There is an irony behind councillor Hayden Evans argument with the Tauranga City Council over a pipeline easement over his property.

Hayden wants to be the engineer representative on the job so he can supervise progress across his property.
It also means he will be paid about $13,000 by the Council as the supervising engineer for the project.
Yet, when Hayden first appeared in council during the last election campaign, Mayor Stuart Crosby says Hayden's submissions to the open forum were about contractor Opus getting too much council work.
'He came in and made a submission to an open forum about Opus and the council, because he thought Opus was getting council roading jobs. All that stuff is conducted through a proper tender process,” says Stuart.
It is Hayden's insistence that he control the quality of the pipeline work on his property that is the centre of the argument. It is also the point some fellow councillors do not like.
It is a small project, an engineer's representative is required and Hayden is suitably qualified for that role, according to engineering and projects manager Chris Olivier.
The amount Hayden was to be paid was to be $150 an hour for three hours work a day, three days a week.
Hayden's solicitor Simon Collett says the council's decision this week to put the engineer's representative position out to tender, puts them back to square one in mediation process.
'There was agreement in principle, subject to it being signed off by council,” says Simon.
'Council didn't sign off. It changed the terms. We are effectively back to square one. I'm very disappointed. It was a pragmatic solution to a much bigger problem. There are quite fundamental underlying issues that bought council staff and Hayden to that point,” says Simon.
'I thought Hayden was generous in his final position.”
Stuart Crosby says the reality of the situation is about public perception.
'When you become a councillor you should remove yourself from it,” says Stuart.
'When I was in business we didn't tender for any council work. You just don't put yourself in that position.”
It wasn't so much that Hayden wanted the job, it was that he wanted it without it going to tender, says Stuart.
The pipeline is to connect two reservoirs, one of which has not yet been built.