Nelson Weekly
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Wednesday 14 February 2024
Beach bus to return
‘Fantastic’ season for Nayland Page 4
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Proposed ramp launch fee hike rocks the boat MAX FRETHEY
Local Democracy Reporter
A proposed hike of boat ramp launch fees has caused waves amongst Nelson boaties who say the new cost would be too much for what facilities are available. Nelson City Council is proposing to increase the launch fees at the
Nelson Marina boat ramp by 150 per cent next financial year, causing the per launch fee to jump from $6 to $15. The price for a year’s annual launching permit would also increase from $125 to $312.50. Currently, the boat ramp’s revenue is $30,000 but the total cost to operate the boat ramp is $90,000.
The shortfall is filled by other revenue streams from the marina. Increasing the launch fees by 150 per cent would increase the ramp’s revenue to about $65,000. Elected members were presented with the proposed hike in a report at the beginning of the month. The report compared the in-
creased fee of $15 to Motueka’s charge of $15 per use ($30 total to launch and retrieve) and to the $14 fee for Marlborough’s ramps in Havelock, Picton, and Waikawa. But Nelson’s boaties say that the increased price is too much, considering what facilities are available
at the ramp. “That’s a big increase for someone who might use the ramp two or three times a week during the summer… especially if they’re not going to see anything for that money,” says Dawnbreakers Fishing Club president Phil Chilton.
SEE PAGE 2
Historic descendant hooks the hundy GORDON PREECE One of the oldest direct descendants among the first European families in Aotearoa celebrated his centenary on Sunday. Nelsonian Allan Guard sliced his 100th birthday cake with the same sword his whaler great grandfather, John Guard, had used in the late 1820s at Kakapo Bay in Port Underwood to finally draw a line in the sand with tribal leader Te Rauparaha following turmoil between the pair.
SEE PAGE 5
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Allan Guard used a family heirloom to mark his 100th birthday. Photo: Gordon Preece.
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