Käpiti Coast Older Persons' Council

Thanks to those who submitted thoughts.

Here is a rough draft of what we have so far - any further thoughts by midday Tuesday 26th so we can finalise at our meeting on Wednesday (submissions have to be in by Friday)

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The Kāpiti Coast Older Persons’ Council is concerned about a fundamental assuption in the the consultation document, which states that “Cost increases are largely based on inflation (1.8% to 2.5%). ” Statistics New Zealand report that the Consumers Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2 percent in the three months ending March, and pushed up the annual rate to 0.4 percent.

The Kāpiti Coast Older Persons’ Council:

• Does not support the proposed one-off $50,000 grant to Wellington Free Ambulance for its new Kāpiti station as on Page 3 of Kāpiti News April 20 it is reported that the funding is already in place for the new ambulance station.

• Supports bringing the management of the Paraparaumu i-Site service in-house

• In response to the proposal to no longer fund small business support, the Kāpiti Coast Older Persons’ Council would appreciate more detail on the benefits this support has produced in the past, similarly proof of overall benefits to the community of the differential rate that businesses enjoy.

• On the proposal of reducing the budget for big events, the Kāpiti Coast Older Persons’ Council comments that any events supported should benefit the wider community, not just those that can afford high ticket prices.

• Does not support reducing one-off community grants by $50,000. Our district is still financially immature in that it has not developed financial entities that fill service the benefactor need in other areas.

Key initiatives

The Kāpiti Coast Older Persons’ Council remains unconvinced about the timing and scope of the Town Centres project. It asks if there been an economic evaluation of the project, and if so what was the outcome?

It would appreciate clarity on the proposed major development of a sports and recreation facility at Otaraua Park and how it relates to, or is affected by, the Waikanae Park changing rooms upgrade (now projected to be $500,000) and Te Ātiawa Park hard courts resurfacing.

The Kāpiti Coast Older Persons’ Council supports constructing a wider shared pathway/cycleway on the southern side from Ngahina Street to Arawhata Road, and also advocates for the provision of seats along walkways. Many older members of our community struggle to keep walking without a regular break. It is so important to enable those less mobile people to keep active and engaged. The Kāpiti Coast Older Persons’ Council would also support the proposal to investigate a targeted rate to supplement the Regional Council’s building of bus shelters and seats in Kāpiti.

Maclean Park

The consultation document proposes a long term plan "rather than doing reactive work to repair or renew infrastructure". The Kāpiti Coast Older Persons’ Council comments that it may be too late as there appears to have been some ineffective, possibly counter-productive, work done in recent months on Maclean Park which has not enhanced one of our major destination parks. Any solution should be realistically costed and minimise disruption in the tourist season of 2016/2017.

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Wordsmithing and presentation to come!

All comments welcome!

Regards

John