10.4 Woodville Districts' Vision
Attachment 1 Woodville
Districts' Vision
Minutes of the Annual General
Meeting of Woodville Districts’ Vision held in the Old Folks Hall on
Tuesday 4 September 2018 commencing at 7.30pm.
PRESENT
B Hutton, A Devonshire, B Barnes, P Brass, S Brass, J Hill, G McDean, F Stone,
S Nesbit, S La Hood, M Stuart, T Brackenbury, J Seager, D Henman, P Thornton, J
Preston, E Gray-Stuart, L Gray-Stuart, S McLeod, G Murray, K McIntyre, R
Karena, E Nattrass, V McMillan, R McMillan, J Smith, M Somerville, D Speer, D
Coutts, K Doyle, K Hobbs, S Silvester, S Ashton, C Archer, I Daley, D Murdoch
(Bush Telegraph), Mayor T Collis, Cr P Johns, W Bly, E Walls, T de Vries, R
Kawau, K Pratt, D Haus, P McCool, R Winter and M M Oulaghan
APOLOGIES
C
Wilton
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS ANNUAL
GENERAL MEETING
That the
minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting held on 5 September 2017 be
accepted as a true and correct record.
M M Oulaghan/E
Nattrass
Carried
MATTERS ARISING
A
reminder that meeting minutes should be sent out to all members.
REPORTS
· The
Chair’s Annual Report was tabled and read.
That
the Chair’s Annual Report be accepted.
R
Winter/B
Hutton
Carried
· Woodville
Districts’ Vision financial statement for the year ended 30 June 2018 is
tabled. This is the first year the independent Chartered Accountant was
used following MCI and Associates increasing their annual charge.
That
the financial statement be accepted.
P
McCool/S
Ashton
Carried
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
The positions
of Chair and Treasurer are open for election. Positions of Vice Chair (T
Brackenbury) and Secretary (M M Oulaghan) remain in post.
R Winter
stepped down from the chair. W Bly took the chair and advised attendees
that during the election process voting, if required, would be
written.
Chair
Nominations
were called for the position of Chair.
A written
nomination was received from C Wilton nominating J Seager. D Henman
seconded this nomination.
That nominations be closed.
S Ashton/S
Brass
Carried
J
Seager is declared appointed as Chair.
Treasurer
Nominations
were called for the position of Treasurer.
The incumbent
(P McCool) was asked whether she would consider standing again, and she
declined being nominated.
Nomination - C
Wilton
T Brackenbury/J Seager
C
Wilton is declared appointed as Treasurer.
The outgoing
Treasurer is thanked for her commitment as Treasurer over her years of
tenure. The time and effort put into Woodville Districts’ Vision
has been greatly appreciated by both Woodville Districts’ Vision and the
community.
Communications Coordinator
Nominations
were called for the position of Communications Coordinator.
Nomination
- S
Ashton
P Johns/R Winter
S
Ashton is declared appointed as Communications Coordinator.
Committee Members
Nominations
were called for positions of committee members.
F Stone
- S Brass/S
Ashton
S Brass - S
Ashton/B Hutton
M Stuart
- S LaHood/B
Barnes
D Coutts
- declined
D Speer
- declined
M Sommerville - declined
G McDean
- declined
R Karena
- T
Brackenbury/G McDean
As there are
four nominations for three positions a vote is required. Scrutineers are
W Bly and E Walls. Following the counting of votes the below mentioned
are declared elected as committee members:
S
Brass
R
Karena
F
Stone
That
all voting papers be destroyed.
S Ashton/B
Barnes
Carried
SUBSCRIPTIONS
That subscriptions remain at $5 per annum.
P Johns/C
Archer
Carried
APPOINTMENT
OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT
That Nicola
McLean from Dannevirke be appointed as Woodville Districts’ Vision
Chartered Accountant for the 2018/19 financial year.
P McCool/P
Johns
Carried
MEETINGS
DATE AND TIME
That meetings
continue to be held on the first Tuesday of each month at 7.00pm, and there be
no meeting held in January.
P Johns/C
Archer
Carried
The Executive
will set its own time for meetings. As there is no general meeting in September
some general business matters were discussed.
GENERAL
BUSINESS
· Radio Woodville
Application for Funding
An application for funding
has been received from Radio Woodville seeking funds for broadcasting
software/station player list.
That Woodville
Districts’ Vision grants Radio Woodville 50% of the funding amount
requested, being $571.
R Winter/J Seager Carried
That as there will be some
delay for signatories to be arranged with
the
changes in office this grant be paid via internet.
R
Winter/S
Ashton
Carried
· Sculpture Tree
M Stuart reported that
Ashhurst Engineering is still to look at the sculpture tree. Reluctance
is the likely loss on their part due to the level of unexpected risk. UCOL
have advised that in their opinion the sculpture tree is beyond repair.
Other engineers also concur that the sculpture tree needs to be replaced
rather than repaired.
· Thank You to
Chair
On behalf of Woodville
Districts’ Vision and all the community W Bly thanked the outgoing Chair
(R Winter) for her passion, commitment, energy and support over the six years
she held this position. It is our combined pleasure to congratulate and
thank the Chair for leading Woodville Districts’ Vision so ably over this
period. W Bly wished the new committee well for the future.
With there being no further business the meeting is declared closed at 9.00pm.
