Hirafu Area Management Steering Committee

On May 31, 2016, I was appointed by Kutchan Mayor Nishie to be on the steering committee for the Hirafu Area Management Association. This is a broad based initiative between residents, businesses, and government, picking up where the Business Improvement District (BID) initiative left off a few years ago. The purpose of the association will be to address local issues and opportunities.

Kutchan Town has announced they will pay for Area Management Initiatives through local taxes, but it is still unclear what form this will take, and which activities will be governed by the Hirafu Area Management Association.

My objective is to continue to push Kutchan Town to study how much longer current infrastructure can keep up with development. Remove conjecture and opinion, and start with some hard realities. At what point are the lift lines too long, traffic unmanageable, toilets no longer flushing, etc?

I have suggested for over two years that they take the average growth of the last 10 years, and extrapolate that forward by 10 years (fair I think, since we have had some big peaks and valleys in development). Once the limits of infrastructure are known, then the building code could be revised accordingly. Point being, the cheapest infrastructure solutions are the ones Kutchan Town does now, on paper.

Hopefully we can help to shape a positive future for our community and the next generation.

Keith Rodgers