Makino targeted by panel

MANAWATU District’s new public voice email panel will ask residents what they think about the Makino Aquatic Centre.

More than 500 people have agreed to take part in the panel, which is representative of the district as a whole.

The panel includes residents from each of the district’s electoral wards, and has been recruited with the same profile as district residents.

One in four of those on the panel is aged 15-39 years, with just more than half aged 40 to 64 and one in five aged over 65 years.

To ensure the right mix of rural and urban views are heard, half of the panel lives in Feilding, with the rest split between the central, northern, and southern wards in the same ratios as the district population.

Makino Manager, Nick Mannix, says the first survey will include questions about the admission charges and options for the future.

He has just completed a community survey of residents, designed to hear what the silent majority would like to see in the future at Makino.

The email panel will be surveyed up to once a month to enable council to hear the public’s view on specific projects and plans.

Panelists will soon receive the Makino survey, followed next month by a survey on what they view as priorities for the council in its Long Term Plan.