A public workshop gave Waipā District councillors an opportunity to tell their side of the Blue Blob story last week and reflect on the fallout from a disastrous public drop-in session.
The drop in session in March last year which was abandoned. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Independent facilitator Anne Pattillo led the “warts and all” Cambridge Connections session which notably excluded input from council staff involved in the project. She described the situation as “not the council’s finest hour.”
Jared Milbank, credited with galvanising the community’s Blue Blob response, said he was pleased the workshop was public but disappointed councillors did not “step up and take some ownership”.
The controversy had its seeds in the final months of Jim Mylchreest’s mayoral tenure in 2022 when council adopted the Waipā Transport Strategy and formed a Project Steering Group to explore complex transport issues and options for Cambridge. The workshop, held in Te Awamutu, was attended by seven of the 12 elected members.
Participants at last week’s session asked why the project group – comprising councillors Roger Gordon, Clare St Pierre, Liz Stolwyk, and Cambridge Community Board member Andrew Myers – had kept its discussions and decisions secret from other councillors.
That’s enough, out of here, says Community Services manager Brad Ward at the Cambridge Connections drop in meeting
Gordon broke that secrecy protocol when he informed fellow councillors Mike Montgomerie, Mike Pettit, and Philip Coles “well before” the Blue Blob was made public in February last year, the month before the drop in session where the anger spilled over.
Cambridge News 3 July 2025
Pattillo identified three key failures that contributed to the chaos at the drop-in session: the group’s lack of connection with the wider council, the performance and actions of elected members, and poor community engagement that failed to build understanding and commitment.
The drop-in session drew strong reactions from residents and neighbours living under a blue blob on a map, which had been identified as the preferred site for a third Waikato River bridge.
They demanded more information and transparency.
Mayor Susan O’Regan revealed she received a death threat from an agitated woman before the meeting began. During the session, one participant reportedly said of elected members, “they should all be lined up and shot.”
Weeks later, O’Regan paused the project. A reset followed later in the year, culminating in the appointment of executive director Katie Mayes earlier this year.
Jared Milbank
Milbank, named The News person of the year for his community advocacy during the debacle, said councillors at the workshop suggested people unaffected by the Blue Blob contributed to an unexpected high attendance at the drop in session.
“They didn’t understand who might feel affected by the location of the Blue Blob.”
He highlighted Pattillo’s comment as the most telling quote of the workshop: “When you’ve got critical decisions, they need to be visible for the whole of council.”
Pattillo added that when senior council members disagree, others should collectively step up, and that keeping decisions secret from colleagues should be “so rare as to never occur.”
During the workshop two councillors – Lou Brown and St Pierre – were critical of the media’s role. Brown said an article before the drop in session was “not misleading” but was not accurate.
St Pierre criticised The News’ February 29 headline “Put it there. Corridor for third bridge revealed” saying it failed to mention the plan’s links to growth management or congestion.
The workshop continued into the afternoon, with councillors discussing how to reset the project to ensure greater community engagement and collective council responsibility moving forward.
See: Put it there. Corridor for third bridge revealed
See: Council admits blue
See: Goodbye Mr Blobby
Cambridge News front page 29 February 2024
