- Organisationally:
We have settled our dispute with the lawyers about their charges, and we are proceeding to try to get the RDC to finish paying for the costs it imposed on us with its legal action. We have finalised the audit and as promised at the AGM the auditor-approved report is included with this newsletter to our members. Old timers will notice that the accounts are more extensive and thorough than they have ever been. We're also using a new accounting software package for efficiency, in close consultation with our accountant.

- At the Hall :

Help received:

With the advantage of the Hall being owned by a charitable trust, several grants and sponsorships have been obtained for improvements, some from funds made available by the RDC - $3500 for floor refinishing and $1000 for interior painting.

McEntee Hire has given us a lift - literally - a free loan of equipment we'll need to reach the high spots to paint them.
Chesters Plumbing in Silverdale has donated plumbing supplies.
A team of Rock 'n' Rollers and other Trust supporters have provided extra special help with painting and upkeep efforts, past and future - many thanks for that!
Grant Stott has donated some locally grown ancient swamp kauri for an honours board that we hope to have on display for our upcoming centennial.

And there's also a Fund Raising Committee seeking more help for the Hall on behalf of the Whangaparaoa Community Trust. Anyone interested in helping the Hall should consider contacting a WCT Trustee.

More help needed:

On Sunday Dec 4, we will have a Hammer & Scrub session at the Hall to punch nailheads farther into the floor prior to sanding & refinishing, and to clean some wall/window frame surfaces prior to painting.

On Saturday December 17 we need people to help with masking the window glass and handling dropcloths so the painter can concentrate on painting. If all goes well we won't need to come back on the 18th, but ???

In September, we held a public meeting at Wentworth School in Gulf Harbour that was well attended by local residents upset that they are being kept in the dark about this matter.
We will be holding an update meeting outside the Hall in the Town Square on Wednesday night, November 23 [or under cover in front of Eddie Law's at the top of the Plaza if it is rainy]. Come and hear the latest - as much as it is legal to tell - and have your views heard.
The Council will meet in closed session - again - on the next day. We hope that they will not be selling the use of this locally important land for cash that can be spent on just anything, anywhere in Rodney. But we may not know until it is too late, because they refuse to make any information public. Even if you can't come to the meeting, let the Mayor and Manager and Council know what you think about secret deals.

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. . . . the Council has plans. The trouble is that we are not a party to the plans, and can’t even discover what has already transpired.
But the Council discusses these things and makes its decisions behind closed doors on grounds of ‘commercial sensitivity’. We don’t buy that. Public business must be done publicly. Secrecy can hide corruption . . . . . . . one would think that scrupulously honest people would be very uncomfortable doing large deals in secrecy, since the possibility of abuse of power is so obvious. Honesty must rule, and must be seen to rule.
This is why the WRRA is going to recommend which candidates to vote for - and which NOT to vote for, this October.
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The RDC didn't like that! Do you recall the fuss, when then-staff-member Bill Smith threatened us with prosecution under the Elections Act, claiming that our recommendations could be mistaken for a ballot?
And we haven't won that battle. They're still at it: closed sessions for big deals that affect us all.

AND FINALLY THE COMMERCIAL......

We intend to do our best to keep you informed - as with this newsletter, press releases and the new website, and we hope that you will join the WRRA and have your say. Issues which might seem boring today will affect your lifestyle, your property value, and your rates bill for decades to come. Now is the time to shape the future. Your help and encouragement are vital. If you are not a member, please join. If you are already a member, please urge your neighbours who are not to join.
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YES - I (we) are residents and/or ratepayers on the Peninsula and WANT TO JOIN
I/we hereby apply for membership in the WHANGAPARAOA RATEPAYERS’ AND RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION and enclose my/our subscription. ($6 for one person, $10 for a married couple)
NAME Mr/Mrs/Ms_____________________________________________ CHEQUE ENCLOSED FOR $________
ADDRESS ____________________________________________________ (We’ll take cash too, but can’t guarantee its safe arrival)
You can save 45c by dropping this application in the mailbox at the main door of the Hall
telephone number: ____________________________
email address:______________________________________________
NOTE: One thing that has changed is the privacy laws. Please tick below to indicate those items that you do not mind making public. Everything else, including the very fact of your membership, will be kept confidential unless you indicate otherwise below. What you tick, we may reveal, what you do not tick, we keep confidential.
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