Wairarapa Times-Age Thur 19th May

Page 1

Thursday, May 19, 2022

LOCALLY OWNED. INDEPENDENT.

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INSIDE: Rubbish dumped from stolen trailer P2

$1.80

Damning review contradicts internal clocktower report FULL STORY P2-3

Covid delays civic facility decision

Flooding furious Featherston residents air grievances MARY ARGUE

mary.argue@age.co.nz

Featherston flood victims are taking steps to combat the town’s frequent natural disasters. About 30 people attended a public meeting on Tuesday night to hear civil engineer Mike Hewitson outline the root causes of Featherston’s flood issues. The 90-minute interactive meeting was also livestreamed on the Featherston Flooding Facebook page and had many people airing grievances on what they deemed a long-ignored issue. Hewitson said climate change experts predicted flooding events would only

It went all through the farmland, all through our property. The water was 14mm above the skirting.

- Featherston resident

become larger and more frequent. February’s Ex-Tropical Cyclone Dovi saw Donald’s Creek breach its banks, and inundate houses along State

Highway 2 for several days. Widespread surface flooding also caused chaos in the town, with raw sewage flowing in the streets. One couple living south of Featherston near the Donald’s Creek boundary said their house was still uninhabitable after the February floods. “It went all through the farmland, all through our property. “The water was 14mm above the skirting.” They said parts of the property were under more than a metre of water. Problems highlighted at Donald’s Creek included a

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Flooding along SH2 in Featherston after Donald’s Creek breached its banks in February.

WEATHER:

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INSIDE:  Local P1-4

PHOTO/MARY ARGUE

 Opinion P8-9

 Television P27

EMILY IRELAND

emily.ireland@age.co.nz

Pause, review, progress, or refresh. Masterton councillors have been given four options for the future of the council’s civic facility project, which could cost more than $70 million. But the decision paper and report, totalling 54 pages, were only made available to the public and councillors on Tuesday night due to staff illnesses. It meant there were only six business hours to digest the content before the matter was set to be discussed yesterday. When yesterday’s meeting began, Masterton Mayor Lyn Patterson quickly addressed the situation and withdrew the agenda item. The council would now meet on Monday, May 23, at 6.30pm to discuss the agenda and make a call on the civic facility’s future. Patterson said she had recently recovered from covid, as had the council’s chief executive David Hopman. Hopman was the author of the decision report and only returned to work on Tuesday. “That was the reasoning behind the late paper,” Patterson said. “After discussions with the

 Puzzles P38-39

ANNUAL

We know that this is an important issue for our community. The paper was delivered late. I think councillors would have received it early yesterday evening – apologies for that.

- Masterton Mayor Lyn Patterson

chief executive and advice from staff, with which I am in agreement, I am going to remove from the agenda item 12: Civic Facility – Reverse Brief and Next Steps. “We know that this is an important issue for our community. “The paper was delivered late. “I think councillors would have received it early yesterday evening – apologies for that. “As you are aware, not only have I had covid, but our chief executive has as well, and he returned to work yesterday.”

 Classiÿ eds P40

Continued on page 2  Sport P41-44

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