He is halfway through his term as mayor and was in front of the group to talk about changes, plans and progress made since he was elected.
He was questioned by members of the group about issues mainly related to the council's recently released draft long-term plan.
It was asked why the plan did not seem to include projected outcomes for the likes of growth or council moves.
However, Mr Lepper said he thought there was "truckloads" in the plan - the Cromwell wastewater treatment plant, for example - but as for creating growth, he did not think the council was the "golden bullet for solving the problems".
He was also asked how it was fair that, according to the plan, a ratepayer in Clyde would pay $57.25 for a water connection when a ratepayer in Omakau would pay $894.10.
He said he did not think that charge was affordable for an Omakau ratepayer.
At a small increase in cost for ratepayers in other towns, everyone could be paying the same for the same service.
"We do this for services like roads, waste collection and visitor centres so why not for water?"
Central Otago ratepayers will soon be facing bills for the actual amount of water they use, though Mr Lepper had made an election promise to stop water metering.
He said that when he took office, he had hoped that the water meters would never be read, "but when I got into council I saw that councillors would not agree".
Despite that, Mr Lepper said he was happy with the progress he had made, though admitted he had room for improvement.
One of the key things he had personally done was to develop a network of people in both local and central government who could help him make a difference.
However, he said his vote at council meetings was only one in 11. He was judged on things he could not achieve alone, he said.
The council would be working on communication, particularly instant communication in the form of social media or through the council's website, he said.
