Richard Moore's Straight Talk Columns

Common sense prevails over hot pools

29/3/2011

WITH the cooler weather coming, sitting in the Mount hot pools is just heaven.

As the salty waters boil their way through the aches of pains of long days typing, the only worry is how to keep the laptop floating on the slightly worse-for-wear polystyrene kickboard.

Looking up at the mighty Mauao it is hard to believe that some folk wanted to ruin the view.

True, the money would mean nice, hopefully heated changing rooms instead of the cold rooms that currently exist but at what cost?

Actually, about 7.5 million taxpayer bucks, that's all.

Oh, but it will make money, the few supporters say.

Mmmmm, but will it make enough to pay the interest on the loan to build it?

Or allow the hot pools to continue to subsidise all the other pools in Tauranga?

Who knows, but it is a huge risk to take in hard economic times.

And what about car parking for the bazillions of hot-poolers elbowing their way into the new complex, zimmer frames a-bumping, false teeth a-castaneting.

Even with the latest space-saver cars available there'd be no room at that end of the Mount for a fraction of the numbers - some 75,000 a year - being mentioned by those wanting the new complex.

Parking rage would be a bigger danger than a boulder or earthy avalanche from Mauao's summit, or a tsunami sluicing around its base.

Fortunately for fans of the Mount, Commissioner Greg Hill thought the same and canned the hot pools complex redevelopment by refusing resource consent for the project.

In his finding Commissioner Hill said: ``The proposal will, notwithstanding the positive effects to the applicant (council) and community, have more than minor adverse effects with some significant adverse effects.

``These include the adverse effects on landscape, visual amenity, the loss of open space, and transportation - especially car parking.

``These effects cannot be appropriately avoided, remedied or mitigated and are not outweighed by the positive effects of the proposal.''

And so have said most of us.

Thanks, commissioner, for listening to the people who overwhelmingly told the council for years the pools project should not go ahead.

Goodness knows how much ratepayer money has been wasted in the bid, but there have certainly been some full time jobs created for five or so years. Now here is a word or warning, you can bet your bottom dollar there will be an appeal against commissioner Hill's ruling.

The council's pools' business mob that wants the new complex, Tauranga City Aquatic is to meet council this week over the matter.

Speaking to TCAL board chairman Warren Banks over the decision I got the feeling neither he, nor his staff, want to see five years' work going down the plug hole.

*******

I loved the film footage of the bullying victim picking up his tormentor and throwing him to the ground, breaking the kid's ankle in the process.

It was just such poetic justice that I couldn't stop grinning - until I heard the bullying victim had been suspended from school for defending himself.

Isn't that just so typical of the warped views many school authorities have today.

As another example of school idiocy, we have the case where the head boy of Hastings Boys' High was convicted of drink-driving but was allowed to keep his prestigious position.

According to the school's principal Rob Sturch, Luke Bradley is an excellent student and all-round fine fellow who has made 2000 good decisions and one bad one.

Well, it was quite a bad one, actually.

What sort of example did he set?

And what sort of example did the school board set by not immediately dumping him?

It does send the wrong message to all young drivers and Luke will learn little from the experience other than if you are in a position of power you can get away with anything.

And Hastings Boys' High has rejected suggestions that its handling of the matter had anything to do with Luke's dad being on the board and his mum being a school administrator.

Riiiiiiiight.

richard@richardmoore.com