance.
“I call upon the Mayor to reflect on his casting vote and consider what the community is saying.”
The council’s announcement at the time is here
It is a truth universally acknowledged that once an elected official criticises the Mayor he feels forced to respond.
Guy Burns is merely reflecting the view of the community expressed at Community Board meetings.. During the recent election campaign some candidates spoke out fully in support of keeping the pond. So where are those voices now?
Hundreds, indeed thousands of disappointed children and parents will be forced to stare at the pond with no water over Christmas and beyond. We have an empty pond and all those tourists visiting Kapiti over the summer will observe the pool’s emptiness and wonder why.
Bernie Randall