Candidate statement of Will Jenkins: Nelson Park Ward

The Nelson Park ward is where I make my home. I want to see ongoing improvements to the amenities that serve our communities. I also recognise that rates must remain affordable for all people.  We must create more jobs and visitors and promote Napier better. Our communities must be safe.

I currently work 25 hours a week for the Napier Pilot City Trust – this has helped me get to know the people of Maraenui. I also worked for Creative Napier and helped produce events including the Children’s, Summer Concert, Fire, BayFest Youth and Live Cut Festivals. We need more large public events and celebrations throughout the year.

My voluntary work spans areas such as the Pirimai Residents Association, Community Law, mental health, justice, youth, the arts and health. I am actively involved in the church and the Napier Rotary club and have postgraduate qualifications in business administration and psychology.

Top 5 Issues

1. Jobs, jobs and more jobs
   
   One of the most important issues for me is that we need to do more to grow our local economy and in turn create more jobs. Many people think that only central Government has a role in job creation. While this is true to an extent, to me local Government also has a role to play (along with business owners etc).
   
   I find it a shameful waste when a young person in particular cannot get a job. The further creation of industrial parks, incentives for business relocations (or start-ups) such as rates and lease reductions, ensuring excellent infrastructure (I.T., transport, roads, airport services etc) and other economic incentives will help grow our job base. These are all activities local councils can play a significant role in.
   
   We need to do more to attract an increasing number of visitors to our region – after all Tourism is a significant driver for our local economy. This will be achieved by the creation of new attractions, improvements to what we already have and better marketing promotion of our region. Next years Rugby World cup will be a golden opportunity to put our region on the world stage – let’s make sure we get it right!
   
   The loss of Marineland is one of several losses which helps explain the long term downwards trend in overall visitor numbers to our city. We will need to renew this attraction with something that is likely to be marine related – this will be a priority for the next council.
   
2. Safer communities
   
   People must feel safe in their homes - in particular senior citizens. We need to ensure that our city streets, parks and gardens remain safe for all who use them.
   
   I support the appropriate video monitoring of city streets (this should be extended to some suburban shopping centres). Safe street lighting and the lighting of pathways and other public places etc will need to be monitored and improved as required.
   
   The Council should also lobby Central Government for the additional strategic placement of community police stations and that our city’s complement of sworn officers does not drop below acceptable levels.
   
   The trucks issue along Marine Parade has not been fully resolved in my opinion and will need to be looked at again. There are also some big traffic flows that flow through areas of our city such as Napier South – this concerns me as a reasonable number of young children also live there.
   
3. Community events and celebrations
   
   In my role as Manager of Creative Napier I helped produce a wide range of Festivals and events. With the exception of the Winter Solstice Fire Festival these all took place over the summer months when there was already a wide range of events taking place. I have no problem with a busy summer!
   
   However we need a regular cycle of events that will take place through out the year. This will have the added advantage of injecting some more fun into our communities and attracting more visitors to our city.
   
4. Affordable rates for all
   
   I recognises that the quarterly rates bill is often a real stretch for most people living in the Nelson Park ward. At the end of the day you can have all the ideas but they have to be sustainable in terms of limiting their impact on rate rises. This will inevitably mean you have to be realistic and introduce new programmes over time.
   
5. Let’s keep Napier beautiful
   
   I would like to see ongoing improvements to the playgrounds and associated parks around the Nelson Park ward and beyond. I have long had a concern about the waterways (drains) flowing through parts of the ward. They need to be regularly cleaned and the water flow kept at a sufficient level to discourage insects and bad smells especially in the summer months. I am also keen to see the waterways more attractively planted and a proper path built for walkers and cyclists. With attractive planting the waterways could become a very pleasant walking route and another option for people to safely cross the city.
   
   I would also love to see the shopping centres around the different suburbs of the Nelson Park ward improved as time and money allows. What has been achieved at Onekawa is an excellent template for what can be done. The creation of some planter boxes and attractive planting could be a useful first step.
   
   While the above policies are important to me so too are the everyday things that are a Councils bread and butter tasks. Maintaining footpaths, street maintenance, collecting rubbish, street lighting, providing libraries, halls, recreation and sports amenities etc are all tasks that should be done well, on time and to budget. If I am elected to Council I will work hard to make sure that these core services are maintained to an appropriate cost effective level of provision.
   

Personal Profile

About Will Jenkins

 

For a fresh voice backed by solid experience and a willingness to make a difference vote for Will Jenkins

I have lived in the Nelson Park ward the whole time I’ve lived in Napier. Currently I work for the Napier Pilot City Trust in a social development role.  This has helped me get to know better the people of Maraenui in particular and has given me a good grasp of the social issues impacting Napier.

Prior to this I worked for Creative Napier for close to four years. I helped produce events such as the Children’s, Winter Solstice Fire, Summer Concert in the Park, Live Cut and Bayfest Youth Festivals. I also helped manage events for Seaweek, Children’s Day and the Taradale Spring Fair. I’m keen to see Napier develop more festivals and events through out the year and am confident my production background will be useful in driving this at Council level.

During this time I served on two council committees, the Creative Communities Over $500 grants committee and the Art in Public Places committee.  This exposure to the Council committee process should enable me to hit the ground running faster than someone who has not had the benefit of this experience.

I’ve also worked in retail and marketing roles in recent years. In my own suburb of Pirimai I have been active in the Pirimai Residents Association and am part of the team that established the playground in Pirimai East. “We are now fundraising for the next stage which once installed will broaden the age range of children able to use the playground. I would also like to see a reasonable portion of the space kept as a park rather than turned to housing.”

In addition I’ve helped the group lobby the local and Regional Councils for better water flows and cleaning of the waterway that flows through the suburb. “I would love to see the waterway planted more appropriately and turned into an attractive walkway, although I recognise this would need to allow for the machinery needed to maintain it.”

I’ve also served extensively as a community volunteer. I was Chairman of the Light House mental health Trust and now serve on the Whatever it Takes Board. I’m also a Board member of the Hawke’s Bay Community Law Centres, the Sharing and Caring Trust (youth mentoring) and the Men’s Restoration Trust, which assists released prisoners reintegrate back into the community. I also recently joined the Hawke’s Bay Community sector task force and am in addition involved with several national organisations.

I am active in the church and a member of the Napier Rotary club. I have advanced qualifications in business administration (including papers in accountancy and finance) and psychology from Massey and Victoria University’s respectively. I currently work 25 hours a week - this will give me the time to be an effective councillor.

I intend to be a strong voice for the people of the Nelson Park ward.  I will work hard to ensure we all receive back into our community a responsible share of the rates we pay.

To me being a city councillor is all about service and doing what he can to make Napier a better, more prosperous and safe place for all citizens to live in.