11.3 Policy on
Elected Members Allowances and the Recovery of Expenses
Attachment 1 Policy
Elected Members Allowances
Policy on Elected Members
Allowances and the Recovery of Expenses
Effective from 22 October 2019
Introduction
This policy
sets out rules on the claiming of expenses by elected members and the resources
that will be available to them during their term of office.
The contact
person for queries is Richard Taylor, Governance Manager, email
richard.taylor@tararuadc.govt.nz, phone 06 374 4080.
Documentation of
Policies
The contents
of this policy forms the basis of the document, and it includes details of the
procedures established for the payment of such allowances and expenses.
It applies
to the elected members of the Tararua District Council, Dannevirke Community
Board and the Eketahuna Community Board.
Authentication of Expense Reimbursements and
Allowances
From time to
time elected members incur expenses on the Council’s/Community
Board’s behalf, which need to be reimbursed. This reimbursement and
the use of supplied resources apply only to elected members personally, and
only while they are acting in their official capacity.
Costs for
expenses must have a justifiable business purpose, be moderate and conservative
having regard to the circumstances, and be appropriate in all respects.
Transparency is achieved through disclosure in the Annual Report setting out
the remuneration and value of other non-financial benefits received by, or
payable to the Mayor, Councillors and Community Board members. This
information is subject to scrutiny by Audit New Zealand.
The process
for reimbursement of claims includes the following principles:
· Any expenses to be
reimbursed must be on an actual and reasonable basis and in line with Council
policy
· Expense claims are
approved by the Governance Manager, and full original receipts are required
· Expense
reimbursements will be made via the creditors payment system
In the case
of one-off expenditure such as travel to conferences, the process and prior
approvals required are detailed in this policy.
In the case
of vehicle mileage, travel time, communications and childcare allowances all
limits set in this document do not exceed those provided in the Remuneration
Authority’s Determination.
Council’s
internal audit work programme includes sampling expense claims and allowances
paid to elected members and staff.
All
expenditure that falls under this policy is approved on the condition that it
can be met within relevant budget provisions.
Attendance
at conferences/seminars/training programmes by elected members is fully paid by
the Council, and its purpose must contribute to their development, knowledge
and abilities to carry out the responsibilities and workloads relating to their
positions of office.
Definitions
“Actual”
means as evidenced by the original receipt attached to the claim form.
“Reasonable”
means that it is within the amount specified by this policy or as deemed
reasonable by the Mayor/Board Chairperson and/or Chief Executive.
“Council/Community
Board business” includes: formal council and community board meetings,
committee meetings, workshops, portfolio and appointed roles, conferences,
seminars, statutory hearings, training courses, tours, site visits, meetings
with staff, meetings with organisations and community groups, meetings with
members of the public. It does not include events where the primary focus
is on social activity.
“Remuneration
Authority” is an independent body established by the Remuneration
Authority Act 1977, with responsibilities under the Local Government Act 2002
to determine remuneration and allowance rules for local authority members.
Allowances and Expenses of Elected Members
Mayor
The Mayor
will be provided with a vehicle that will also be available for his/her private
use. A deduction will be made from his/her salary as determined by the
Remuneration Authority relative to the value of the personal benefit received,
and the Mayor cannot claim for vehicle mileage.
A mobile
phone is made available for the Mayor’s use, with full payment of the
rental and associated call charges paid by the Council.
The Mayor
holds a credit card to pay directly any expenses incurred while carrying out
Council business. Full receipts and details of all such expenditure are
verified by the Mayor and accounted for through the Chief Executive’s
office, with segregation of duties to approve the Mayor’s credit card
expenses being through the Audit and Risk Committee Chairperson who is an
external appointee.
