It is time to recognise the vision displayed by the self-appointed Civic Amenities Group (CAG), who have recently briefed Tauranga City Council on their vision for our great city. The outcome appears to have been an agreement in principle to collaboratively work towards the betterment of the city. The naysayers will condemn this CAG as affluent men (and women) wanting to exert influence for their own financial gain. I can assure you that this isn’t the case, and we (ratepayers) should applaud this group, who are prepared to give back to a city that they are passionate about. Paul Adams chairs this group, and while he has been exceptionally well rewarded from his hard work and vision as a city developer, he is also a major philanthropic funder of much of the community-based initiatives that are so essential for a thriving and vibrant city.
The Civic Amenities Group’s aspirations include reinvigorating Tauranga City to bring about aspirational change without any form of personal gain. These people do have influence and personal wealth, and rather than knock them, we should all embrace their vision and aspirations. These include the redevelopment of our mould inflicted Civic Centre; the building of a $25m Stadium at the Domain (downtown Tauranga); a privately funded downtown hotel; a downtown arts and cultural centre (incorporating a museum); and linking with the agreed University development, and the High Performance Sports initiative. All of these developments will cost over $170m, but the CAG contends that it is affordable to ratepayers, with the combination of funding initiatives, including private/public partnership funding.
This is a well thought out, realistic proposal, and our local Councillors and ratepayers should embrace the possibilities. This proposal might need refining, but it is a wonderful template to really make a step-change for our beautiful city. Well done CAG – please embrace this now Tauranga.
If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me at andrew@vond.co.nz