As the Vincent Community Board allocated over $26,000 to a range of groups yesterday (Tuesday September 6), its chairperson concluded the local community was now “buoyant and optimistic”.

The board was holding its final meeting with current members, before a new board is formed after the October local body elections.

Two members not standing for re-election. Anna Robinson and Sharleen Stirling-Lindsay were farewelled with chair Martin McPherson acknowledging their contribution.

“We are losing two very valuable members who have decided it’s time to move on.”

Anna Robinson (left) and Sharleen Stirling-Lindsay share a joke with the board as they are farewelled yesterday

He felt the new board, once elected, would be working from “a fairly solid platform.”

“We have seen a lot happen in the village over these past three years. New supermarkets, retirement villages, the amount of economic development which is going on, buildings which are going up…the town is buoyant I feel and generally speaking people’s outlook is optimistic.”

As one of its final tasks, the board allocated community and promotional grants from monies set aside for the 2022/23 financial year.

Six thousand went to the Alexandra and Districts Youth Trust towards rent for the Alexandra Youth Hub, $4,600 to the Alexandra Toy Library towards a new toilet and carpet upgrade, $1,500 to the Earnscleugh Community Society Inc for maintaining the community hall, and $1,235 to the Lower Manorburn Reserve working group towards a planting and protection project. 

The board did not approve a request for $15,000 for Omakau’s Blacks Hill Cricket Club for resurfacing its wicket and nets but decided this be funded as part of the council’s parks department budget.

From the promotional grants funding pool, the board allocated $8,000 to the Prospector Race Ltd for event marketing and $5,000 to the Waiata Theatre Productions Ltd towards performance rights for staging the long-awaited ‘Les Miserables’.

The Prospector race is a large-scale mountain bike event to be held next year.

Prior to yesterday’s decisions the board had $38,000 for community grants for this initial funding round and the second round in the first half of next year. The total promotion grant pool was $18,196 for both rounds.