SEEING democracy done in Pakuranga has been the role of John Skelton for almost two decades.
“This is a first step towards retirement,” says Mr Skelton. “I hope to do a bit of fishing and golfing and I’ve got several grandchildren. If I don’t like it I might be back looking for some more work.”
The coordinator job entails dealing with elected members, giving advice at meetings and watching over council dealings within a ward.
“We facilitate problems that people have and it’s a two-way thing. Council officers often want to know who to contact in a particular ward,” says Mr Skelton. “We’re a bit of a middleman at times.”
Community boards were founded in 1989 with the amalgamation of borough councils into the umbrella Manukau City Council, says Mr Skelton, who is staying on as the city’s electoral officer.
“Prior to amalgamation I was town clerk in Howick Borough. At amalgamation Howick Borough got taken over by Manukau. I applied for a job in the new organisation and I got it,” says Mr Skelton.
He was appointed to the newly formed Pakuranga and Howick community boards.
“At the time of amalgamation the community board was something quite new. They’d never had them in New Zealand before and it was a bit of a softening of the forced amalgamations that went on,” says Mr Skelton.
“There was concern that local interests might get lost in a large organisation, so part of the amalgamation process was that there would be community boards set up for at least six years. They were made up of people elected from the community to look after local issues.”
Mr Skelton has now been with the Pakuranga board for six terms (18 years).
“They continued on past the six years set out. When they were first formed they were new and not everyone understood what they were there for, including some councils,” says Mr Skelton.
“In many cases they’ve really had to fight for their existence and for a bit more respect, authority and involvement and they’re very well accepted now.”
Mr Skelton left the Howick board after a few years and took on the Papatoetoe board.
“My work is fairly evenly divided between the two boards. One of the other staff here wanted to cut down on hours, so I took the opportunity to do the same. In doing so we created one new full time job with the two halves,” he says.
Choosing to bow out of the Pakuranga board wasn’t easy.
“I live within the Pakuranga ward myself so it’s my home turf. It was quite a difficult decision, but I think as much as anything it was because I’ve been with Pakuranga right from the start and not quite so long at Papatoetoe,” says Mr Skelton. “I only had a choice of two.”
Mr Skelton has seen the eastern suburbs change a lot over his time with the board.
“There’s been a lot of development in Lloyd Elsmore Park and also the Rotary Walkway,” says Mr Skelton. “Certainly there are a lot of smaller things that the community board has been involved in getting, like playgrounds in reserves and footpaths put in. It’s the everyday stuff that local people notice.”
He’s witnessed firsthand how minor issues can upset residents.
“They can get very intense over something minor happening in their area. It’s often the sort of thing that the community board can help them with,” says Mr Skelton.
“Most of the people who’ve been on the board have been very dedicated, genuine community oriented people, all standing for the right reasons, particularly the chairpersons.”
Mr Skelton attended his final Pakuranga board meeting on Monday where he handed over the reins to newly appointed coordinator Robyn Allpress.