11.3 Staff Report
Attachment 1 Staff
Report to 26 September 2018 Council Meeting
Report
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Date
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17 September 2018
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To
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Mayor and
Councillors
Tararua
District Council
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From
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Blair King
Chief
Executive
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Subject
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Staff
Report
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Item No
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Reason
for the Report
This report is to update Councillors on key
projects and items of interest over the period from 18 August 2018 to 14
September 2018.
Key
Points
Collating and
Communicating a Roadmap of Projects
In CouncilMARK,
the assessors posed the question “where is the simple document by which
the community know when they can hold us to account”. This related
to the Long Term Plan Outcomes including
- Increasing resilience of infrastructure
- Improving connectivity
- Enabling growth across the district
Areas of focus
in the short and medium term to address that question includes
- Creating a 10 year roadmap of projects – 5 years previous
through to five years in the future, that communicate what and why. For
example, in water, the Asset Management priorities adopted by Council, has been
to create secure storage of raw and treated water across the seven
schemes. Following the Havelock North Inquiry, more resource has been
required in compliance and safety. There is also talk by the Government
on requiring all points of connection to be metered. Metering would cost
$3m, so we have to communicate what would be better provided with this same
funding to improve safety and resilience.
- Ensuring predominantly externally delivered activities like
Earthquake Prone Strengthening and development options for more housing in
Woodville and Pahiatua have adequate resourcing, to enable Councillors to
influence central or regional Policy.
Level of
Service, or Service Delivery?
The continuous run of severe weather events
is having a negative impact on residents perceptions of our performance.
For example, in water, we are diverting
staff from project based activities, to deal with on-going issues of turbidity,
requiring more testing and hands-on operation of treatment plants. This
affects our ability to progress projects such as extending the Dannevirke
Infiltration Gallery, where Resource Consents are needed, or optimising
treatment plants.
In roading, residents feel that we
haven’t repaired previous slips before the next event occurs, and more
damage is occurring such as Mangahei Road. Yet where we are seeking
enhanced subsidy for these emergency works from NZTA, this requires detailed
reports showing the design option for repair is prudent rather than gold
plated. Making these areas safe, and gaining more information, reduces
crews available for planned maintenance activities.
Looking through the service requests
lodged, a common theme is they would like a quicker response to repairs, rather
than just making safe, which is a level of service (funding) rather than
service delivery (performance) question. So whilst we may have all roads
open within two or three days even where large hillsides have collapsed, the challenge
is having the community onside with why the major repairs must wait for NZTA
approval.
Where an enhanced subsidy is approved, this
can be 20 c/$ higher than our usual maintenance budget, which means less
ratepayer impact from events.
Sealing
of Documents
The Mayor
and Chief Executive signed the following documents under the Council’s
common seal:
· Deed of licence
for Nireaha Domain Recreation Reserve - D J and P J Bengston
· Memorandum of
lease for Easton Street - Dannevirke Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals
THE
ALLIANCE
Executive Summary
Another monthly report
that includes another severe weather event…
During the week
starting 3 September, constant rain caused significant damage and disruption
around the road network. Almost 200mm of rainfall was recorded at
Horizon’s ‘Akitio at Toi Flat’ station, located between
Dannevirke and Weber, over the week, although local farmers confirmed more was
unofficially measured at Weber and Pongaroa (250-300mm).
Multiple roads were temporarily closed due to
large slips or dropouts, and many staff worked through the nights and weekends
with a focus on maintaining accessibility (keeping roads open) and motorist
safety. On top of the many slips and fallen trees removed during the week,
network inspections identified more than 400 faults caused by the weather event
which are being assessed, prioritised, programmed and actioned. Two of the
worst sites are pictured below.
A dropout on Mangahei
Road undercut the road and forced the closure of the road for a number of days.
A minor, temporary retreat has been constructed around the site to enable
access, although alternative routes were available while the road was closed.
Also, on Route 52
between Weber and Waione a large hillside has continually slipped onto the
road. Multiple slips occurred over the week, forcing numerous closures of the
road. Again, alternative routes were available while the road was closed.
Many sites have
suffered severe damage and are complex, requiring geotechnical investigations
and engineered designs to ensure effective, site specific, and best whole of
life cost solutions. An emergency works funding application is also being
prepared, using the inspection information, and submitted to the NZ Transport Agency
with the expectation the repairs will be subsidised at 86%.
Better
news is that the National Land Transport Programme has now been confirmed by
the NZ Transport Agency. Tararua District Council’s submission to this
has been approved in its entirety, including the $1.225M for footpath
maintenance, renewal and construction (which includes the renewal of footpaths
in Pahiatua as part of the Main Street Upgrade project). A great result.
During
August the Tararua Alliance were audited against non-financial performance for
the 2017/18 financial year. Whilst the audit report is still only in draft
form, it was positive to see the improvements implemented over the past twelve
months acknowledged by the audit team.
We
have partnered with both Rangitane and Sport Manawatu to improve the health and
wellbeing of our staff, following a recent survey of our field staff which
indicated a desire for support. Rangitane Smoking Cessation Support staff and
Sport Manawatu staff attend alternating Monday morning toolbox meetings to meet
with our field staff. Although only recently started, we hope for outcomes such
as improved health and increased job satisfaction, as well as a happier life in
general. The enthusiasm of Rangitane and Sport Manawatu to support us with this
initiative has been great, and is hugely appreciated.
