CAMBRIDGE NEWS | 1
THURSDAY JULY 03, 2025
Celebrating Life - Your Way
Jim Goddin JP Funeral Director
Grinter’s Funeral Home are dedicated to providing personalised and meaningful funeral services, as unique as the life you are celebrating. 07 827 6037
3 Hallys Lane, Cambridge office@grinters.co.nz www.grinters.co.nz Follow us on Facebook
FREE
It’s a real local newspaper
JULY 03, 2025
Blue Blob showdown
By Mary Anne Gill
A public workshop gave Waipā District councillors an opportunity to tell their side of the Blue Blob story last week and reflect on the fallout from a disastrous public dropin session. Independent facilitator Anne Pattillo led the “warts and all” Cambridge Connections session which notably excluded input from council staff involved in the project. She described the situation as “not the council’s finest hour.” Jared Milbank, credited with galvanising the community’s Blue Blob response, said he was pleased the workshop was public but disappointed councillors did not “step up and take some ownership”. The controversy had its seeds in the final months of Jim Mylchreest’s mayoral tenure in 2022 when council adopted the Waipā Transport Strategy and formed a Project Steering Group to explore complex transport issues and options for Cambridge.
The workshop, held in Te Awamutu, was attended by seven of the 12 elected members. Participants at last week’s session asked why the project group - comprising councillors Roger Gordon, Clare St Pierre, Liz Stolwyk, and Cambridge Community Board member Andrew Myers - had kept its discussions and decisions secret from other councillors. Gordon broke that secrecy protocol when he informed fellow councillors Mike Montgomerie, Mike Pettit, and Philip Coles “well before” the Blue Blob was made public in February last year, the month before the drop in session where the anger spilled over. Pattillo identified three key failures that contributed to the chaos at the drop-in session: the group’s lack of connection with the wider council, the performance and actions of elected members, and poor community engagement that failed to build understanding and commitment. The drop-in session drew strong reactions from residents and neighbours living under
a blue blob on a map, which had been identified as the preferred site for a third Waikato River bridge. They demanded more information and transparency. Mayor Susan O’Regan revealed she received a death threat from an agitated woman before the meeting began. During the session, one participant reportedly said of elected members, “they should all be lined up and shot.” Weeks later, O’Regan paused the project. A reset followed later in the year, culminating in the appointment of executive director Katie Mayes earlier this year. Milbank, named The News person of the year for his community advocacy during the debacle, said councillors at the workshop suggested people unaffected by the Blue Blob contributed to an unexpected high attendance at the drop in session. “They didn’t understand who might feel affected by the location of the Blue Blob.” He highlighted Pattillo’s comment as the
Joan’s a starter for 99 By Mary Anne Gill
Joan Grice has lived a life that reads like an adventure novel. At 99, she effortlessly reels off stories of skydiving, white-water rafting, climbing Mt Ruapehu, and even visiting Antarctica. The word daredevil springs to mind — though she draws the line at bungee jumping, joking that her eyeballs might pop out. Still, she’s game for anything else. A former schoolteacher, Joan thought her thrillseeking days were behind her. That changed a couple of years ago during a visit to Cambridge Raceway with friends from Lauriston Park Retirement Village. Watching the starting car line up the horses, she spotted someone seated beside the driver and said,
“That sounds up my alley!” Fast forward to last Tuesday, just before the running of the Joan Grice’s 99th Birthday 2200m Mobile Pace — a race sponsored by her family to mark the milestone — and Joan was seated beside starter Danny Blakemore in the mobile barrier. Despite the challenge of climbing into the cage, she beamed with excitement. As seven horses lined up behind the barrier, Joan gave the signal to start. She was still laughing as she and Danny sped down the home straight, veering off to let the horses pass. Trackside, Joan’s daughter Delia Cook, and friends cheered as four-year-old bay mare Change Tact — trained by former Cambridge trainer driver Matthew White — entered the winner’s circle to salute the judge and Joan herself. The race meeting was a brief one, with just five Joan Grice with Danny Blakemore on the mobile barrier starting the race named after her at Cambridge Raceway last week. Photo: Race Images NZ Continued on page 3
Friendly team, making the financial things easy Valued Client
ACCOUNTING THAT EMPOWERS
OPEN 7 DAYS Located at 41 Empire Street 07 827 7099 www.cambridgevets.co.nz
most telling quote of the workshop: “When you’ve got critical decisions, they need to be visible for the whole of council.” Pattillo added that when senior council members disagree, others should collectively step up, and that keeping decisions secret from colleagues should be “so rare as to never occur.” During the workshop two councillors – Lou Brown and St Pierre – were critical of the media’s role. Brown said an article before the drop in session was “not misleading” but was not accurate. St Pierre criticised The News’ February 29 headline “Put it there. Corridor for third bridge revealed” saying it failed to mention the plan’s links to growth management or congestion. The workshop continued into the afternoon, with councillors discussing how to reset the project to ensure greater community engagement and collective council responsibility moving forward.
22-24 Victoria Street, free Cambridge 07 827 6486 / 021 182 8858 initial admin@expertease.co.nz meeting free initial www.expertease.co.nz meeti ng
Leamington Leamington Domain Domain playground playground reopening reopening Saturday, July 5 10am - 12pm
Scott Street, Leamington