The monthly meeting of the Mapua and Districts Community Association held on Monday 12th November began with the introduction of David Martin who is the newly appointed independent chairperson for the Mapua Waterfront Working Group (MWWG).
David gave a brief resume of his journey before taking up residence in the area. He took early retirement after holding high executive positions in Blackwell Publishers, University Press, and Lancaster University as well as other independent chair positions, and then fulfilled a lifelong dream to sail the world on a sloop which they purchased in America. After travelling across the Pacific stopping at several different islands they travelled through New Zealand by campervan. After deciding this was the country they wished to settle in they spent several years living in Whangarei before deciding to move to this area. He is well qualified to act as chairperson.
The purpose and function of the MWWG is to provide community involvement in the implementation of the masterplan of the waterfront area and one of the first areas they will focus on is the area between the Golden Bear and the sea.
In other News
Open Forum
Elena asked that thanks be conveyed to the TDC for the fantastic job they have done to restore the McKee Domain back to a usable public space. This is now able to be used again and already has families taking advantage of the space.
With the huge emphasis and importance of reducing plastic use in our environment Tim King was asked if the TDC has any thought of replacing the plastic rubbish bags put in the rubbish bins but there is no plan to change at this stage.
Life Membership.
It was brought to the members attention that the issue of life membership of MDCA needs to be discussed and guidelines drawn up to be included in the Association’s constitution. Members were asked to think about reasons they think are important as criteria for life membership to be offered, and this will be discussed at a meeting next year, well in advance of the AGM so any changes needed for the constitution can be adopted.
Environment
The Dominion Flats subcommittee were proud to receive an award from TrustPower for all the hard work put in by the community to the restoration programme- along with $1000.00.
The grants from the Greenwood Trust and NetworkTasman have been put towards a plant order for next autumn and the remaining Rata grant money will be used for further work on the back track.
The Mapua School pupils are working on their wonderful murals for the underpass using grant money from the TDC Community Arts Grant. A large group of pupils walked from the school to the reserve and while some were painting others were pulling weeds from around the plants. A big win for the weeding team.
Social Media
The Facebook page continues to be viewed by many, particularly the post promoting Trevor James talk on Fresh Water.
Digital activity on the website was also strong with more than double the usual amount of visits during October.
Transportation
Elena spoke of her interest in the Nelson Tasman Community Transport Trust of which she is a trustee. It has good support, particularly from the TDC and Age Concern and covers Wakefield/Brightwater/Tapawera/Mapua districts initially to try and link in with buses from Richmond to Nelson.
The Wharf Area
The meeting finished with a brainstorming session where members wrote their ideas and preferences for the way forward for the public space between the Golden Bear and the sea. These were collated and forwarded to the MWWG.
Once again it was a lively meeting covering lots of topics and a good place to have your say and get some questions answered. Well worth joining in at our next meeting on 10th December 7pm at the Mapua Hall.