The
Road Efficiency Group, a partnership between Local Government NZ and the NZ
Transport Agency, continues to develop the One Network Road Classification
(ONRC) initiative. We recently hosted a joint regional workshop, with road
network management staff from across the Manawatu-Whanganui, Taranaki, and
Hawke’s Bay regions meeting in Dannevirke for the day. The agenda
included; Sector/Industry Updates, Innovation, Procurement & Service
Delivery, and Data Quality Improvements. We also continue to be involved on the
Customer Outcomes (or ONRC) industry working group.
Planning
Pavement Renewals
Planning and Design
Good progress has been made on 2018/19
pavement rehabilitation designs, which are nearing completion. We are awaiting
the final test results from existing pavement material sampled during site
investigations so we can validate the most cost effective repair for each site.
There are two sites remaining to be surveyed, with a further two requiring
extra data to be collected to be able to complete the geometric designs.
P-12 Bridge Guardrail Replacement
The P-12 Bridge on Pahiatua-Pongaroa Road near Ngaturi sustained
damage from an impact from a stock truck, which demolished part of the guardrail
on the southbound side. As the remaining guardrail on the bridge was
constructed in 1927, and given how it performed in the impact from a laden
truck, it was decided to replace both sides of the bridge guardrail to the
modern standard. The insurance company for the trucking firm will be billed for
the cost of the replacement southbound guardrail.
Pahiatua
Main Street Upgrade
A project team meeting is planned for mid-September where the
team will provide direction and confirmation of design features, to our design
partners. This will then be incorporated into the developed design before the
final phase of design consultation, and then into the detailed design phase of
the project. This will include confirmation on the range of proposed features like
covered spaces, how many pedestrian crossings, seating, and indicatively
confirming how much to invest in these features while ensuring they align with
our public feedback, stakeholder feedback and Council’s vision and
strategies.
Potholing for existing services has recently been completed.
This was carried out to confirm designs for water and wastewater renewals.
More effort and resource is now being put into additional
funding opportunities and exploring these potential monetary sources.
Monthly Work Completion
The Tararua Alliance completed 922 different
work tasks during August, across the Tararua district road network. The
location and types of completed works are shown below.
DELIVERY
3Waters
Water Renewals
Work has begun on the Wakeman Street
watermain renewal in Pahiatua. We are currently installing the 100mm
servicemain between Tyndall Street and Sedcole Street, as pictured adjacent.
Once
the servicemain has been completed and commissioned, we will then commence
laying the 300mm PVC trunkmain. This renewal project is planned to take three
months to complete.
Two
zone meters have been installed in Pahiatua water reticulation network. These
have been installed to enable improved demand management practices through
better flow monitoring and more effective water loss (i.e. pipe leak)
detection.
The
district’s water meters were read in early September. Following this, we
have replaced 26 old analogue water meters in Eketahuna for new radio frequency
meters. This is part of a trial to assess the cost savings and efficiencies
gained by utilising radio frequency meters against the older analogue
type.
Water Maintenance
Maintenance work remains steady, responding to various
reactive faults. One of these was a split asbestos cement watermain in McKay
Place, Dannevirke. This resulted in a temporary unplanned outage for the
residents of McKay Place and Robertshaw Crescent.
Wastewater Renewals
The wastewater pipe renewal project is
London Street, Dannevirke, is progressing well with all of the pipe now
installed. Sealing of trenches and footpaths is still in progress.
The
pipe bursting unit was utilised to install the pipe, reducing disruption to
motorists and other members of the public. Although launch pits were still
required, we were able to burst the 150mm concrete sewermain across Denmark
Street (photo left), which would have required full Stop/Go if carried out via
conventional open cut method.
Renewal of various manholes is planned to begin in
mid-September. This is the final phase of works from the Eketahuna earthquake.
CCTV Inspections
Our
new CCTV Operator has started with us and is underway inspecting various pipes
around the district. A pipe recently inspected was the wastewater main in
Chamberlain Street in Dannevirke, which was identified as requiring urgent
remedial works. The ability for us to proactively identify issues and then
action repairs before major failure occurs is one of the many benefits
generated by Council and the Tararua Alliance having in house capability for
this.
Roads
Road Safety Billboards
Six road safety
billboards have been installed in various locations around the district. The
signs, which were supplied by the Horizons Road Safety team, have been
installed to improve motorist behaviour.
Maintenance
Road maintenance was
steady throughout the month of August, with teams focused on completing monthly
programmes as well as with the maintenance grading and metaling on unsealed
roads. Drainage work is ongoing across the network with work completed on Waihi
Valley Road, Pahiatua Pongaroa Road, and Route 52 – many in lieu of
impending resurfacing to be completed this summer.
With spring fast approaching, programmes are being
developed for heavy vegetation control, rural road berm mowing and chemical
vegetation control (roadside spraying). These activities will begin over the
coming months.
Renewals and Construction
The footpath construction project on King
Street in Dannevirke is nearing completion. This will improve the capacity of
the pedestrian network leading to Dannevirke High School.
Significant work is
being completed on Waione-Horoeka Road, between Weber and Pongaroa. This has
seen rapid deterioration over recent months due to weather, the temporary
closure of Route 52 between Weber and Waione, and also an unplanned pine
harvesting operation which resulted in numerous heavy vehicle movements placing
the road under additional stress. The works underway include pavement
strengthening, drainage renewal, and flood damage repairs to ensure the road is
accessible and in a safe condition for general road users.
