Nelson Weekly
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wednesday 12 december 2018
Steady steps on job ladder
All I want for Christmas...
page 11
dream world cup for Amelia
page 28-29
Our unknown assets Page 18-20
Hundreds of assets, not known to belong to council, to cost millions Sara Hollyman Reporter
sara@nelsonweekly.co.nz
Nelson City Council is responsible for thousands of signs and more than 100 retaining walls
that it didn’t know it owned, many of which have been poorly maintained with some at a high risk of failure. The stark assessment means that millions more ratepayer dollars needs to be allocated to ensure
their upkeep. The full picture of council’s assets were laid bare after council undertook a review as part of its 2018-28 Transport Asset Management Plan (AMP). The review revealed that council
owns 3253 more road signs than the original 2910 that was estimated – a total of 6163. A detailed inspection of all council-owned retaining walls was carried out in 2007 and since then council has found another
Lighting up Nelson
130 walls that it is responsible for, the condition of many of which were unknown. The valuation of the retaining walls and associated handrails
SEE PAGE 2
Steve and Anita Parkins just started collecting lights. Before long they thought they should probably do something with them. So, a few years ago they began decorating their Monaco home with an array of colours. They are now one of the 12 displays across Nelson as part of the Light Up Nelson Christmas lights show. Their palm-infused landscape made a good natural canvas for the thousands of lights that Anita reckons took about 45 hours to install. “So, we are pretty tired now,” Anita says. Steve says that it’s all about giving a treat for the children that come around to have a look. Anita says they are still thinking they need more lights and may end up just adding to their installation over the years. “As long as the kids get a kick out of it,” says Steve. “That’s the main thing.” A map of all the displays is available in the Nelson App in the Christmas section, as well as the ability for the public to vote on their favourite. Words and photo: Charles Anderson.
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