Submission Details
Full Name:
Mark Naudé
Business/Organisation (if applicable):
Date Submitted
2024-04-20 11:12:03
Fees and Charges
Do you agree with the proposed Fees and Charges for 2024/25?
No, I disagree - please explain?
Do you have any comments on this?
CEMETERIES Paying for the burial or internment of a deceased family member is not a 'discretionary spend' unlike choosing to go to have a spa treatment or flying a plane for recreation. Some cemetery fees are proposed to increase by around 70% while aerodrome fees, for example, only seem to increase by 20% or less. How do you justify that?! Council has a legal duty to provide cemeteries and is the sole provider of the service in the district, so residents do not have a choice. It seems very unjust to increase the cemetery fees to this extent while the fees for things that are clearly a discretionary spend are kept comparatively low. RECREATION AND COMMUNITY FACILITIES I support keeping fees for recreation and community facilities as low as practicable to enable people of all incomes, ages, abilities to be able to afford access and enjoy to these for recreation and social events. FINES Council only seems to fine people for late payment of rates. Council should maybe try a bit harder to enforce its bylaws on other things like off lead dogs, illegal parking etc. This could bring in some revenue to offset costs.
Te Aroha Spa
What do you think we should do?
Proposed option: Continue investigating options?
Any other comments on Te Aroha Spa:
No appropriate option to select above... Take a step back and properly define what problem(s) this project is trying to solve. Investigate residents and tourists' needs thoroughly before looking at building options. Think about how it ties in with the landscape, the wider tourism features of the town and region. Rather focus on something nice, unique, affordable and sustainable that is appropriate for our town than trying to build something overly fancy that locals and current tourists cannot afford and which wants to but cannot compete with tourist destinations like Rotorua and Queenstown.
Additional playgrounds
Do you have any comments on this?
None of the above... As a Te Aroha ratepayer I find the 'Alternative option' that Te Aroha should loose out in favour of the other towns offensive. With cost of living going up the free neighbourhood playgrounds are important especially for those who can't afford to travel. I would rather see small improvements to existing playgrounds go ahead, new neighbourhood ones where needed (maybe developers need to pay more towards these?), and even budgets for the destination playgrounds in Matamata and Te Aroha reduced somewhat in order to pay for upgrades to existing playgrounds and to ensure the Te Aroha pone goes ahead. We'd rather have a 500K or 750K playground in Te Aroha like the new ones in Morrinsville than not have one at all.
Walking and cycling improvements
Do you have any comments on this?
None of the above. Focus on most important walkway/cycleway connections and safety improvements in the towns (ones that are most critical/best value for money). Defer further cycleways between towns as these are a lot more costly.
Te Aroha Library
What do you think we should do?
Proposed option: Investigate and deliver a suitable building to continue providing library services in Te Aroha?
Any other comments on Te Aroha Library:
As a Te Aroha ratepayer I totally oppose closure of the Te Aroha Library. The services provided by the library are great for families and children. Issues with this old building should not come as a surprise. When the Matamata office/library and Matamata pool roof and Headon Stadium building had issues they were all fixed or replaced. Te Aroha ratepayers and residents deserve to be treated equally with those in other towns.
The services we provide
What do you think we should do?
Proposed option: Continue to provide all the current services, to mostly the same standard?
Any other comments on this?
Focus on maintaining and upgrading existing facilities to ensure facilities and services are appropriate and accessible to our communities. Be more strategic about partnerships with community groups, iwi/hapu, other agencies etc. Provide more funding and support for community groups doing conservation work. Sell 25 Waihou Road to offset costs. Te Aroha residents were not asked if we want an industrial zone on our doorstep (https://www.mpdc.govt.nz/projects/te-aroha-industrial-land). Sale of this land could perhaps offset costs of library, playgrounds or other improvements to the town?
Final Comments and Attachments
Do you have any other comments to add to your submission?
Te Aroha Pools - This facility needs family-friendly changing rooms. The current gender specific ones are not fit for purpose as the change areas lack privacy and parents cannot take younger children with a different gender into the change rooms with them. Improving the change rooms will make the facility more appealing for families and others. Rather than spending lots of money on new facilities it would be good to upgrade existing facilities like this one first.
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