Kumeroa School Carpark
The Kumeroa School
carpark improvements which was started in July has now been completed, with
sealing carried out in August (pictured). The crew onsite received positive
feedback from numerous parents, because of the safety benefits the project will
generate around school start and end times.
Performance
Performance Dashboard
Plant and Property
Executive Summary
Staff are working on the analysis and
feedback of the LGNZ 3 Waters Review. A major catalyst for change has been the
investigation into the Havelock water contamination. 3 Waters services
are currently delivered by 70 plus local authorities across NZ. The
provisions of 3 waters services (drinking water, wastewater and storm water)
have been core functions of local authorities since the commencement of local
government. This information will be brought to Council at the October
Council meeting.
Catchment Risk Assessment have been
completed for Akitio and Dannevirke Waste Supplies. Water Safety Plans
for Dannevirke have been updated. These have all been forwarded to the
MOH as part of our annual compliance review.
Annual Hazardous Substances Certification
for Chlorine and Chemical Storage in Dannevirke is being undertaken at present.
TDC Staff are meeting with Horizons
Compliance Staff at the Dannevirke Waste Intake this week to discuss the
options for extending the infiltration gallery pipe work and the possibility of
constructing a further weir to help eliminate the problems we are envisaging
with prolonged high turbidity and low flows. There is some forward
planning needed prior to the long term weather forecast of a hot, dry summer
throughout the region.
The Heritage architect has provided advice
to the Beca consultant and the Resource Consent can now be prepared for the
Pahiatua Service Centre. Beca can now produce detailed plans for
strengthening and an estimated cost of works. This will be carried out in
conjunction with the Heritage architect.
Opus have been asked to provide a brief and
a quote for the work on the old building at Woodville i-Site. The
commitments from Beca indicated they would unlikely be on site before 2019.
Overview of Capex Projects
Woodville Water Impounded Supply
Remedial work has been completed on the
side of the dam that was damaged by storm water runoff during the mid-year
storm.
The cover that was being welded at the old Infracon
site building is being transported to site at present ready for installation.
Pongaroa
Water
The rural
supply reservoirs are being cleaned at present which has created a high
turbidity issue at the plant. We will need to wait until the cleaning of
the last two reservoirs has been completed and any sediment in the system is
eliminated, therefore the Boil Water Notice will need to stay in effect until
the system returns to normal production and the chlorine levels return to the
required levels for customer use.
Akitio
Water
A transducer
and cable from the first water storage tank on the top of the hill back to the
new plant needs to be installed. This will allow control of the treated
water production and automatic shut off of plant once the demand has been met.
Otherwise the plant has no indication of when to either produce or cease
production. Without this control treated water would run to waste.
This is automated through our Scada telemetry.
Pahiatua
Reservoir
The replacement components for the new
reservoir from Tasman will be despatched from Sydney on 28 September 2018.
Operational
Dannevirke Water
Dannevirke Infiltration Gallery
After heavy rainfall the turbidity in the
Tamaki River where we take the town water from seems to take an extended period
of time to clear, a lot longer than it used to. After sending staff into
the intake area in the Ruahine hills we have come across a few old slips and
some recent slips that would be causing this problem. There is not a long
term fix to repair any of these issues. We have discussed the problems with the
Department of Conservation.
We are working with Filtec to trial a
stepped filter system to look at elimination of ultrafine particles through
cartridge filters.
Water table levels have decreased in and
around the present gallery area because of changes to the river dynamics.
This has reduced the intake flow of water into our system.
We have had a jet cleaning company from
Hawke’s Bay eliminate any roots that happened to be present within the
gallery pipe work to ensure the gallery is operating to its optimum
efficiency. With the removal of some roots, the flow has improved
slightly but still well below maximum requirements.
Left photo taken 3 years ago.
Right photo taken September 2018. Red circles identify the same location
in each photo showing slip.
There is a meeting with Horizons staff on
site 18 September 2018 to discuss proposed work needed to improve the
situation, what work is needed and the consent issues we need to address prior
to any work being carried out. These works include extending the
infiltration gallery pipework 80 metres upstream to enable the pipe to be laid
under the present water table. There is also plans to build an additional
“grade control” weir to help the system retain more water in the
present gallery surrounding area. This will also enable us to have better
control of the flow and quality of the water.
Community Assets
Buildings
Asbestos Building Survey
An approved contractor has begun surveying all
council’s buildings for asbestos. This includes Domain Board
Buildings that are sited on Council land. The Survey commenced on 24
August 2018 and is due to be completed by the end of September 2018.
Bush Multisport Stadium
Work is due to start on the refurbishment of the toilets in
the stadium. The toilets are in the original condition they were in when
the building was built in 1980.
Housing
Aften Court, Dannevirke
Quotes are being sought to replace 6 units with double
glazed windows.
Ruahine Flats, Woodville
A quote to refurbish Flat 27B has been accepted.
Waiting for the building permit to be issued.
Domain
Boards
Kohinui Domain Board
The lease of the Kohinui Domain has been advertised.
Ormondville Domain Board
The riparian planting around one of the 6 blocks on
Bucklands Road is almost complete.
Swimming Pools
Eketahuna
The redevelopment of the Eketahuna pool is well
underway. The sides have been installed and the floor will be completed
in the near future.