Vehicle Mileage Allowance - Councillors and Community
Board Members
All elected
members (except the Mayor) are entitled to claim a vehicle mileage allowance in
the form of a per kilometre rate to offset the cost of running the
member’s own vehicle in the following circumstances:
1. When
travelling in the course of any business of the Council/Community Board
relative to the elected members position, and as generally detailed within the
definitions section of this policy;
2. When
travelling on Council/Community Board business in order that the member may
make himself or herself more familiar with the business of the
Council/Community Board;
3. All
such travel must be made by the most direct route reasonable in the
circumstances;
4. Mileage
will be paid at the maximum rate per kilometre as set out in the current
Remuneration Authority Determination;
5. The
maximum vehicle mileage allowance payable to any elected member in a financial
year shall be determined in accordance with the guidelines of the Remuneration
Authority;
Such
travel involves travelling within the district, the region and outside of the
district on official business in other towns and cities;
6. This
includes the threshold distances travelled by an elected member in a financial
year relative to payment of the amount per kilometre of eligible travel able to
be claimed by way of a vehicle mileage allowance;
7. All
such claims from elected members for the payment of vehicle mileage allowances
shall be submitted in writing to the Chief Executive’s nominated officer
for processing in accordance with this policy.
Travel Time Allowance - Councillors and Community
Board Members
1. All
elected members (except the Mayor who is recognised as being a full time
member) are entitled to claim a travel time allowance for travel by the member
to and from the member’s residence in undertaking their duties and
responsibilities;
2. Such
travel must be carried out by the quickest form of transport reasonable in the
circumstances;
3. The
threshold applicable to this allowance is when the travel time for that day
exceeds one hour, and this shall be payable in accordance with the guidelines
of the Remuneration Authority;
4. The
allowance per hours of travel time shall be set at an amount of $37.50 per
hour;
5. All
such claims from elected members for the payment of travel time allowances
shall be submitted in writing to the Chief Executive’s nominated officer
for processing in accordance with this policy and the Remuneration Authority
Local Government Members Determination.
Communications Equipment - Mayor and Councillors
1. The
Mayor and Councillors will be provided with a tablet computer;
2. Full
support is provided for the Council’s business, and the Council shall pay
all of the associated costs;
3.
All Councillors that provide their own mobile phone for use on Council business
will receive an annual allowance of $150;
4.
In addition to the payment detailed in clause 3 above, all Councillors will
also be provided with an annual allowance of $400 towards Council generated
calls, text and data received through their mobile phone.
Childcare Allowance - Councillors
1. Councillors
may be paid a childcare allowance as a contribution towards expenses incurred
by the member for childcare provided while the member is engaged on local
authority business;
2. A
member is eligible to be paid a childcare allowance in respect of childcare
provided for a child only if:
(a)
the member is a parent or guardian of the child, or is a person who usually has
responsibility for the day-to-day care of the child (other than on a temporary
basis); and
(b) the child is aged under 14
years of age; and
(c) the childcare is provided by
a person who is not a family member of the Council member and does not
ordinarily reside with the member, and
(d) the member provides evidence to the Council of the amount
paid for childcare in the form of a copy of invoices for the costs incurred;
3. Subject
to fulfilling the above criteria payment of this allowance will be made to
fully reimburse eligible costs incurred by the member for childcare, with the
maximum allowances in any financial year able to be received to total no more
than $6,000 per annum, per child;
4. In this
policy, family member of the Council member means:
(a) a spouse, civil union
partner, or de facto partner;
(b) a relative, that is, another person connected with the
member within two degrees of a relationship, whether by blood relationship or
by adoption.
