At monitoring committee, elected members heard from a local gym owner complaining about what he construed as unfair competition from Baywave Gym.

At annual/10 year plan submissions, council had heard from other gym owners the same story and we had said we would look into their concerns. Just after that, LesiureCo, Baywave's management contractor, went down the gurgler and Tauranga City Aquatics Ltd (TCAL), council's arms length aquatics company, stepped into the day-to-day operating role. Consequently, they are coming to terms with the whole financial operation details of which they weren't previously aware of. I understand they are doing well but it will be some time before the full financial implications are accurately known. From where I sit I hear concerns about unfair competition and take them seriously. I also hear concerns about ratepayers' unfair subsidy for pool operation and uppermost in my consideration is ensuring that in addressing the issues, ratepayers don't end up with more rating subsidy requirement.

Hearing about crime
Police commander inspector Mike Clement gave us his regular update on crime in the Western Bay. It's a revelation about what goes on out there and makes you realise what a big city we've turned into. It doesn't seem that long ago that you read about the carry on in the USA and it seemed so far away and now it's here. Of all Western BOP public place violence, disorder and breach of liquor ban offences, 68 per cent of them occur on The Strand. So to those few bar owners who continue to moan about their financial future, take a wider look at what is going on and take some positive action to assist council, police and law abiding patrons in reigning in this appalling statistic.

Taking back the beach
Coastal encroachments where properties along the Mount's ocean beach make unlawful use of council reserves got another airing. It's an ongoing issue and some property owners seem to be in denial and living by the dictum of possession being 9/10 of the law. Well its not. We've tried the softly softly, nice, warm fuzzy approach and it has not always worked. We were shown photos of properties built up to their legal boundaries – in one case overhanging the boundary, and their outdoor amenities on public land. Some construction has been major and it will all be required to be removed, at owners' expense, and the dunes reinstated. Previously Murray Guy and Catherine Stewart volunteered to help liaise with those owners, but haven't done anything to date as far as we are aware. Registration of the encroachments are to be made on each offending property title and letters have gone out to 357 properties.

Rating reality
Rating valuation advice notes have been delivered and still some people seem to be confused about the tie up between this and their rates account. It works like this: Council has to collect this year, $81,027 million from ratepayers. Staff, in simple terms, divide this up according to each person's property value. So, provided your property value rises or falls along with everyone else then the revaluation has no rating effect. There will always be a few properties that for one reason or another don't fit the pattern, but they are the exception. Next year's rate requirement budget is $87,394 million so any rates increase will generally be unrelated to your revaluation. And the rating revaluation may not relate to your actual property market value.

The stinky subject
While some of you might think this is the most boring of subjects, at wastewater management review committee we heard about biosolids/sludge, disposal, reclaimed water, air discharges and ocean outfalls. You won't think it's boring if the wastewater system doesn't function. Like turning on a light switch or a tap, most people don't give it a second thought. But it is one of the modern age wonders. Try and imagine long drops, potties and night carts. Probably some won't know what I'm talking about. Solids only make up 0.2 per cent of wastewater. Treatment is all about separating the solids from the clear water which is used as the conveyancing mechanism to get the solids to the treatment plants. Solids/sludge are removed and sent to landfill and this disposal is a major headache. At Chapel Street, the sludge is 'digested” by microbes to reduce volumes, dewatered by centrifugal forces and sent to Hampton Downs Landfill in the Waikato by truck. The truck is usually loaded very early in the morning and gone before most people go to work. But occasionally it's late and then the combination of the heat of the day and the time left sitting results in an odour problem. Sometimes the tanks need extra cleaning and the other day the contractor had just finished a load of fish offal from Sandfords and staff said the combination with sludge was a smell to behold – it won't happen again.

Future sludge
At Te Maunga there is a different process with the sludge being 'settled” in sludge ponds which gradually fill up and have to be cleared – about every six years or so. This is a million dollar exercise which is going on at present. We're looking at a permanent solution before the ponds fill up within the next five years. Another issue bubbling under (pun intended) this is the use of treated or reclaimed water leaving Chapel Street. In 1992, at huge expense, council installed an ultra violet (UV) treatment process. This water is swimming quality. It goes to Te Maunga out through the wetlands and out the ocean outfall. During its passage through the wetlands it gets 'recontaminated” by wildlife droppings and other effects so the UV treatment is rendered useless. But along the way to Te Maunga there are many potential uses and users if we can change attitudes ranging from government, Public Health, medical and the community.

Water for the future
By using reclaimed water, like for instance irrigation and recycling through the wastewater system, we reduce demand for potable (drinking quality water) and most importantly the financial demands for increased water charges. It's not that complex, but the root of the problem, apart from people's attitudes, is that for large commercial water users, our potable water is too cheap. If we reuse the Chapel Street water it doesn't have to go through the double handling process and we also reduce any environmental effects of the concentration of ocean outfall discharges. With a bit of capital investment some commercial users could get suitable water for next to nothing, but there needs to be pro active promotion, which I am advocating council takes.