The old buildings demolished on Church Street will be
replaced once the pool is complete.
Woodville
A new committee has been set up to run the pool. They
are set up as an incorporated society independent of WDV.
Parks & Reserves
Eketahuna Skate Park
The pad for the skate area has been completed. The
paths into the park and swimming pool were completed at the same time.
The fence around the pad is still to be completed.
This had to wait until the pad was poured.
Dannevirke Sports Centre Courts
Sport Manawatu and Council in conjunction with the
Dannevirke Multi Sport Committee have been investigating the installation of a
multi-purpose turf surface for all users.
A lighting plan is being
developed to work out what size the court can be and how the lighting will fit
in with resource consent conditions.
Mangatainoka Reserve
The Government has advised they
will supply $102,000 to fund toilets and electronic rubbish bins in the
reserve. Positive media around this included Manawatu Standard and an
economic development email received by all Councils.
Pahiatua Camping Ground
Following problems with the existing septic tank is
investigating the replacement or addition of an extra tank for campers is being
investigated. The dump station facility on the septic tank has led to
problems and the new plan is to try and eliminate these problems and reduce the
water usage going into the tank.
Health and Safety
Health and Safety Regional
Group
Since
the disestablishment of the MWLASS health and safety business partner role
there has been little movement regarding the Regional Health and Safety Group.
Horowhenua District Council will be leading a project which will involve a gap
analysis of health and safety across all councils in the region. Colin Morris
(Horizons Regional Council) has advised there will be a connected approach
across the region including health and safety forums in the future.
The health and safety software
procurement run through the MWLASS has ceased and no update has been provided
if this will be managed as part of the Regional Group. Tararua District Council
will begin investigation into this as an individual council.
Health and Safety Committee
The committee recognise how important it is
to talk to staff and get feedback on where things are at and what needs to be
worked on going forward. The committee have conducted a staff survey and look
forward to using the results from this to help shape future plans.
The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) was
presented at the all staff meeting on 22 August. This is to help raise
awareness of the services available through EAP, which are also available to
Tararua District Council elected members.
A number of staff changes have resulted in
a review of fire wardens and the areas cleared during an emergency evacuation.
All fire wardens attended a meeting on 8 August in preparation for an upcoming
trial evacuation.
Woodville i-Site and Library are having
locks fitted to the internal administration room after a security risk was
identified regarding an area for staff that is restricted from the public for
the purpose of cash counting.
Fire
extinguishers are provided in Council vehicles and there are also a number of
these provided around various sites. A number of staff indicated they would
like more information and/or training on the use of these. Peter Sinclair
(Dannevirke Fire Chief and Plant and Property Group Contracts Supervisor)
provided an informational training session to all staff at the all staff
meeting held on 22 August.
Contractor Management
After reviewing the internal process for
health and safety within the contractor management process IT have developed an
online portal in which specific questions can be asked of contractor’s
health and safety processes. This will ensure that high risk tasks are captured
and also streamline the process for contractors and the staff assessing their
documentation, as well as ensuring consistency across the board. This is a work
in progress and has not been rolled out to contractors at this stage.
Asbestos Management
FibreSafe
NZ has been engaged to provide inspections of all Council sites. This was
completed on 14 September 2018, a number of sites have been sampled and an
asbestos management plan covering these sites will be put in place shortly.
There is some remedial work that will be required as a result of the findings
and though the extent of this is not known at this stage, FibreSafe NZ have
indicated it is relatively minimal issues.
Hazardous Substances
Hazardous substances audits have been
undertaken at Dannevirke, Pahiatua and Woodville Wastewater Treatment Plants.
There are two main requirements under the Hazardous Substances Regulations
(2017) that need to be remedied. Firstly, secondary containment of a substance
at the Pahiatua Plant is required, and information and advice regarding this
has been forwarded to the Group Manager for action. Secondly, a location
compliance certificate will be required for the Woodville Plant prior to
December 2019, a review of the chemicals used at this plant may result in
substituting the chemical in question with something safer; if this occurs then
this requirement may no longer apply.
Audits of
Water Treatment Plants will be undertaken in the next couple of months.
Risk Management and
Monitoring
One
of the animal control vehicles is coming up for renewal which has initiated a
review of equipment available for manual handling of animals into the back of
utility vehicles. The issues around this type of manual handling in
particular are the maximum lift weight by an individual, the potential for
awkward and jerky movement and that the animal is close to the
individual’s face. We are currently looking at options from other
councils who have implemented engineering controls to eliminate this hazard.
Light Utility Vehicle (Side
by Side) training
Eight
staff across Council and the Alliance, and one Cr completed the external
training session on the new Side by Side vehicle. This vehicle will be
utilised predominantly by the 3 waters team and when needed, Civil Defence and
Emergency Management. The training reflected the duties on us as a Person
Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU), to ensure those using it have the
confidence and competence to keep themselves and passengers safe when carrying
out work for Council.
Strategy & District Development
LGNZ Climate Change Symposium
The recent LGNZ conference
identified three major factors councils should be considering for considering
the effects of climate change. These are must consider:
· Vulnerability (how
vulnerable people are)
· Exposure (what
risks exist)
· Resilience (the
degree of inherent or prepared resilience)
The
Government has set up an Interim Climate Change Committee (ICCC) to provide
independent advice to Government regarding climate change mitigation and
adaptation. They are also considering a further independent body to
advise on zero carbon emissions.
