Watch: Napier’s mayor fronts up at year’s first ‘town huddle’
Boy racers and road safety in suburban Napier are two concerns consistently voiced by residents at weekly “town huddles” hosted by mayor Kirsten Wise.
The latest and first one of the year drew a crowd of 17 people to EIT’s Maraenui Learning Centre on Monday evening.
Watch coverage from this week's huddle.
Nelson Park Ward councillors Maxine Boag, Api Tapine, Sally Crown and Greg Mawson also attended, along with Onekawa-Tamatea Ward councillor Richard McGrath.
Wise said it was an opportunity for residents to come along to an informal meeting with herself, and fellow councillors to “share ideas, voice concerns and ask questions”.
While issues are discussed on the day, they are also taken back to the wider council team for further action if required.
A resident, who did not wish to be named, said speeding and drifting drivers had become a real issue over the last six to eight months.
“We are regularly having to call police and noise control because of these guys literally drifting their cars up and down the street.”
Wise said this had been “consistently” raised. She said it was a matter of prioritising the areas of worst effected and start working through those.
“We need to ensure that the community is safe and we are not having any accidents or heaven forbid any deaths on our roads because of these sorts of concerns.”
While residents also asked about the Aquatic Centre, the War Memorial and eternal flame, as well as the city’s library, there were some more “left-field” questions.
One girl, accompanied by her father, suggested having another scoreboard installed at the other end of McLean Park so that “everyone can enjoy the cricket and other games from the embankments”.
Wise, said it wasn’t the first time she had heard that idea, and encouraged people to submit suggestions through the council’s annual plan which will go out to the public in mid-March to mid-April.
“Each year we have our annual plan and community members are welcome to come and make a submission through that process which will then be considered by council for inclusion in one of the annual plans,” she said.
Another asked what council’s role is with regards to identifying areas of high risk for fires and how they work with the fire service around identifying and monitoring those areas.
For information on upcoming Mayoral Town Huddles, click here.
