The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the work and daily lives of us all.
The board office has been closed until further notice and all our work and most of our daily activities are now being done from our homes. As I can’t go to the YMCA, I am keeping fit doing the Les Mills exercises every day at 9am on TV1. I can still be contacted at M: 021 534 546 or richard.northey@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz and the staff at waitematalocalboard@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
We are now having board members and staff meeting each other by Skype. Our frequent meetings with other groups and individuals are happening by phone, Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Our April business meeting was postponed to 5 May as well as holding the normal 19 May business meeting. These have been moved to the Town Hall, as it contains meeting rooms large enough to contain all interested members of the public but at a physically safe distance from each other. If the COVID-19 level remains too high for face to face meetings, we have new legislation allowing us to meet by Skype, and we are organising for those public deputations giving notice to submit to us by this means. We will concentrate on urgent and vital business, so some issues may need to be delayed until the COVID-19 crisis is over.
We know that the pandemic has limited your lives, threatened your incomes and placed severe stress on households. Please be kind, understanding and patient with each other as we now all need to recover well from this pandemic. The ban on using play and exercise equipment or touching park seating is all purely to stop the spread of the virus, which survives on such surfaces for three days. Similarly, the ban on boating, long car drives and other potentially risky activities is to keep medical and emergency services free to deal effectively with eliminating the virus.
The Waitemata Local Board members continue to receive messages from members of the public concerned about the sudden closure of the Leys Institute Library and Gymnasium. I and the other board members are strongly opposed to demolishing or selling the buildings. The board made an urgent decision to lease premises for the library at 14 Jervois Road for three years. The Little Leys Library will open with the same hours and at the same time as the other council libraries. The council is ensuring the old buildings are cleaned, maintained and protected. Council staff are researching how best to restore these buildings and the services they provided. This is complex work and the options for doing this work will be presented to us in public at our business meeting on 16 June. We very much hope that these beautiful buildings can be restored to their former glory and to public use.
We have been engaging actively with the community about our proposed Annual Budget and Local Board Plan, which is part of the Council Annual Plan consultation. Because the impacts of COVID-19 have reduced council income by $450 million, even with a 3.5% rate rise there will be substantial cuts to the infrastructure projects, maintenance and services provided by the council. Provided these projects stack up, I believe, as does the Government and most business organisations, that we should maintain services to keep people in jobs and aid the recovery of businesses whose survival is otherwise very much at risk. We are concerned that cuts may result in the postponement or cancellation of the Ponsonby Park project at 254 Ponsonby Road and cuts in valued council services, which we will certainly advocate to retain on your behalf.
We are very much aware that some people will find it difficult to pay their rates this year. However, council has developed policies for postponement and rebates to help, and people in this situation should not hesitate to contact council to apply for this relief. Council is also providing food parcels and advice for those who have unexpectedly lost their income. Phone 0800 22 22 96 if you need this. (RICHARD NORTHEY)
Contact Richard Northey, Chair of the Waitemata Local Board, northeyr@xtra.co.nz, www.facebook.com/waitemata