In early 2021, the future for Tauranga was "pretty bleak". The city's council had been sacked, the CBD was littered with empty shops, and the Covid pandemic gripped New Zealand's fifth largest city.
Tauranga City's four-person commission, led by former National MP Anne Tolley, was tasked with turning its fortunes around.
Plans for unrealised projects "tumbled out of the cupboards" when they first arrived, said Tolley.
Nearly four years on, and the commission have completed a myriad of those projects, some of which had been in the works for 20 years.
But their tenure divided the city with many opposed to their appointment.
The team of four was handpicked by former Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta.
Their term started in February 2021, after the previous council was discharged of its duties by Mahuta for poor behaviour, infighting, leaks of confidential information and the inability to set rates at a realistic level.
Making up Tolley's team were commissioners Shadrach Rolleston, a planner with Māori engagement expertise, Bill Wasley, a planner with local government management experience, and Stephen Selwood, the former chief executive of Infrastructure New Zealand.
Ahead of Tauranga's first election in five years, Local Democracy Reporting sat down with the commission to talk the trials and triumphs of running Tauranga, before their term ends next week.
The foursome had never worked together, but they quickly formed a bond based on their joint mission.
So much so, they finish each other’s sentences and the joviality between them is palpable.
Finding Tauranga's pulse
In 2021, the only glimmer of hope for the city centre was the $200m Farmers development, said Tolley.
"There wasn't a lot else, it was like there were will-o'-the-wisps [impossible goals] tumbling down the main street."
Rolleston, a Tauranga local, thinks back to that time.
"What was our future? It was pretty bleak.
'[People] can now see what the future holds."
Part of this future is the $306m civic precinct Te Manawataki o Te Papa, which is due for completion in 2028. The precinct will house a library, a civic whare for meetings, and the city's first museum and exhibition centre.
This project alongside upgrades to the waterfront and other public spaces marks a $500m council investment aimed at reviving the city's heart.
Tolley said their projects created confidence in the CBD so that private investment is now three times that of council’s.
"In five years' time it [the CBD] will be unrecognisable. The city centre will be humming, and people will be proud of their city."
Private projects include the recently completed $200m Farmers residential and retail development - 38 Elizabeth, the $19m mass timber office at 90 Devonport that Tauranga City Council will lease, and the $20m Northern Quarter on The Strand.
A legacy of hope
Despite council's huge investment, Te Manawataki o Te Papa isn't the legacy Tolley wanted.
"I wanted to leave a city that was proud of its heritage, knew where it was going, and was just getting on doing it.
"When we came, we found an organisation [Tauranga City Council] that was very defensive, very inward focused. And right from day one, we were determined to ensure that the council was very outward focused and worked in the community."
Her favourite example of this is the recently opened $3.6m skatepark in Mount Maunganui.
It was designed by a community panel and skate park designer Rich Landscapes. Council funded 45% of the cost, the rest came from community grants.
Wasley said addressing the deficit in community facilities was the highpoint of his term.
"Whether they're parks and reserves, the [Memorial Park] aquatic centre, skateparks, the Marine Parade coastal pathway, that whole suite of activities has been absolutely key, because it's about providing the people things."
Nothing lost
Rolleston said his highlight was the range of cultural issues that the commission had resolved or started work on.
This included the co-ownership of the land beneath Te Manawataki o Te Papa between council and mana whenua.
"When we did the transfer… there was nothing lost … it was the honourable thing to do to resolve those issues."
Council had also worked with Wairoa Marae on the Pōteriwhi development and set aside land for Whareroa Marae, which is facing coastal inundation and issues with air pollution from the surrounding industrial area.
"There's a whole suite of these things that the Māori community have raised continually with council over a long period of time to seek a resolution to."
Selwood, who lives in Rolleston but based himself in Mount Maunganui when needed, said the commission was in a "remarkably privileged position".
"Our only mission in life was to make decisions in the best long-term interests of the city as a whole, with no political agendas to push other than doing the very best job we could."
As part of their role, the city's leaders were tasked with developing two 10-year plans, one in 2021 and 2024.
The 2024/34 long-term plan proposes $4.9 billion in capital investment, including more than $1 billion in transport infrastructure and a $574m investment in community facilities including a new $122m aquatic centre at Memorial Park and sports facilities.
The plan was met with opposition from a former mayor, ACT list MP Cameron Luxton and ratepayer groups, who believed it should be left for the incoming council to approve.
A 'perfect storm'
All four commissioners agree their biggest challenge was funding.
"Trying to stretch the budget to backfill a couple of decades of underinvestment," Tolley said. "Particularly around maintenance of roading and, community infrastructure, and then try and get ahead of that growth."
The funding mechanisms for councils were "really difficult, archaic, process driven and lengthy," she said.
Wasley added it was a "perfect storm" trying to address the deficit and coping with the 3000-4000 people moving to Tauranga on an annual basis.
The commission have used different funding levers, such as public private partnerships, grants, asset sales and being the first council to use the Infrastructure Funding and Financing levy for transport projects and Te Manawataki o Te Papa.
The levy is government loan that is paid back through a targeted rate over 30 years.
Popular or not?
The team's decisions weren't always popular and they faced opposition from the start. A portion of the community didn't want a commission and when their term was extended in 2022 that opposition grew stronger.
A sacked councillor said if the "right people" were elected at this year's election, he believed the civic precinct project would be reversed.
Their recent decision to raise permitted building heights in Mount Maunganui angered residents, while business felt they would suffer when waterfront carparks were airmarked for greenspace.
Their now scaled back plans for a stadium at Tauranga Domain sparked outrage and a protest from those affected.
A roading and sewerage upgrade project — Cameron Road Stage 1 — faced multiple delays and a budget blowout to $110m. It was also a blow to businesses who struggled to stay afloat with construction at their front doors.
Asked if people's push-back affected them, the resounding answer was no.
"We were appointed to do a job with clear terms of reference, and get on with it," said Wasley.
Tolley adds: "We've had enormous support from individuals and from groups."
The chair said people often thanked her for her time and the commission's work. "But I don't do social media either."
"[A commission's] not normal and if people had behaved properly, maybe it wouldn't have been necessary.
"We've understood that people don't like it, but it was necessary."
What's best for the city?
On July 20, a mayor and nine councillors will be elected, with each councillor representing their local ward.
Tolley said councillors needed to work with everyone at the council table to achieve things for their ward, which meant give and take.
"The mantra of any good governance is make sure you can debate it to death, but once you've made a decision, you've got to stick to it."
Selwood added: "The real job is to make decisions in the best interest of the city as a whole."
Asked whether any of the commission were tempted to run in the election, Selwood and Wasley reply "no" with a laugh.
Rolleston said he was contemplating it late last year but, when council reconvened this year, he decided against it despite a lot of people encouraging him to do so.
Tolley said: "I've done my dash." At 71, it was now her "husband's time".
Having started her career in local government, she didn't expect to finish it there as well.
"It's been a great privilege; very seldom do you get the opportunity to do what we've done here."
Selwood said: "We've been a great team. In terms of our expertise, but also how we get on, that unified direction is a major asset.
"We've got our fingers crossed that the new council is similarly aligned."
What's next?
Tolley lives in Ōhope but based herself in Pāpāmoa part time during her tenure.
She has finished her official duties from Europe and is spending time with her London-based daughter.
Selwood is also heading to the United Kingdom to see his Cambridge-based daughter.
Rolleston will continue his consulting work. Wasley will continue to chair the Waikato Future Proof growth management partnership.
The commissions term officially ends when the election results are finalised in a week's time.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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