The ICCC are asking four
questions:
1. What
do you see as local government's role in reducing emissions?
2. What
are the opportunities in a low-emissions economy for your local area?
3. What
legislative/regulatory environment is required to realise these opportunities?
4. What
do you see as the key priorities for the lCCC to consider?
A good example of impacts on
Wastewater system were covered to illustrate the effects of climate change
already underway. These issues include:
· Increased
infiltration and overflows in Waste systems
· Soakage field
performance affected when soils are waterlogged
· Assimilation
capacity of receiving environments reduced
· Corrosion due to
low flows resulting in increased concentration of wastewater
· Increased strength
of influent risking breach of toxicity levels
· Pipes float
causing cracking. increased odours at treatment plants and outfalls
· Performance varies
with temperature e.g. oxidation ponds
· Drought and
increased instances of very low flows and blockages impacting on
Conveyance and treatment
· Level of services
may be affected and reduced
This list
illustrates the degree of risk to just one type of asset councils manage of
which the effects of climate change is being experienced. It was noted
that communities that are already experiencing change and new threats are
accepting that climate change is underway and are now looking for options and solutions.
Records Update
Following on
from last year’s successful Pahiatua Photograph Preservation Project
there have been several enquiries from the public about Community
Archives. While Community Archives are not within the scope of Council
Archiving, Records and Information Manager Joy Kopa believes that Council could
do something to help communities preserve the district’s history.
Many of the district’s museum are at maximum capacity in terms of their
storage abilities which has resulted in them having no choice but to turn away
offers of valuable historic documentation. If no solution is found much
of our colourful history will be lost to landfills. As a first step it is
planned to hold a public meeting in each main township to determine the need
for further investigation into possible outcomes. From initial informal
conversations there is already a major company within the district who is
interested in being involved if a project eventuates.
Work also
continues on the digitisation of all Building Consent files.
Unfortunately a bottleneck in processing is causing delays. Until that step in
the processing is completed the Records Department cannot complete their step
in the processing. It is hoped that the recent increase in resources
within the Regulatory Department will allow for the development of a programme
to clear the bottleneck.
Records have
commenced work on the appraisal of Council’s Central Filing from 1993 to
2012. Once this appraisal is complete the remaining records will be
classified as archives, indexed and moved to Archives Central for permanent
retention. This involves over 25 linear metres of files held in the Dannevirke
office and approximately 20 metres boxed and stored in Woodville. Once
this project is completed it will also alleviate the problem of available
storage for working files that need to remain on site. It is estimated
this project will take six to eight months to complete.
Archives
Central continues to provide an excellent service. They now hold
approximately 400 linear metres of TDC archives. This does not include
the maps and plans, which are not measured by linear metre. Of these
archives over 10,000 are indexed in the online catalogue. The staff at
the facility are very helpful and any archive enquiries are responded to
promptly and in-depth. Tararua District Council have a very strong working
rapport with Archives Central and the support received for other projects such
as the Pahiatua Photograph Preservation Project and the recent appraisal of
Engineering Services files is invaluable.
Tararua Aquatic Trust
Following the resignation of Brian Beale,
Aaron Williams has been appointed as the new Chairperson. Aaron works for
Master Business Systems providing IT services to Council.
In addition Wendy Donaldson resigned from
the Treasurer role. Christine Matthews has been appointed as Treasurer/Secretary.
The Trust now has 7 trustees plus the new
secretary/treasurer.
Economic Development, Communications
and District Marketing
Economic
Development
Regional Collaboration
Angela attended
the Regional Collaboration meeting in Palmerston North on 15 August.
Representatives from the various councils and organisations provided updates on
their progress with - and ideas for - the Provincial Growth Fund.
Key discussion
points included:
§ appropriate ways to engage with iwi for territorial authorities and
businesses;
§ Central Economic Development Agency (CEDA) newly implemented
business support groups (similar to farm discussion groups);
§ CEDA’s desire to be active in the communities around the
Horizons region;
§ a sister city conference to be held in Palmerston North in March
2019;
§ 2019 - the international year of China tourism; and
§ Peter
Crawford’s (PNCC) latest data figures.
Community Foundations
There are plans in motion to develop a
community foundation that will cover the Horizons region. Mark met with the
Project Manager of the proposed foundation to discuss the proposal, the impact
on the Tararua District, and how we can work together to achieve the desired
outcomes.
Provincial Growth Fund
Application
for Alternative Land Use Study
We submitted a draft application for an
alternative land use study, focusing on feijoa, cider apples, hazelnuts and
berries.
We have received feedback from the Ministry
of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on the draft and the final
application has now been submitted.
Expression
of Interest for Tourism and Trails Project
We have submitted an expression of interest
regarding cycleways and walkways as part of our Tourism and Trails Project.
Business
Business
Support
We are providing business friendly and
welcoming support.
Our newest entrepreneur is from
Woodville. Angela is working alongside 6 current clients as they do
market research and build business plans. Angela has noticed a drop in
the number of people engaging with the business support service.
Community
Support for Community Events
North Range Trio
The 2018 North Range Trio offered three
off-road walking/running events, catering for a range of fitness levels. The
popular 25km North Range Traverse and 12.5km Hall Block Humdinger and the
Manawatu and Tararua districts’ only off-road ultra-marathon, the 50km
Catchment Ultra!
