‘Impatience’ over Westport comment

The Team Reporter from The Press

By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon

Two Westport-based West Coast Regional Council representatives have expressed "impatience" at ratepayer criticism of the council's role in protecting the town from future flooding events.

Both Buller representatives have instead paid tribute to the behind the scenes scramble by the regional council to seal the business case for the proposed $26 million Westport flood scheme.

At this week's council meeting, Cr Laura Coll-McLaughlin queried the state of the tender documentation for urgent retrospective maintenance on old flood works on the Buller River upstream of Westport at Organs Island, and near O'Conor Home.

It followed ratepayer approaches indicating the high level of interest in the town, she said.

The council has already approved that urgent work which if not done leaves Westport vulnerable to another big flood event.

Coll-McLaughlin said she and fellow Westport Rating District Committee member, regional council chairman Allan Birchfield, had been outspoken "about how urgent that work is" aside from the proposed flood scheme proper.

"I also think that the amount of work our staff are dealing with for a council of our size and our budget is absolutely phenomenal.

"I'm getting a little bit impatient with criticisms we get back. I think we maybe don't blow our trumpets sufficiently but quite frankly the work (staff) are doing, I am profoundly grateful for."

Chief executive Heather Mabin said the small council's staff were under "an incredible amount of pressure".

In particular, the Westport scheme technical advisory group for the business case along with council's in-house staff had faced extraordinary pressure.

Some of the constraint would be taken up under the new staff secondment arrangement via the Greater Wellington Regional Council, in place for the several of the Government's Infrastructure Reference Group (shovel ready) and other projects the council had, Mabin said.

Cr John Hill said he too was receiving a lot of local feedback "and I get quite annoyed when I hear the word 'procrastination' being used".

"I'd like to get the message out to our ratepayers, the last thing we can be accused of is procrastination."

Coll-McLaughlin said she heard from ratepayers that they liked efficiency and for the council not to be overstaffed.

However, it was doing its best to respond urgently within limited resources, "when we have business cases to prepare and urgent work to meet and then flooding events in February and heavy rain now".

The council has to meet the proposed flood scheme business case deadline set by the Government, by the end of this month.

"I'm getting impatient with comments like 'oh Covid, they're using it as an excuse' when we can see behind the scenes that is far from the case -- and I just want that noted to staff," Coll-McLaughlin said.

"I cannot believe what [staff] have managed to achieve to timeframes that we have had put around us."