Newsletter No. 28

NEWSLETTER NO. 28

April/May 2012

Welcome.

Catching Up with the 21^st century.

In this issue we introduce you to our website,

http://masseybirdwoodsettlers.org

Like all these things this website will always be “A Work in Progress”, It is our intention to be a reflection of our community… which means that as the community develops, so will the website. We are sure that you will find the site interactive, with polls and plenty of opportunities for you to express your opinions. We hope you enjoy it and use it as your “go to” to find other important community sites in and discover more about the many activities that take place in our hall at the top of the hill.

To let us know you are on our side, check out our facebook page and click the Like button – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Massey-Birdwood-Settlers-Hall.

The Massey Birdwood Settlers Association Inc has just finished submitting to the annual plan, on your behalf.

We support development of the Te Rangi Hiroa and Birdwood Reserve – providing it benefits all the current users – car clubs, dart club, model railway, pony club, bmx and jump bikes.
We agree with Community partnerships in procurement.
We believe that Auckland City should be financially supporting community owned halls like ours – cheaper than building new halls.
We would like to see a dedicated Northwestern motorway bus lane.
We would like the Auckland City to tell Transit New Zealand to finish the Westgate interchange and build those missing On and Off ramps.
We applaud the City’s decision to build a new library and community facilities in Te Atatu.
We support a new library in Ranui (although why it was not built right the first time amazes us).
We agree with plans for a pilot employment project in the West.
We are right behind additional ‘park’n’ride’ facilities throughout West Auckland. Makes sense.
We encourage the development of an integrated public transport ticketing system (now if they could get me from Hobsonville to Swanson to catch a train, wouldn’t that be grand?)
We definitely support keeping rates as low as possible, and the principle of only lifting the rates by the CPI and population growth. Furthermore, we believe that the areas identified for a decrease in rates have an equal claim to receive the benefit of a decrease as under the previous Auckland local body system their Councils charged too much. For example the Waitakere City Council rates were touted as being too high and now West Auckland residents are could see a reduction in their rates compared with parts of Auckland.
We agree that User Pays helps spread the burden local government to those who do not pay rates directly. We strongly believe the CPI index should be used to determine the increase in user charges.
We feel that dog registration is an example where a large increase (more than the CPI) will prevent some people registering their dogs and result in the good owners paying for the bad owners.

So who is a Lowlife Scum Bucket?

What is it with Westies? Most of us are law abiding, but there are some who have no respect for people, property and – quite likely – themselves.

This association went to considerable and costly lengths to install heat pumps in our hall at the intersection of Red Hills and Don Bucks Roads to make it comfortable for people to use no matter what the weather outside…only to have some mindless cretin vandalize them when our backs were turned.

Who in their right mind would want to vandalize the units in order earn a few miserable dollars from selling some of the parts of the air conditioning units?

Whoever the culprit is we do not know.

But it is very likely there are people reading this who DO know.

So to them we say “Give the rat-bags a thump.”

And if you do know, please tell the police, by ringing our community constable on 8324099.