Expenses - Mayor, Councillors and Community Board
Members
1. An
elected member may be reimbursed for expenses incurred so long as the reimbursement
is in line with Council policy and on an actual and reasonable basis;
2. The
general types of expenses that may be paid or reimbursed to elected members
include accommodation, food, travel and parking fees;
3. Such
costs may be claimed by an elected member if they are required to travel long
distances (in excess of 100kms) to a meeting or event and it is not practicable
to return home on the same day. This applies particularly if meetings are
being held at the same venue on consecutive days;
4. As
the Council has negotiated corporate rates with accommodation providers in
various towns and cities such accommodation requirements will generally be
arranged through the Chief Executive’s office by the staff member
nominated for this purpose;
5. Costs
such as laundry, alcohol or mini-bar, newspapers etc. will not be refunded;
6. Elected
members who choose to make their own arrangements or stay privately will be
reimbursed for receipted actual expenses, provided such costs do not exceed
those that would have been incurred through accommodation providers referred to
in clause 4 above;
7. All
air travel bookings shall be made through the Chief Executive’s office by
the staff member nominated for this purpose, and will be by economy class
except where exceptional circumstances arise;
8. The
Council shall extend to the partners of the Council’s and Community
Board’s accredited representatives at the New Zealand Local Government
Conference and the Community Boards National Conference an invitation to this
event, and the associated costs shall be paid by the Council;
9. Any
claims for expenses of the nature as outlined in this policy shall be submitted
in writing by the elected member to the Chief Executive’s nominated
officer for processing and approval by the Chief Executive or their nominee,
and must include a receipt from the supplier of the service setting out the
details and the amount of the actual costs incurred;
10. From
time to time the Mayor, Councillors and Community Board members may have unforeseen
costs arise for general items related to community events. Such
expenditure will be reimbursed on an actual and reasonable basis, and claims
must be submitted in writing for approval through the Chief Executive’s
office. These items should be appropriate to the occasion and the
expenditure should be moderate and conservative and able to be funded within
available budgets provided to cover such costs.
|
Date
|
:
|
22 January 2020
|
|
To
|
:
|
Mayor and
Councillors
Tararua
District Council
|
|
From
|
:
|
Blair King
Chief
Executive
|
|
Subject
|
:
|
Staff
Report
|
|
Item No
|
:
|
11.6
|
Reason for the Report
This report is
to update Councillors on key projects and items of interest over the period
from 13 December 2019 to 22 January 2020.
Key
Points
Initial
Earthquake Assessments of further Council owned structures
Our structural engineering specialists
(BECA) have assessed the next tranche of key Council buildings using the latest
Earthquake Prone Assessment Methodology. A building with an earthquake
rating less than 34%NBS fulfils one of the requirements for the Territorial
Authority to consider a building as an Earthquake-Prone building (EPB) in terms
of the Building Act 2004.
To recap, strengthening works on both the
Dannevirke Townhall, and the Dannevirke Grandstand means these surpass the 34%
New Building Standard that is the threshold for being considered Earthquake
Prone. The Pahiatua Chambers and the Dannevirke Council Chambers, whilst
Earthquake Prone, have programmes in place for remedial strengthening.
The Carnegie Centre does not have a programme in place for strengthening due to
the expected $1m plus cost to remediate and refurbish. Based on the IEP
method, the following scores are present for the buildings:
|
Building Name
|
% New Building Standard
|
Construction type
|
|
Akito War Memorial
|
55%NBS
|
Assumed to be lightweight timber frame
construction with a lightweight roof
|
|
Barraud St Public Toilets
|
30%NBS
|
Concrete walls with a heavy clay tile
pitched roof
|
|
Dannevirke Sports Centre
|
30%NBS
|
Cantilever concrete blockwork walls
(assumed reinforced and partially reinforced) in both the transverse and
longitudinal direction.
There are also steel portal frames in the
transverse direction
|
|
Eketahuna War Memorial
|
90%NBS
|
Building had a major reconstruction in
1975 which included removal of original unreinforced masonry walls and
replacement with timber framed walls
|
|
Norsewood War Memorial
|
55%NBS
|
Assumed to be light weight timber framed
walls with a light weight pitched roof
|
Beca did not identify any Severe Structural
Weaknesses (SSWs) were identified in our assessment.
The
Alliance
Executive
Summary
The lead up to Christmas always see a focus
on wrapping up as many loose ends as possible to start the new year fresh. This
was very true of the delivery teams who were able to ensure the road network
would be left in a suitable state for the shutdown period. The weather was
fairly favourable during the break so thankfully the on call staff had a
relatively quiet time. With the team all back on deck the physical works are
back in full swing with reseals and rehabilitation works on target to meet
their programmes on time and planning and design processes well underway to
ensure they stay ahead of the physical works delivery team.
