As members of the new Howick Local Board prepare to meet for the first time later this month, questions remain about the unresolved issue of management of the Howick War Memorial Hall.
The nine candidates elected to the board will meet at Uxbridge Arts and Culture in Howick at 6pm on October 31.
They’ll be sworn in and choose their new chairperson and deputy chairperson before holding their inaugural business meeting.
The board has debated the ongoing saga of management of the war memorial hall building in Picton Street since December last year when council staff first recommended it appoint the Howick Village Association as the facility’s manager.
Each time that recommendation came before the board, it failed to receive a majority of votes and did not pass.
The building’s management remained a contentious issue right up to the previous board’s final business meeting on September 19, which ran for almost four hours.
Several members of the public addressed the board on various subjects during the meeting’s public forum stage.
As it was ending, another group of people asked to speak also.
Board chairperson Adele White told them she had authority under standing orders to prohibit them from speaking.
The group included Howick Ratepayers and Residents Association (HRRA) chairperson Janet Dickson and committee member Peter Bankers.
White said the group wanted to discuss with the board the issue of the war memorial hall’s management, which they’d done “a number of times already”.
“The matter of the war memorial hall building is not currently on the table and I’ve turned down two other groups that also wanted to speak.
“It’s intended this [issue] be readdressed in the new board term and your group and others will be given the opportunity to address the board should that opportunity arise.”
Bankers said they had new information which had not been presented previously.
White said that had not been made clear, to which Dickson added, “We have our absolute right to speak at the public forum”.
White replied: “You have a right to speak but I have the right as chairperson to decline you.
“If you have new information, I am prepared to listen to that tonight, but I’m not going to be bullied, Janet.”
White gave the group permission to present the new information to the board.
Bankers and Las Akurugoda, the chairperson of Howick Community Hub Incorporated, addressed the board about the war memorial hall.
“We propose the site will open 10am-4pm weekdays and be available for bookings beyond that,” Bankers said.
“We have support from many of the original volunteers who are keen to extend their numbers and … across different age groups.
“We are gathering details of former user groups so we can get a clearer picture of how best to present and update the building and its facilities to suit its clientele.”
Akurugoda said the group needs the board to allow the inspired concept to flourish.
The board thanked Bankers and Akurugoda for their attendance and presentation.
It’s not yet known if the building will be on the new board’s agenda for its first business meeting.
