No grinches here: Mayor backs Christmas spend

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:

Ashburton’s mayor says there's no time for Grinches as the festive season gets under way.

The Government earlier this year called on councils to spend less on "nice-to-haves" and more on basics like roads and pipes.

This has forced councils to analyse their spending spending habits.

South Waikato District Council recently debated whether its Christmas parade was core council business, but decided to go ahead with it.

Ashburton’s community Christmas event Light up the Night has a $30,000 budget.

Mayor Neil Brown said the event is probably a nice to have, not a must-have expenditure.

“But people enjoy having it so we should do it.

The event is a time to “connect as a community and reflect on the year, while also looking ahead with excitement to Christmas and New Year and the summer in general”, he said.

“Council doesn’t want to be the Grinch and cancel that.

“It doesn’t cost a huge amount, it’s just under $1 per person in the district. If it’s well supported, it's $30,000 well spent."

The council can review it next year if people don’t like it, he said.

“I think it’s a good thing to do.”

Light up the Night takes place on November 30 in the recently renovated Baring Square East, with an evening of entertainment, music, and the giant Christmas tree will be lit up at 9.15pm.

The tree had been on East St for the last few years while the CBD and square were revitalised, but returns to the square where it will be positioned in front of Te Whare Whakatere, the new library and civic building that opened this year.

East St will be closed from 7am until 9.30pm, with the event starting at 6pm.

A week after the Christmas tree is lit up, the NBS Ashburton Santa Parade will be centred around the Ashburton Domain, with the route again running along Walnut Avenue on December 7.

The parade is not a council-run event, but is organised independently by Carol Johns and her team of volunteers.

The council supports the event by assisting with $3000 towards the traffic management plan.

“It’s a huge help as it's one of the biggest costs,” Johns said.

She runs the event “on the smell of an oily rag” and relies on sponsorship to keep the event going.

“We all do it for the community and I’d hate to see the event go.”

This year’s parade was set to be even bigger, with a lot more entries in the theme (a song featuring a colour) section set to entertain the thousands, she said.