This year Tararua District Council provided
sponsorship to the North Range Trio to the value of $1000. This sponsorship
included naming rights to the Hall Block Humdinger race - now called the
“Tararua District Hall Block Humdinger” - as well as an opportunity
to show Council’s support via an “aide station” at the finish
line (a prime spot!).
Additionally, the team connected the event
organisers with key contacts around the district to enable growth. This
included facilitating connections to the Woodville community radio station;
resulting in a portable-caravan in attendance playing music and enhancing event
atmosphere, and connections to Tui Brewery; resulting in additional sponsorship
for the event.
On event day, 45 runners set off on the
50km Catchment Ultra – this is a 50% growth in runners on its inaugural
running last year. The 25km Tilt Renewables North Range Traverse attracted 170
runners and walkers to the start line, while 80 people took part in the shorter
12.5km Tararua District Hall Block Humdinger. We had good feedback from the
runners at the finish line as they enjoyed the challenging track.
Spring Festival
Spring Festival is an event that Council
has sponsored for a number of years and has historically been hosted by the
Dannevirke Rotary Club.
In 2017, the Rotary Club made the decision
not to proceed with the Spring Festival. In 2018, Dannevirke Community Board
offered to be the organiser of the event and Rotary Club accepted.
Dannevirke Community Board approached us
for support in regards to the following:
§ Production of event programme
§ Production of supporting documents (e.g. posters and colouring
competitions)
In previous years, Council has sponsored
the cost of printing the programmes and inserting these into the Bush
Telegraph. This year, the Dannevirke Community Board has covered the cost and
opted not to insert the programme into the Bush Telegraph. This has resulted in
a significant reduction in the level of sponsorship requested of Council.
Tararua
i-SITE Visitor Information Centre
TARARUA I-SITE REPORT – August 2018
Welcome Packs
A total of 35 Welcome packs were sent
during August 2018, 7 of these were sent outside of the district.
Tararua Visitor Map
A new Tararua District Map has been
produced.
Reprint of
Tararua Visitor Guide
The visitor guide has been very popular,
the guide has been updated and another 10,000 are currently being printed.
Regulatory
Iwi Matters
No formal
consultation has been undertaken on any regulatory matters.
Building Consent Authority (BCA)
Under the BCA Quality Management System, building officers
must be assessed annually for knowledge and skills to be competent to process
building consents and inspect building work. Officers are assessed against the
national competency system for building complexity (Residential 1-3 and
Commercial 1-3). Officers cannot perform work outside their competencies. Colin
Pickering from Qualico Ltd has been contracted to perform the assessments in
October.
35 Building
Consents and 28 Code Compliance Certificates were issued during the month.
Alcohol Licensing
The Health Promotion Agency is launching a new phase of the Don’t
Know? Don’t Drink campaign on Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
Awareness Day on 9 September. The campaign called ‘Pre-Testie
Bestie’ will focus on young women aged 18 to 30 who drink hazardously and
are not planning to get pregnant.
The District
Licensing Committee met once during the month. No applications have required a
public hearing. There have been no appeals to the Alcohol Regulatory and
Licensing Authority.
Animal Control
The Animal Welfare (Care and Procedures) Regulations 2018
come into force on the 1st of October. Section 13 of the regulation
includes requirements relating to dry and shaded shelter for dogs. The
replacement Dannevirke pound complies with these requirements. Staff from two
councils that need to replace their facilities have visited the Dannevirke
pound during August.
An article was run in the Bush Telegraph to remind dog
owners to take extra care around newly born livestock. Owners are liable for
damages to stock caused by their dog.
There were 2
reported dog attacks, in Dannevirke and Makuri.
General Inspection
There
were 6 reports of illicit dumping, in Pahiatua, Dannevirke and Eketahuna.
Environmental Health
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) are conducting an
audit of councils delivering regulatory services under the Food Act 2014.
Tararua is scheduled to be audited on 17 September. The purpose of the audit is
to identify what support is needed to achieve the objective of the Act.
No reports of Foodbourne
illness or food safety complaints were reported to the Tararua District
Council.
District Planning
The
Environment Court has approved the agreed decision (consent order) resolving
the Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council’s appeal on Proposed Plan Change
No. 1. The District Plan and Maps will be updated to reflect all of the
changes, before the Council seal is affixed to set the operative date.
The Tribunal
and Hearings Committee did not meet during the month, as the applications that
required a decision could be determined by the Chief Executive.
No
applications have required a public hearing. There have been no appeals to the
Environment Court.
Library
Executive Summary
Eketahuna Customer Services Librarian, Corinna Carew,
attended a Civil Defence Leadership course at Camp Kirikau along with other
Council Staff.
Pahiatua
Library hosted their local Plunket mother’s meeting at the library during
the month. The Library team members were able to promote programmes run by the
library for pre-schoolers at this event.
Planning
Math is Fun
– Finding your way
Planning is
now underway at all sites for this upcoming children’s programme.
All sites now have their tutors organised, and there is just Eketahuna to find
an assistant to the tutor. Registrations for this programme open from the
10th September.
Stepping Up Computer
Classes
The Dannevirke
Library will be running these classes from the 20th September.