Our annual re-induction day will be held
mid-January. This day gives us a chance to take time out of business as usual
to refresh the teams’ focus back onto health and safety. The work
performed by the Tararua Alliance is by nature remote, risky and at times
dangerous. Taking the time to remind the teams of the importance of looking
after themselves and each other helps us achieve our primary goal of ensuring
everyone gets home safe every day.
During December a restructure of the
Tararua Alliance was performed. With no fulltime Alliance manager in sight just
yet the restructure refines the scope of the management team to provide clearer
lines of reporting and some direction for the management of the Alliance. We
will be recruiting for the newly vacant roles early in January with a hope to
backfill as soon as possible to ensure this busy year gets off to the right
start.
We have had the final results from the NZTA
Technical Audit come through. The audit covers Network Condition and
Management, Activity Management Planning, Data Quality and Road Safety. It is a
very prescriptive audit that is performed every 7 – 10 years on every
road controlling authority in New Zealand. The results were generally positive
with some improvements required in a couple of reporting and data areas however
feedback from the audit team was very encouraging. Comments from our local NZTA
Representative were that his impression was that we are intervening just at the
right time – so we’re investing in the network in the right place
at the right time and in the right way.
The last of more than 10 audits for the
year was the Tararua Alliance Performance Audit in December. There were some
interesting recommendations for improvements in a few areas which will be
implemented before the next audit but the scoring overall was very good with
100% of the KRA/KPI conditions achieved which is a great result for such a busy
year.
Planning
With the recent restructure within the
Alliance, the Planning team are now working as one combined team of Asset
Management and Design. This will help with ensuring a consolidated approach to
the planning functions within the Alliance. This has left a role to backfill in
the Asset Management team and with the Asset Engineer moving back to Auckland
in March a recruitment drive is underway to bolster that team back up to full
strength.
With the two short working months, the
focus for the Asset team has been on business as usual and final touches on the
pavement rehabilitation programme for the 2020/21 financial year. This is due
to be delivered early which will enable the flow on design processes enough
time to be performed on time. The Design team have continued to make progress
with the large number of upcoming projects that require engineering design
performed for emergency works repairs, minor safety improvements, seal
extensions, carparks.
During December our asset engineering team
attended the Downer Asset Engineers workshop in Christchurch. This workshop is
a 6 monthly opportunity to work with the wider Downer Asset Management team to
upskill, share knowledge and remain current within the industry. The focus this
time was preparation for the upcoming round of Roading Activity Management
Plans (AMP) with the primary outcome being the formation of a working group
amongst the Asset Engineers within Alliance contracts to work together on AMPs
– sharing content and methodologies for explaining the processes involved
in managing the Roading networks.
A high level project plan has been put
together for the Long Term Plan to begin to allocate time to undertake what
will be a big task for council this year. The plan at this stage is that by
utilising additional resources outside Tararua such as the Downer Asset
Management team and the Downer Bid & GIS teams we will be able to achieve
this programme on time.
Lastly, a
project the team has been working on to share our current work plans a bit
broader has come to fruition. We now have the ability to share a map within
Intramaps of where our planned works will be. This aim is that we update this
once a month and is available for anyone with Intramaps access to be able to
query what’s happening on the network. The layer sits under Roading
– Roading Work – Road Work Sites.
Residential
Growth Study – Pahiatua Initial Results
The Pahiatua Wastewater reticulation model
has been completed (as per the diagram below). As expected, it is quite a lot
more complex than Woodville however initial results are relatively positive for
this network. The model shows that there is capacity in the current network to
anticipate growth, particularly around the area of the hospital even with a
substantial factor for Infiltration and Inflow (I&I) included. The model
reflects the town with the Main Street upgrades already in place.
