Council staff and councillors and Wānaka Community Board elected members took turns on Wednesday morning and again on Saturday morning to ask what people thought about the draft recreation reserve plan and encourage people to make a submission by November 30.
Hundreds of submissions have already stacked up and Cr Barry Bruce, of Wānaka, Cr Lyal Cocks and Wānaka Community Board member Chris Hadfield will be assessing and deciding on the multiple viewpoints after a hearing scheduled for December 6.
About two years ago, the council invested about $8million in a large block of privately held land at Mt Iron and Little Mt Iron, to vest in public reserve in perpetuity.
The council has also taken over the management of the Department of Conservation’s reserve on Mt Iron and will ultimately hold title to that piece of land too, once the full reserve planning process has been completed.
Cr Bruce said he believed visitors, frequent holiday makers and residents all felt a connection to Mt Iron and many people had dropped in to the council’s information gazebo set up at the bottom of the track.
"I used to run Mt Iron years ago, with my wife Sue. Now not. But our fastest time was just under 30 minutes. I would need an emergency response unit if I did that today," he joked.
Cr Bruce and his wife moved to Wānaka about 26 years ago from Ashburton, after many years as regular holidaymakers.
He said he had always felt a soft spot for Mt Iron, which has traditionally been a walking track, and open for dog walking.
Now, the council and community board would be considering suggestions for mountainbike trails as well, with Bike Wānaka seeking a bike track in a part of the reserve away from walking tracks where, historically, some biking had previously taken place.
His goal would be to achieve a good balance of access for everyone, Cr Bruce said.
"Obviously, there have to be some tracks for just walking and some tracks for just biking ... We need to respect everyone’s wishes," he said.
He had enjoyed meeting people at the mountain.
"Some have studied what is proposed in depth and wanted to discuss it in detail," he said.
"I love this form of engagement. The face-to-face meeting is very valuable, in my view," he said.
Queenstown Lakes District Council parks officer Tarsy Koentges, of Lake Hāwea, said she was finding the feedback on site "quite productive and enjoyable" and the process highlighted how important it was to get out and about in the community.
"Some people had read the plan and knew we were here and came here specially to talk to us. They had done their homework and showed up," she said.
The draft Mt Iron recreation reserve plan has been through several rounds of consultation meetings and public workshops over the past 18 months, with that feedback being taken into the draft document.
Consultation remains open for several more weeks and staff will have a short turnaround of about a week to prepare the final plan for the submissions hearing panel by December 6.
The submissions panel will then consider the final plan and make a recommendation to the council.
The council is scheduled to vote whether or not it will adopt the final plan early in 2025.
Cr Bruce said he was hopeful for a good result.
"Mt Iron will remain forever, so we have to get it right."
