In this week’s Councillor Kōrero with Lisa Thomson, she shares moments from Bob MacLeod’s memorial as well as updates on the internal Raglan bus service and Raglan Area School Board of Trustees Elections.
Bob MacLeod Memorial A memorial service held at the Town Hall on Monday saw the community come together to celebrate Bob and his contributions to the community.
Cr Lisa Thomson, who spoke during the service, said that some of Bob’s friends had no idea of the community-man that he had become in his later years and that they appreciated hearing about Bob’s community legacy.
(Listen to the full interview below:) Crime in Raglan On Thursday morning at around 7:30am, staff at BP petrol station were held up with a firearm while the perpetrator proceeded to take a number of items from the store before leaving in a stolen vehicle.
A spokesperson said that there are no indications the firearm was discharged and that no injuries were reported. Police are on the lookout for any information and are still on the hunt for the stolen vehicle.
“This must have been absolutely terrifying for the staff,” said Lisa, who is also awaiting updates from police.
This incident follows a community crime hui that was held last month where a collaborative approach to security was proposed by local police including networking with the Community Patrol and Neighbourhood Support groups.
There are also plans to get funding for more cameras, including an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera to be placed at Te Uku which would alert police when a stolen vehicle number plate is captured.
“It comes back to keeping our community safe by networking, having a Neighbourhood Support Group, if you see any dodgy behaviour, report it to the police and just take care of each other.” Police are also working on informing the community around police availability whether that is around office hours or after hours response times.
Lisa mentions that at the previous hui, the issue of drugs and alcohol also came up as one of the main causes of local family harm incidents.
Internal Bus Service The Raglan Community Board are seeking your feedback on a new Raglan bus service which is slated for launch in time for summer this year. Lisa says that the survey is available online and will also be printed in upcoming issues of the Local Rag and Chronicle.
The survey aims to find out what the community would like to see so that a bus service can be developed that meets the communities needs whether that is around shopping trips to town or hourly round trips to the beaches.
The initial bus service will be a trial to see how much demand there is so the more use the service gets, the more likely the service will continue beyond the trial.
Lisa says that they are also seeking feedback from the local schools to see if a bus service could help with student drop offs and alleviate congestion at Raglan Area School around peak times.
Coastal Reserves Stakeholders Meeting A meeting for the new Coastal Reserves Stakeholders Meeting is scheduled for the evening of September 13th at the Raglan Surf Life Saving Club. Key stakeholders have been invited to the hui where there will be an opportunity to talk about the Coastal Reserves Plan and introduce themselves.
It has been over three years since the Coastal Reserves Committee was disestablished so this will be the first opportunity for stakeholders to meet and discuss local issues and future plans.
Local Elections The last Community Board Meeting of the triennium will be held on September 7th, from 1.30pm in the Town Hall Supper Room.
Election hoardings are going up around the district and Lisa says that “whoever gets in, it’s going to be an exciting time for local government.” Nine candidates will be vying for six community board seats along with two for the Whaingaroa ward councillor and three for the mayoral seat so there will be a number of positions in the Waikato District Council which will be hotly contested.
The representation review held last year reshaped the district quite significantly ahead of local elections and locally in Whāingaroa we are seeing the extension of the Raglan Community Board area with the inclusion of Ruapuke, Te Mata and Te Uku.The Whāingaroa Ward has been slightly extended towards Huntly as well.
Voting papers will be posted to letterboxes next month. Meet the Candidates There are currently two Meet the Candidates evenings planned for September. One event, convened by Alan Vink focuses on just the Waikato District Mayor and Whāingaroa Ward Councillors and the second event will include all candidates including: Waikato District Council Mayor, Tai Runga Takiwaa Māori Ward Councillor, Whāingaroa Ward Councillor, Raglan Community Board candidates, Waikato Regional Council Councillors and Ngā Hau e Whā Councillor candidates.
Lisa says that the second event, held on September 18th, will be an opportunity to meet not only the potential Raglan Community Board Members but also the new Tai Runga Takiwaa Māori Ward candidates who will have a new seat on the Raglan Community Board.
Candidates for this seat include Korikori Hawkins, Tilly Turner and Sharnay Ormsby Cocup-Hughes.
Raglan Area School Board of Trustees Elections The Raglan Area School Board of Trustees representative elections are also being held right now with six candidates running for five vacancies on the board. Candidates include: Sian Atkinson, Sonya Drysdale,Dave Duffin, Stefan Frew, Morgan Ladyman and current BoT chair, Lisa Thomson.
“We’ve got a fantastic cross-section of the community,” said Lisa of the candidates.
A meet the Candidates evening was held earlier in the month and more information is available on the Raglan Area School website . Parents will receive voting papers in the mail and these votes can either be posted back via the prepaid envelope or simply drop off your voting forms to the school office.
Alcohol Policy Review Closes September 11th – feedback here A Climate Action Steering Group has been reinvigorated and is meeting regularly. They will be doing a stock take of the various environmental organisations in Whāingaroa in the upcoming weeks. https://raglanradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lisa_rcr.jpg