First Council Meeting Gets 2010 off to a Flying Start

At the first full council meeting of the year, Franklin District’s Mayor and Councillors made a number of decisions that are important to the community now, and in the future. After the meeting Franklin Mayor, Mark Ball said “the next 8 months will be complex, as we work through a number of issues, prior to being replaced by the Auckland Council, Waikato and Hauraki Districts. However, we are committed to doing the right thing for the residents and ratepayers of Franklin, right until the end.”

Decisions made today included:

Historic Pollok School Purchased for the community
After protracted negotiations, Council approved the purchase of the historic Pollok School for community use. The final price of $35,000 is considerably less than the original asking price and will be paid for from reserve accounts.

No Community Board levy for Waiuku/Awhitu ratepayers in next year’s rates
Following discussions with the Waiuku/Awhitu Community Board, Council decided that as the Board will be wound up on 31 October, the community board levy will not be charged for the 2010/11 year. The Board will operate for the four months (July-October) using reserve funds from the current year.

Libraries moving back into Council’s operations
Following discussions with the Franklin Arts Culture and Library Trust, arrangements are being formalised to bring the three Franklin Libraries back under Council’s control from 1 July. This will help the Pukekohe and Waiuku Libraries integrate with all Auckland libraries from 1 November 2010. We understand that a single Auckland library card is due to be launched on 1 November. Tuakau library will become part of the Waikato District Library operation and negotiations are underway to try and get an Auckland-wide library card for all current Franklin library patrons.

Submission to the Third Auckland bill adopted
Council formally adopted its submission to the Select Committee who are considering the Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill. This is the third bill which is part of establishing the new Auckland Council and the partition of Franklin District. While the Bill and the submission are quite technical, it is essential that the detail of the bill works well for current Franklin residents. Mayor Mark Ball will be presenting Franklin’s submission to the Select Committee at 2pm on Monday 1 March.