Another $550,000 is to be gifted by ratepayers to the Forest Hub 2 development. In fact this figure represents a 20% budget blowout. Budget blowouts with ratepayers picking up the tab are what we’ve come to expect from this council but to have the C E regard that as the new norm and blame things outside the control of management (climate change, rising costs, Covid-19 etc) is an insult to ratepayers and other C Es and executives who manage to stick to a budget. Inability to do that would render those businesses bankrupt, but for the RLC business, just borrowing more is the answer.
What is more galling, is that the now over $3.3 million is being spent on a project on private land, facilitating a private business.
Initially we were ‘sold’ the idea as another carpark option for the mountain bikers but most, wanting readily accessible technical trails, will probably still access them via Waipa. Later we came to hear of a private gondola enterprise on the site. Mountain bikers don’t need such a flash carpark nor 400 parks, but gondola users, probably yes. I wonder, did Council provide Skyline with millions of dollars for its carpark? I doubt it.
Paddi Hodgkiss