From the Mayor

Councillors had a tour of the Waihinga Centre before the last council meeting. Everyone was very impressed with the upgrade of the Town Hall and the new Waihinga Centre building. It will certainly become the hub of Martinborough. Everyone who has contributed to this project will be very excited that it will soon be completed. The Town Hall will be a much-improved facility that has not lost any of the qualities that the community wanted to preserve, especially the acoustics in the auditorium. It will be a good functional space that also includes the supper room and a new kitchen.

The new Waihinga Centre will house the Library, Isite, Plunket Clinic, Toy Library and a coffee kiosk. The space is very welcoming and the impressive large wooden beams create the impression the building will be here in 100 years. The building is light and airy with the outlook onto the square. An opening date is still to be finalised, watch this space. 

Nature has an uncanny way of making life difficult for people who earn their living off the land as many of our residents South Wairarapa do. The frost that hit the region in the last week was one of those occasions. From what I have been told there will be financial and personal impact on some of our vineyards and this will have a flow on effect to our community as a whole. It is too early to estimate the damage and the impact at this stage. I am sure that the Martinborough community will do everything it can to help those in need.

I had the privilege of attending the Martinborough School Pet Day and judge the Best Dressed Animals. Pet Days bring the community together, are fun and encourage kids to do something different, it may be looking after their lamb or dog, creating a sand saucer or baking and decorating a cake. I was impressed that every child had to enter three categories so I am sure that there would be many who were doing things out of their comfort zone.  It was great to see so many parents, grandparents and members of the community support the school.