Litter Cart may be able to resume operation

October 17th, 2012
[by David Armstrong]

The chances of the Litter Cart patrolling Motueka's central streets again have received a boost, with a combination of funds indicating the numbers may add up for a sustainable part-time job.

Keep Motueka Beautiful (KMB), along with several other community groups and businesses and a majority sample of residents, want the litter patrol to return after two years absence, aiming to keep the place tidier for residents and visitors alike.

About eight businesses and groups have indicated they are prepared to contribute to paying someone for two to three hours work each day, and a $5000 contribution from the Community Board's 'special projects' fund was voted the top item in a residents' survey.

KMB, which has managed the litter operation in the past, learned at its committee meeting on Monday that an average 25 percent subsidy is available from WINZ as long as the job is retained for the full year. The total funds on offer from all sources should be enough now to make the operation viable.

Keep Motueka Beautiful, which is now managing a string of important civic projects, has also received the go-ahead to use $4,500 of council money to add to a similar amount from its own budget in order to upgrade the Kumaras walkway to the lowest standard required for National Cycleway status.

KMB project manager Bob Cooke said that work would begin in the first quarter of 2013, although he doubts the money available will be enough to complete the task. KMB will also seek written assurance that the Great Taste Tasman Cycleway Trust will be responsible for the on-going maintenance of the Kumaras track from the golf course to Staples Street.

The Cycle Trust is still to officially confirm the route of the cycle path through or around Motueka, and while the Kumaras section is virtually settled the same cannot be said for the preferred route from the southern roundabout to Old Wharf Road.

KMB committee members heard that at present the narrow, dangerous section on the west side of the inlet leading to the Adopt-a-Plot area is the likely route, but this may change after the boardwalk section from Link Park to York Park on the eastern side is completed.

Bob Cooke reported that the construction of the boardwalk is progressing very well, and the on-land portion to its north is also under way. The whole section - which in the end needed no funding from council - will be completed well before Christmas, and KMB hopes to mount an opening ceremony this year.

The ribbon cutting will be done by David Easton on behalf of his family, which donated a significant portion to the $40,000 project. Sadly his mother, who provided the largest contribution and was going to open the boardwalk, passed away last week.

Such is the esteem in which KMB is held that Greenwood Health has donated $1000 to the group in appreciation of the work it does for Motueka. Last year i-Site made a similar donation, which has been earmarked for a redesign of plantings on the roundabout at the town's southern entrance.

Comment by Philip Grimmett:
[Posted 20 October 2012]

Thanks for this uplifting story, albeit with a sad twist. I rejoice in the positivity of Mot Online. It balances out the other ghastly stuff

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