Waikanae Community Board candidate Michael Moore says the Waikanae Library is a stunning example of incompetence and negligence.
“You couldn’t find a better example of Council neglect and poor infrastructure management than the poor state of affairs with the former Waikanae Library, a once-buzzing community hub,” says Mr Moore.
“If your home started to show signs of leaking and mould, you’d promptly get a tradie out the next day.
What did Kāpiti Coast Council do? Nothing. Zilch. Just closed the door a plonked a hastily written sign on the window.”
Mr Moore says in November 2018 – that’s four years ago – the library was closed after concerning types of mould were found to be present on both levels of the building, which are common in water-damaged areas.
“It’s simply negligent to let a critical community facility collapse into ruin, right under their eyes.”
Mr Moore says replacing the library is a high priority.
“The library was a lot more than a place to loan books, but was a place to interact with Council, share stories, engage in events, and learn, for young and old.”
Resident in Te Horo, Mr Moore says he is concerned Te Horo has a voice at the Waikanae Community Board after the Electoral Commission shifted the boundaries for this election.
“Te Horo has its unique needs and is not urban like Waikanae. There is a special ecology here to be protected and flooding is a serious and ongoing issue.”
He says the issues are fixable and will require KCDC and Greater Wellington to work together and the Waikanae Community Board will need to be involved as well.
Mr Moore has a long history of contributing to community organisations and volunteers with Zero Waste, MenzShed, and runs the Te Horo online community group.
“We have many challenges like flooding, safer roads, quality water supply, public transport, environmental beach and wildlife protection and collectively we can solve these issues,” says Mr Moore.