Shelly Warwick will be standing for the Ōtaki Ward seat this year after two terms on the Ōtaki Community board. Ōtaki born and raised and Ōtaki proud, Shelly wants to be a truly local voice for Ōtaki around the council table.
She is has been a community board member for the last six years and is currently Deputy chair of the Ōtaki College Board of Trustees.
“I am also a Registered Nurse currently Team Lead of Health NZ (MidCentral DHB’s) Covid response team in Horowhenua.
“I have spent many years in voluntary roles in the community earning two volunteer awards. I was Chair of the Waitohu School parent committee for 8 years and a big part of our annual fireworks organisation, this is a fantastic event for our town and throughout this time I made many amazing connections with Ōtaki businesses and individuals. I was the leader of the Ōtaki Kids Safe crossings group that campaigned for, and saw the creation of an underpass on SH1. This was integral to our Kids safety getting to and from school and was the single factor influencing the new lights on the Ōtaki ramp that continue to provide a safe pathway for our children, and in fact, all people crossing SH1. I have also successfully campaigned for other road safety improvements,” says Ms Warwick.
She says Ōtaki punches’ well above its weight in local events like the annual fireworks, Maoriland film festival, Kite festival, Ōtaki players society productions to name just a few, and this is only possible because of the connections and hundreds of volunteers who do it for Ōtaki, for their town and the people in it. Being part of that volunteer army makes me very proud.
“As a community board member, I, like so many others, was shocked at the attempted abolition of the community boards earlier this year. This local, grassroots level of representation has not been well supported by council in the six years that I have been on the board. As the ward councilor I will be part of trying to change the mindset that seems to exist within council, that grassroots democracy is not important to communities.
“We in Ōtaki definitely need a strong and truly representative voice at our council, and that is what I will be. In the same review, it was decided to allocate extra councilors to both Waikanae and Paraparaumu. This creates an even bigger imbalance of voting power around the table. Ōtaki and Paekākāriki ratepayers have missed out on representatives and will need as many elected members as possible to advocate on their behalf, this is why the community board is important.”
Ms Warwick says projects like Te Uruhi, the Kāpiti Gateway and the blow out in cost needs to be reigned in. “Times are tough for people right now with the cost-of-living skyrocketing and the council should be very careful with ratepayer money. Of the over 7 million now touted for the project $,3.2 million is on the 235m sq building, a very hefty price tag for what is only a small construction. There was little will for this project in the first place and the community were not listened to. Recently costs for Te Uruhi have increase by another $3 million, this comes from the ratepayer purse, it is unacceptable. Our ratepayer base in Ōtaki have been hit hard with rate hikes in recent years. We have an elderly population on fixed incomes and statistically lower pay packets than those ratepayers in our southern Kāpiti towns. There are many projects that would have been more deserving of this investment and that would benefit a much bigger population than the gateway.
“We have a lake in Ōtaki on GWRC land, a byproduct of quarrying, that can become a regional and national drawcard for non-motorized water sports as well as a training ground for local clubs like Waka Ama, Surf club, Canoe polo, Swimming, but it needs support and proper planning to develop it to its best form. But this needs to be done with the community not to the community. We have the bones of amazing eco -tourism developing in our town with our Cycleway Walkway Bridleway network that can be expanded to entice tourists to come and enjoy our beautiful environment in a low carbon way. We also have businesses like the Dirt farm who are trying to establish this eco- tourism as well. Ōtaki and Te Horo business needs council support, promotion and investment so that we have jobs being created in our town.
Ms Warwick says we have incredible growth coming our way, which is both good and bad. This needs to be done in consultation with the community, a community of very strong family ties, friendships and connections. Growth has to happen respectfully with the community’s best interests at heart.
“We need Ōtaki to be recognised for all its assets and uniqueness, and, for the post expressway Ōtaki to be able to blossom into the destination it deserves to be, this will boost jobs and businesses in our town. I will represent Ōtaki around the council table with all the dedication and passion that I have poured into my community as a volunteer. I will be a truly local representative for the Ōtaki ward,” she says.