One caveat to the results is that some
areas are vulnerable if there was prolonged heavy wet weather, however that
would have to be extreme for flooding caused by overloaded sewers. The red
tanks in the diagram below represent an area that could become vulnerable in
the future and are already known as wet, low lying areas.
Data from the sewer treatment plant shows a
huge peak in flows during wet weather so the assumption at this stage is that
I&I is a problem to a similar extent to Woodville. During the summer months
we will use one of the Raven Eye data loggers to confirm that expectation by
observing how the flows within the network change based on weather conditions.
Delivery
Roading
With Christmas fast approaching our
Renewals team made great progress across numerous sites. Both River Road and
the Weber Road pavement rehabilitation sites were finished and all sealed up
prior to the break. Drainage works has also commenced in preparation for
pavement strengthening work through the Weber township with the Pavement works
scheduled to start after Christmas.
The reseal programme has also commenced in
the Northern part of the district in Zones 1 & 2. The Tararua based reseal
team undertook 43,000m2 of our 310,000m2 programme which is a great achievement
prior to Christmas.
Other than some of the heavy winds we
usually receive at this time of the year causing trees and debris to fall on
the road, our Maintenance and Cyclic teams have made the most of the good
weather which has allowed them to get on top of their Cyclic programmes
including, pothole repairs, sign maintenance and pre-reseal repairs ahead of
our reseal team.
Emergency works remains a big focus for our
Construction team. They have repaired a dropout on Route 52, 93 section which
included a rock wall consisting of 1,600 tonnes of rock as erosion / scour
protection. A large “retreat” has also commenced on Mangahei
Road which include moving 2,000m3 of dirt in order to shift the road
away from a dropout. Work is also nearing completion on Route 52, 63 section
which involved removing a failed Crib wall which was retaining a large slip
from the road. The failed Crib wall was encroaching into the left hand lane
posing a risk to road users which meant urgent action was required. Before and
after photos below.
Pahiatua
Main St Upgrade
Leading into December crews worked towards completing the install of
the Sewer and Water mains along Stage 2 (Centre St to Wakeman). This was
achieved and allows us to complete the remaining connection work in the first
few weeks of January. This will see the Sewer and Water complete for the
northern end of the project.
Additional resource was applied to the
project throughout December to work on reinstating and surfacing of trench
lines continue with the preparation of footpaths.
In the last few days leading into Christmas
we received confirmation that Chorus now wish to install ducting throughout the
project in conjunction with the separate Power and Telco contract. This
decision has delayed the surfacing of the Footpaths from Paterson to Edward St
as the length now needs to be retrenched. On the positive side, with the
decision being made prior to the surfacing of the footpath it allows the work
to occur without the need to cut into the new footpath surface.
Work onsite
recommenced on the 6th of January following the Christmas/New Year
break. The crews are working towards works in Stage 3 where the majority of the
commercial activity occurs. Works within this area are scheduled to commence
following Wellington Anniversary weekend.
3 Waters
Water
Renewals
Our focus over the next 4 – 6 weeks
will be to complete, test and disinfect the new 300mm trunk main in Wakeman St
- Pahiatua. This will then be connected to the watermains currently being
installed within the CBD upgrade project. A full reading of all water meters
across the district was completed early December.
Wastewater
The Arthur St sewer renewal in Pahiatua is
70% complete. We are now in the process of gaining NZTA approval to construct
the final 40m long section within Mangahao Rd, which is now under NZTA control
with the Gorge closure. This work also includes the replacement of the
wastewater manhole at the intersection of Manghao Rd and Arthur st’s.
Davies Waste Solutions are currently
relining two sewer lines and a Stormwater main in Woodville. This stormwater
main has been prioritised due to its criticality and is being relined rather
than opencut because of access issues within private propertys. Once the
reliing work is completed, Davies will be continuing with the CCTV of the
larger sewer pipes and trunkmains in Dannevirke, Woodville and Pahaitua.
We have seen an increase in service
connection requests across the district, the below photos are of a couple of
new connections being installed in Pahiatua and
Woodville.
