Flight from city hall

re: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/thepress/0,2106,3615440a13135,00.html

This is a must read - The CCC in all its disfunction - the story we had all heard wispers of, has been verified and published by The Press.
The council is being stripped of years of institutional knowledge, wisdom and experience because the new city manager, or Town Clerk as she should be known, has deemed herself to be the saviour of the city by getting rid of all things and people that came before her.
A few years ago I went to the coucil building in Tuam street adn laughed to myself as I walked around and saw badley photocopies bits of paper on the wall that had printed on them 'giving value, being valued'. If they were up now, they would read 'giving value, getting screwed"!
I fear for Christchurch in a few years time when the vehicle of change (McTurk - by name by nature) moves on to another job, Gary or Bob or whoever is unfortunate to be Mayor, wakes up and finds that the city is crumbling because no-one who works for the council knows how anything works anymore.
Now as it stands, there are parts of the inner city where there is a lack of knowledge as to where pipes and drains are. People who used to work at the council and now are consultants or are retired, are called up to fill in the gaps of knowledge.
The head of the parks unit apparently doesn't know anything about parks. That is Health Ministry thinking. Don't trust anyone in a department who actually knows anything about it. They will just be feathering their nest.
When 'The Turk' arrived she had a pile of chicken in front of her. She had a choice as to what she made of it; chicken salad or chicken shit. Sadly she doesn' like healthy food.

Outdoor rent scrap with the council

The bars on the strip are refusing to pay the rent charged by the council. Antony Gough is out the front beating it up in the media at any opportunity. Here's how it works. The council charges business 30% of their indoor rent per m2 for the first 30m2 of outdoor area and then 26% for the remainder. If this dollar figure is over inflated, it is because their base rent is over inflated. Presenting this rent set down by the council, at a figure per table and chair is at best misleading. If you want to bring the figure per table and chair down then put out more tables and chairs. Christchurch doesn't actually need the outdoor seating on the strip, afterall the weather makes it unuseable for 9 months of the year.
To the bars on the strip, Just suck it up. To Mr Gough, think it through.

The Strip Scrap over outdoor area

From the CCC

MEDIA RELEASE                             Thursday 16
March 2006



Council votes not to go to mediation with bar owners

Christchurch City Councillors voted at their meeting today not to make
an offer to go to mediation with seven Oxford Tce bar owners, who are
refusing to sign licences to rent public footpath space outside their
properties.

Despite the fact that the bar owners had been informed yesterday  that
Christchurch Mayor Garry Moore would suggest mediation to the
Councillors, legal proceedings were issued against the Council this
morning, seeking a judicial review of the process used by the Council to
set its rent for footpaths and other public spaces.

"The Councillors' stance demonstrates the certainty they have in the
process that has been used in setting the rental for Oxford Tce and the
rest of the city.  If the bar owners want this to go to judicial review
then this is their call," Mr Moore said.

"Some of the Oxford Tce property owners who are refusing to sign their
licences have been lobbying against their rent since it was first
introduced in 1998," he said.

"We can easily justify an average rent that comes to less than $200 a
week per property in this area, especially when you take into account
the money the Council has spent developing and maintaining The Strip.
Street cleaning costs alone add an extra $40,000 to the Council's
maintenance budget. We are also budgeting for $1.7 million to be spent
on the Avon River Corridor through this part of the city, so we are
spending some serious money in this area."

In response to the bar owners' dissatisfaction with their rental, the
Council has in the past undertaken extensive consultation with them and
a Council subcommittee has twice reviewed its Public Streets Enclosure
Policy.  

"We have however remained firm on the method that we use to set rentals
for public footpath space.  It is now time for these people to get on
with it and sign their licences," Mr Moore said.  "We have 81 businesses
that rent public space from the Council - 74 have signed their leases
and seven are holding out."

Rental for public space in Christchurch is set by taking into account
location, area of land and a percentage of the rental paid by adjoining
businesses.  If businesses are occupying prime public property they pay
more.

"Ratepayers pay for public spaces and they expect businesses to pay a
rental for the land they are occupying.  We can't have one rule for some
and not for others," Mr Moore said.

