Mayor's New Year Message

The year has certainly kicked off with a great start - the summer weather has been amazing. While we've had some rain, we're expecting continuing summer weather – so it's up to us all to conserve water and adhere to the fire bans and water restrictions that are now in place. I'm sure the farming community, on which we are so dependant, still need more rain.

Council has a big year in front of it. We are working towards adopting our Long Term Plan, by the end of June. This Plan outlines what Council will be doing for the next 30 years, but in particular the next 10. You will all have a chance to have a say in what this might look like, so I encourage you to get involved when the consultation process gets underway in April. We'll cover more about the Long Term Plan in the March edition of the Rangitikei Line.

I want to acknowledge some of our locals and the excellent work they have done with bringing some fantastic events to our District.

Congratulations to Anne George and her team for the 10th Country Music Festival - what an amazing event! I spent a lot of time at the Festival and it was great meeting all the visitors and locals, and seeing how much fun they were having. Congratulations also to the organisers of the Turakina Highland Games, which held its 151st event last weekend.

The Steering Groups for our new Town Centre Plans have also been steaming ahead with their ideas and planning to help make our towns more vibrant places to live and visit. This is a major part of our Long Term Plan decisions and something that will shape our district in the future.

I look forward to a busy productive year.

Andy Watson, Mayor of Rangitikei