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May 6, 2015
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Council bases road sealing on targeted levy
Principal Cynthia Holden inspects the damage caused by the fire on April 27.
Fire fails to dampen school spirit Warkworth Primary School’s term two cornerstone value ‘compassion’ has taken on greater meaning in the aftermath of a fire on Anzac Monday. The fire, in the early hours of April 27, destroyed a storage shed and sports equipment. It left the students with no gear to practice or compete in the busy season, with the first soccer tournament scheduled for three days after the fire. But thanks to the quick and generous response from local sports clubs, by the time the school opened the next day they had restocked so the games
could go on. Principal Cynthia Holden says they have been overwhelmed by the support. “The collective effort reinforces we are a community of learners and in times of need we work to support each other,” she says. She says it was important to get sports gear quickly to help the children feel secure after the fire. “We needed to understand the hurt we may be feeling as a consequence of the fire. But we are fortunate the
sports organisations have shown us compassion and we will manage.” The fire was in the senior part of the school. It also damaged recreational and after school care equipment, toilets and the pool changing sheds in the same building. Firefighters arrived just in time to stop it spreading to the adjoining administration block. Warkworth senior station officer Devan Flewellyn says flames were licking the outside of the building. “If we had been there five minutes continued page 2
Rodney residential ratepayers are facing a $104 a year transport levy, some of which has been promised for road sealing in Rodney. Mayor Len Brown has made the proposal in his budget report on the current Long Term Plan. The proposal also includes a $156 a year levy for business ratepayers. If the initiative is supported by the Budget Committee this week, it is expected to increase spending on road sealing in Rodney from $4.5 million to $10 million over the next three years. Rodney Councillor Penny Webster has welcomed the news. “I spoke to a few people to gauge whether they thought a levy would be acceptable and most of them said ‘yes’,” she says. “A levy means the money can be ring-fenced so that it must be spent on road sealing projects in Rodney.” However, an Auckland Council says the ring fence is around transport spending, not specifically road sealing, as the levy is proposed for the whole of Auckland. It is estimated that $10 million over three years would equal about eight kilometres of sealing a year, at $405,000 p/km. Rodney Local Board member Greg Sayers says this is well short of the $10 million or 25 kms of sealing a year the community needs. “The Mayor is actually asking ratepayers to pay more for the privilege to having their roads sealed,” he says. “This is outrageous. The question he fails to answer is where is the $33 million rural ratepayers already pay going to?”
off the drawing board this month . . .
new retail shops – Matakana
l Graham SawelArchitecturAl Designer
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