Initially they will be run weekly, with each session being two hours
long. There are over thirty potential subjects to cover, and we will run
those the community show an interest in. Work and Income have expressed
an interest in the programme, and Alice Leadbetter and the District Librarian
will be attending their weekly staff meeting to explain how the classes work
and how their clients can be registered. This is the same programme that
is run by Wairarapa REAP at the Pahiatua Library (and in the recent past, the
Eketahuna Library).
New Zealand
Shake Out
All the branches of the Library have signed
up for New Zealand Shake Out on the 18th October. As we have
done in previous years, all those in the library at the time will take part,
and we will then “evacuate” the buildings. This will serve as
a dual reminder: for everyone on what to do in the event of an
earthquake, and to Library team members - a chance to practice an evacuation
with more than just themselves.
Delivery
Festival of
Adult Learning 2018 / Trivia Quiz
This year the library attracted thirty
teams at three sites for the Quiz. Eketahuna and Dannevirke had eleven
teams, and Woodville had eight. The overall District winners were The
Four Horsemen of the Potato Chips.
The Adult Learner’s Awards night for
the area covered by Wairarapa REAP was held at the Pahiatua Library on Monday 3rd
September.
The Dannevirke Library attended the
Festival of Adult Learning expo at the Hub on Thursday 6th.
We utilised this time to promote the Stepping Up Classes that will be run from
mid-September at the Dannevirke Library.
Phantom
Billstickers National Poetry Day
The annual poetry competition was well
supported with over fifty entries received. The judge this year, Lyn
McConchie selected a poem called The Old Stockman written by Waipukurau
local Trevor Tyler. The People’s Choice was Alli Lundon with her
poem, A Winter Morning.
Seventeen keen poets braved the wintery
weather to attend the Open Mic night at Woodville, and a further ten attended
an event by local Dannevirke poet Chris Cape, held at the Dannevirke Library.
The Blackout Poetry activity at Dannevirke,
Eketahuna and Pahiatua saw some try their hand at this genre of poetry.
Library team members showed those interested how the concept works, and had
book pages and vivid markers available.
Winter
Warmers
August saw all sites visiting schools and
checking off reviews for this programme. The end of August and early
September Library team members visited participating schools to run the Finale
programme and award the certificates and books for those who completed.
Two schools were unable to have the Finale, however their awards were still
delivered for the children.
1,227 children registered for this
programme with 1,020 completing it. This programme would not be as
effective and successful as it is without the buy in from our local schools in
the District. Thanks must go to the schools, principals and teachers who
see the value in this programme and allow us to run it in conjunction with
their teaching programme.
The Eastern
and Central Community Trust also deserves huge recognition for funding this
programme across the region, and allowing us to grow this over the past six
years. In 2012, we enrolled 197 children, since then by bringing the
schools into the programme, this programme has reached nearly every school in
the District.
Adult Winter
Reading Challenge
Thirty-six adults signed up for our
inaugural Adult Winter Reading Challenge. Weekly prize draws (randomly
drawn from those who completed a challenge during each week) have been won by
members across all towns with borrowers registered. The Grand Prize draw
will be drawn the week 10th – 14th September.
Emergency Management
Training
· We continue to use the free ACE funding provided by Ministry of
Civil Defence and Emergency Management and 22 members of the Makuri community
completed the Civil Defence Skills course on the weekend of 11/12 August
2018. The course involved two First Aid Unit Standards, Dealing with
Stress, two Health and Safety standards and use of radios. The training
was well received by the community and all passed. Two chainsaw courses
are also planned for this community in November involving 24 people.
· The Local Civil Defence Welfare Committee attended a Civil Defence
Industry Training Federation Foundation Course on Wednesday 5 September
2018. Attendees were from, Rangitane, REAP, SPCA, DHB, Tararua Health,
Dannevirke Community Patrol and Dannevirke Lions Club.
Digital
Radio Project Update
Work has commenced
on this project. The project involves installing a digital radio
network in the district primarily for Civil Defence but also for Council day to
day operational use. The benefits of digital radio include automatic
vehicle tracking, phone over radio communications, emergency button monitoring,
use of telemetry over radio for remote sites and many other features.
Ideally we wanted to
go with a Tier 3 network which gives us full advantages of all of the features
of a digital network, however this was conditional on obtaining a further 6
frequencies from Radio Spectrum Management. These channels are hard to
obtain, however we have been successful in securing ownership of a further 6
frequencies thanks to the efforts of our contract radio spectrum engineer.
The next phase of
the project is to identify types, cost and quantities of hardware that is
needed for the network and we are currently working with the Downer
communications team on this.
Meetings
· An inaugural Civil Defence meeting was held at the Ballance School
on Thursday, 23 August 2018. It was well attended by the community and
Paddy gave the Hikurangi Subduction Zone presentation. This caused a lot
of discussion from the floor and the community decided to form a local civil
defence group.
· Paddy
attended an Emergency Management Officers meeting in Fielding on 28 August
2018. The main subject discussed was around training and coordination.
District
Resilience Manager Vacancy
This position
has been advertised as Paddy is retiring at the end of this year. It is
hoped to fill the position in October 2018 to enable a proper hand over to the
successful incumbent. Paddy is away for 4 weeks in November and will be
busy with the Woodville Charter Parade and Digital Radio Project for most of
December when he returns.
Recommendation
That the report from the Chief Executive dated 17 September 2018 concerning
an update on key projects and items of interest to the Council (as circulated)
be received.
