My Account
With Christmas fast approaching, it is getting near to the time of the year when we reflect and start to plan ahead. Life however continues at a relentlessly hectic pace.
The local body elections have come and gone. We welcomed three new Hibiscus Coast members: Vicki Watson, Caitlin Watson and Mike Williamson. They join our hard working anchor and newly appointed deputy chair, Janet Fitzgerald. Right from the start, Vicki, Caitlin and Mike have fitted in, worked hard and quickly come up to speed with council processes and plans.
In December we had a whirlwind of events. We celebrated the fifth birthday of the predator-free Shakespear Regional Reserve with the SOSSI volunteers. The next day saw an open day at Stoney Homestead in Millwater. A fantastic job has been done transforming the historic homestead into a functional community hub for Millwater residents. The restored homestead comes with over half an acre of land making it an extremely valuable asset for this fast growing community. Well done to everyone who campaigned to save the homestead despite its extremely poor condition. Looking ahead, the Stoney Homestead Trust will administer the Stoney Homestead Community Hub and local groups looking to meet here or find out more should email info@stoneyhomestead.org.nz.
This month, we also stepped up on our key advocacy item – Penlink. We hosted the Auckland Chamber of Commerce who made a presentation on why Penlink is vital for business growth in our area. Over 60 local community and business leaders attended a breakfast meeting at the newly opened Te Herenga Marae in Silverdale.
In January, we will host a similar presentation for our new mayor along with Auckland Transport and the Silverdale Business Association. We believe a significant reduction of 16,000 cars a day slowly snaking their way through Silverdale will allow Silverdale to develop into the valuable employment hub it was designed to be, providing much needed quality local employment.
Next year we would like your help to plan for the future. We are putting together the 2017/2018 local board agreement which indicates what we expect to achieve in the financial year 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018. As always, we encourage you to read it and let us know your thoughts. So far projects include sun shade and equipment improvements for existing playgrounds and advocacy for funding to complete the Orewa sea wall project.
Next year we also draft a new local board plan which sets the blueprint for what we intend to achieve over the next three years. We need to hear what your community or neighbourhood needs so the plan reflects what our community would like to see happen. Public consultation will occur during May/June.
Finally on behalf of the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board, I would like to wish you and your families a safe, restful and happy holiday season.
