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Former Warkworth Area Business Association chair Dean Sampson.
A fracture in the Warkworth business community is threatening to spill into legal action and the first head to roll in the controversy is Warkworth Area Business Association (WABA) chair Dean Sampson.
Mr Sampson has tendered his resignation citing “personal reasons” as the cause. However, his resignation was specifically called for in a written request received by the association just before Christmas.
Signed by 10 financial members, the request seeks a Special General Meeting to end the Business Improvement District (BID) establishment process, calls for Mr Sampson’s resignation and promotes the resignation of the whole executive committee.
The latest association newsletter says that, “We have since been advised by the signatories that the Special General Meeting issue is being taken up by their legal team and, as this now appears to be a legal matter, we will not be taking any further action about the SGM request at this time.”
The latest developments come after news that a separate business association has formed, with one of its primary aims being to defeat the current campaign to establish a BID in Warkworth. The BID is being strongly championed by WABA and the Rodney Local Board, which has funded the establishment campaign to the tune of $23,500.
The new association – the Warkworth Commerce & Industrial Association – is centred largely on the Woodcocks Road industrial area, where many businesses have opposed being included in the BID boundary from the outset.
They believe the compulsory annual BID levy will have no benefit for them.
But WABA needs the industrial estate to raise the $180,000 annually that it believes is necessary to be financially sustainable.
Two previous attempts to establish a BID for Warkworth have failed.
Meanwhile, less than half of the 513 business and property owners on the WABA BID database have registered to vote in the establishment ballot.
At the close of registrations on January 15, 190 registrations had been received.
For the ballot to be valid, at least 25 per cent (or 128) of the 513 identified business and property owners in the BID district have to vote.
Of that figure, a minimum of 51 per cent (or 66 votes) must be in favour of the BID before Council will recognise it as a mandate.
BID coordinator Rachel Callender says that every property owner and business entity in the BID area will get a ballot, regardless of whether or not they registered.
“The database will be corrected as needed right through the balloting period to ensure that every eligible voter receives a ballot,” she says. “That’s a requirement of the BID policy. If someone hasn’t received a ballot up to or even during the voting period, they only have to call Election Services and one will be sent.”
The postal ballot will be conducted over three weeks, from late March to mid-April.
Members rally
In the wake of Dean Sampson’s resignation, the Warkworth Area Business Association committee has co-opted the services of Eleanor Trueman, who is the administrator at Land Development & Exploration Warkworth, and Susan Vize, owner of Chocolate Brown. A committee spokesperson says that both new members are passionate about realising the future potential of Warkworth and are supporting the BID process.
