Halt requested on water bill
Masterton District Council [MDC] wants the government to stop work on the Water Services Legislation Bill, pending the outcome of this year’s general election. In a submission to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee, Masterton District Council chief executive David Hopman said that, as a member of Communities 4 Local Democracy [C4LD], the council supports the coalition’s draft submission.
The primary recommendation in the C4LD submission is “That the Water Services Legislation Bill not proceed any further pending the outcome of the 2023 General Election”, now set down for October 14, 2023. Among other C4LD recommendations that MDC supports is that local authorities should not be able to be compelled to carry out the water services billing function against their will. Instead, they recommend that as part of the establishment process, Water Services Entities should be required to introduce and then run the billing function.
Pool closed
The Pahiatua pool is closing the winter on Tuesday next week, a couple of weeks before it was originally scheduled to. The pool’s management said low water temperature has led to a decline in swimmer numbers, even when the weather has been sunny and warm. The remainder of the annual budget for the pool will be put toward autumn maintenance. There is also a ‘buy a block’ campaign, which aims to raise funds for a new covered facility to replace the existing pool, which is more than 100 years old.
Martinborough maintenance
SH53 Kitchener St in Martinborough will be closed for a makeover later this month. The resurfacing work will be done between March 20 and 24 in five daytime shifts from 7am to 7pm, and will be completed in stages and block by block, beginning at the turns in and out of Memorial Square.
Two blocks will be closed daily to allow room for machinery movements, though only one block will be resurfaced during each closure. No room will be available for street parking in the closed blocks.
