Editor
Perhaps Chris Turver is unaware that the Mayor Jenny Rowan has made economic sustainability an absolute priority for her and the Council. He says his first priority as mayor would be to meet with all the business leaders in Kāpiti to identify opportunities, find out what the barriers are, and to work out how best to overcome them.
Jenny has been doing this for three years and has worked hard to build relationships with them all.
Jenny started new initiatives like the Table for Ten which ran a series of workshops with 40 local innovative business owners to discuss issues of importance to business growth and development in the region. I know she meets with the owners and managers at Coastlands, Lindale, Telstra and Noel Robinson and has been instrumental in getting rid of some of the obstacles which were stalling the airport development which will be the biggest economic boost to our District ever.
On a practical level of seriously attracting new businesses to invest in the District and making things smooth for them, Jenny set up a project management system within the council where individual project managers work with individual businesses such as Mitre 10 to reduce the red tape and make sure all communications between business and council are fast, efficient and effective using imagination and initiative to create a positive environment for growth. This development alone is bringing 90 jobs to Kāpiti and is the biggest new employer to come here for years.
As a Kāpiti business owner myself, I feel that Jenny is and will look after our interests and that of the wider community.
The sustainability of our people to earn a living and maintain a decent standard of living is clearly an absolute priority to her and it very much annoys me that Mr Turver who clearly does not know all these things Jenny has done is allowed to spread this misinformation around.
Jo Brown-Bayliss
Raumati Beach
