Rumblings and murmurings - what's up in Cromwell?

The iconic big fruit, recently repainted, currently denuded
click here to read updates on this project

I'm writing from a motel room in Invercargill.  I'm here supporting lummox no.2 at the South Island swim champs and I have good wifi - but sadly no sky TV for watching the Bledisloe Cup match. This is a strange trip for me now that he is at university in Dunedin and swimming for the Neptune club. He's staying with the team, I'm on my own and reflecting on how times have changed.  Once upon a time I'd be down here with all three kids, managing the team, busy and involved.  This time I feel very much a spectator, a little bit redundant.  It was a last minute decision to come so I'm not even officiating on pool deck.  I am however enjoying watching him compete.  He's managed returning from injury and is trying to fit trainings around study and I'm proud of his resilience, his stickability, his transition to adulthood.  It is definitely time to move to a different way of being involved in my community. 

There seems to be a lot going on in Cromwell at the moment and lots of people have lots of questions about exactly what is happening, how will what is happening impact on our lives and what happens next?

Bannockburn poo pond bypass work

I know some people driving past this trench dug on the side of Bannockburn Road were really hopeful that this was ultra fast fibre coming to provide high speed connectivity.  The work to improve our waste water infrastructure is definitely something that is needed - but maybe not as exciting as a high speed internet connection. There have been questions asked about whether a track has been considered as the trench is refilled to provide a safe walk and bike track.  

So, this has me thinking are we listening to what people want for our town?  Are we ensuring that things we value like our greenway system are being maintained and extended as our housing areas expand?   Our schools have fibre broadband through the Network for Learning, but this isn't available for our homes and businesses.  And then there are the questions about continued spending on the mall, lake weed, poisoning on popular walking tracks and safety around pick up and drop off zones for our schools.

I think about the debacle in Dunedin a couple of years ago when North Road from the Gardens to Normanby had all the road markings repainted and on the same day, a couple of hours later, a section was ripped up for resurfacing - a fabulous example of one hand not knowing what the other is doing.  Click here to read the article from the ODT.  

That could never happen here? Surely not.  

So keep on rumbling and mumbling and make sure you have your say by voting.  Voting papers should arrive shortly after 16 September and you can complete and return ASAP after that.