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The Historic Village Strategy planned to turn the centre on 17th Avenue into a financially viable community organisation has been approved by Tauranga City Council.
Council’s strategy and policy committee approved the strategy on Tuesday afternoon, despite some concerns from councillors.
The Historic Village in 17th Avenue.
The Historic Village Strategy is supposed to stir the village out of its doldrums, providing direction and instilling new life into the village.
But the approved strategy on the surface appears to retain the present council command control structure, leading some councillors to become concerned about the apparent lack of voice of the village advisory group.
Councillor Wayne Moultrie called for a workshop on setting up a trust.
Murray Guy, the former project steering group chairman, also commented that the advisory group would not have any teeth.
Group manager business services Dean Riley’s says the advisory group doesn’t need teeth but instead needs to develop a Master Plan to become the decision-making template for the village’s future.
He says with the strategy approved they will be able to offer tenants proper leases turning the village’s financial performance around.
Dean says the draft strategy specifically consulted with management, with 74 per cent of those replying preferring the village to remain a council activity.
The issue was flagged by Tauranga organiser and village tenant Mike Frolich in his original submissions.
He says the city council’s insistence on remaining an integral part of village management is at the core of most of the problems experienced by the village in the last 10 years.
He also says the two main village user groups have totally different views on how the village should operate. The retailers want to open it up, while the majority representing the social services tenants, do not.
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Posted on 27-04-2012 08:14 | By murray.guy
As it is today, the Historic Village moves forward, adding value to 1000’s at no cost to the ratepayer ... Ratepayers are contributing many $1000’s annually to a wide variety of community service organisations. A glaringly obvious example is the Arataki Community Centre, completed recently at a cost of $3 million. It has a full time manager, all manner of rooms, a kitchen, a community police person - and mostly sits like a yellow bus at a bus stop (eating up our scarce resources in overheads and few passengers). The Historic Village in stark contrast is adding value to the lives of many (hundreds if not thousands) who pay rates, live in Tauranga, on a daily basis through the efforts of the many community support agencies, the commercial service providers and shops, who have chosen the village as their home. They pay rates and rent. For a time there was tension as the various contrasting providers established themselves, with a very small minority choosing to ’stir the pot of unrest’. Within Council we have a handful who lend support to efforts to undermine the sustainability and credibility of the Historic Village. Over the past ten years the Historic Village has not required ANY ratepayer support. Over the next 10 years there are amounts ranging from $69-$90,000 to carry out identified areas of maintenance and upgrades. Staff anticipate that the growth in vitality and turnover at the Village will ensure the Village continues it’s enormous (immeasurable) contribution to our community cost neutral to the ratepayer - Imagine the rate reduction if the same could be achieved at the Arataki Community Centre, the Art Gallery, events such as the Jazz Festival, Tourism BOP, Priority One. Yet it is the Historic Village a bitter few should choose to focus on with as few to derail - Some folk just hate success. It’s a weird world!