The Census

Not wanting sound like a conspiracy theorist but........I have some questions.
1. Each form for each dwelling has a specific code on it. So why the need for my name?
2. If this information is to used for statistical purposes and planning, why the need for my name?
3. If each form for each dwelling has a specific code, then why the need for my address?

This is shameless, needless information gathering. I would rather leave information out than write down incorrect information. I cannot then sign it as complete to the best of my knowledge. I would imagine that if they wanted to track it all down and fill in the gaps then they could but why should I assist. Yes I want them to plan, track change etc but I do not want them to personalise it. That is my business and mine alone.

Council Parking Scam

From the council website: The revenue to the council fromparking in the 2003-2004 period was $5,354,000! This is parking from the inner city and includes parking meters and carpark buildings. The council have decided to alter the prices and it will generate $6,415,000!!! This is an increase of a little over $1.1 million dollars....almost a 20% increase. Where is the justification? It isn't the CPI. It is because they can and they will. What scam!

Dear Mr Corbett - City Councillor

So...... some innner city retailers are a pack of wingers. This is what you said last night at Council. What a wonderful display of leadership Bazza. Is that is the best you can come up with? I have spoken to inner city retailers and this is their story.
They risk everything to set up or buy these businesses; their house, the neighbourhood they live in and their childrens' friends if they have to sell and move if things go bad, their reputation, their retirement, their happiness, the list goes on. The put themselves out there like you I suspect never have. They set up in the inner city, the 'focus' of the coucil and they do the best they can. They then have no guarentee that anyone will come in to buy the things they have already paid for themselves. And what does the council do over a period of time? The reduce the amount of parking, the charge more and more for the parking, they allow the parking unit to walk the streets from 7.30 in the morning to 6.30 at night EVERY day. They allow malls in the suburbs to mindlessly expand, the put the terminal for the busses in an inappropriate space and now it is the crime center of Christchurch. The ruin city mall by allowing rubbish trucks to drive though at luchtime to empty bins. What exactly have you done Mr Corbett? Have you risked everything for something before, with no guarentee of return? You should be thanking inner city retailers for staying in the inner city and be asking them what needs to be done. Say that loudly at council. When you go into their shops and businesses, they serve you and you probably complain bitterly to anyone who will listen if it wasn't up to scratch. On Council Mr Corbett, you serve, and it show no leadership in any definition I know to be as petty as you have been. The inner city retailers owe you nothing. You on the other hand owe them an appology.

Prostitutes on 60 Minutes

On Monday night I watched 60 minutes to see what they had to report on the 'respectable city with the dark underbelly'. As they showed the tragic nature of Christchurch's Manchester St, the dirty pimps who are effectivley slave owners and the mindless girls who see no other option for themselves, I couldn't help but think that there were some poeple missing in this discussion. One was the Police, another was Gary Moore the Mayor, and finally the architect and cheif prosititute, pimp and client representative, Tim Barnett MP.
These missing people are as bad as the clients. They are in positions to help these 'tragic souls' and seamingly refuse to do anything. The police were asked to front for the story and wouldn't. At least Gail Sheriff had the nuts to be on the programme. When I heard Gary Moore the next day complaining that Christhurch was being picked on because 'other cities have this problem too', I couldn't help feeling disgusted that his main concern was his own reputation. He should have gone on the radio and agreed it was appalling and pushed for help at police and Government level. Tim Barnett.... well why would you waste your time. Manchester St is in his electorate and it is clear that if it isn't election year we will not hear from him. He clearly likes prostitution and the freedom the hookers clearly enjoy to .......choose!!!
No, Christchurch is not the only city with this problem but it is getting worse and those that can effect change seemingly, will not even try. Shame on the Police, shame on the Mayor. If Tim Barnett had balls he would have bourght in legislation to make being a client illegal and the problem to a degree would have disapeared. Dry up the demand and the supply will follow. Making it legal has let these sorry street walkers down and increased the livlihood of drug dealers, thugs and slave traders we know as pimps