Performance
Plant and Property
Executive Summary
Council’s lawyers Buddle Finlay have finalised the Pahiatua
rebuttal evidence and Eketāhuna evidence-in-chief from our consultants for
the Eketahuna and Pahiatua Wastewater Resource Consents process and were due to
be filed with the Environment Court on 18 December 2019.
District Water restrictions were imposed prior to Xmas. Akitio and
Norsewood are on total hosing ban and Eketahuna, Pahiatua, Woodville and
Dannevirke are on alternate days hosing restrictions.
Woodville water supply recovered prior to Xmas with some good work
by our treatment plant staff and leak repairs from the Alliance team. Treated
water storage levels in the reservoirs have recuperated and have been
maintaining close to 90% storage level overnight continuously. The Impounded
water supply level is sitting just over 6 metres. The support from the
Woodville residents with water conservation and the phone calls we received for
any leaks that appeared was a great assistance to Council.
Property
Asbestos Removal
The asbestos removal at the Dannevirke Town Hall, the Boiler at the
Dannevirke Camping ground and the shed at Carnival Park has now been completed.
Cemeteries
Mangatera Cemetery
A new concrete nib has now been completed in the ashes area.
Waihi Falls
The contractor starts work on the walkway the first week
in February
Swimming Pools
The swimming pools in Eketahuna, Pahiatua and Woodville have been
well utilised when the weather has been favourable and hot.
District
Water
With the welcomed rain in the last week the river levels throughout
the Tararua have been replenished with the forecast of hotter weather to come.
Staff will be continuing monitoring river levels and water usage closely.
Woodville
The water supply to the Woodville residents was put under immense
pressure with the levels of treated water unable to keep up with the demand and
the level of water in the reservoir too low to let the treatment staff initiate
the filter backwashing process. The current backwashing process is from two
pumps which are situated inside the treated water reservoirs. Because of
the low water level in the dual reservoir the water needed to be above the
concrete barrier in the centre to activate both pumps for backwashing to then
be able to produce treated water for the township. We transported water from
Dannevirke to assist with this operation. Peripheral Valves on the reticulation
network were then closed or partially closed to restrict flows to the
extraordinary users in the rural part of the reticulation area.
Detection Services were then contracted at short notice to complete
a leak survey of the Woodville pipe network. This was completed in 3 days with
an extended team to find any leaks on the network in a hurry. 8 - Council, 5 -
residential and 2 - extraordinary leaks were found. The total leaks accumulated
to 3.5 - 4 litres /sec which in reality was 1/3 of the normal daily production
and on top of that the increased usage from the extraordinary users, staff were
struggling to produce water to match the quantity needed for the town residents
without refilling the reservoirs.
Staff met with Filtec process engineers and discussed how we could
enhance and optimise the existing plant and also what future options needed to
be considered for increased flow production of treated water to meet demand or
increased population. Potential options may be to add an additional clarifier,
a flocculation process and maybe an increase in filter capacity. We are ready
to start trialling a change in where we start the coagulation process. We are
moving it upstream of the clarifier down by the impounded supply. This idea the
process is a longer period in the mixing zone prior to the clarifier which will
possibly eliminate flock carryover into the filters causing blinding. This in
turn will lessen the amount of backwashing. We are also installing concrete
tanks, pipework etc which will be used to store raw water from the stream or
impounded supply to feed the tanks for use in the backwashing process and
eliminate the pumping of treated water from the reservoirs for this procedure.
Wastewater
Pahiatua
The pilot dissolved air flotation plant at the wastewater treatment
plant is still producing very good results. The problem we have now is the
large increase in sludge removal from the system. This is good news in the
treatment process but adds another process we have to streamline. At present we
are setting up extra tank storage to accumulate sludge prior to transportation
to Dannevirke waste wastewater treatment plant.
Solid Waste
Dannevirke Transfer Station
Staff have been having ongoing discussions with our contractor Smart
Environmental. Prior to and over the Xmas period the piles of recycling
that had been stockpiled, windblown rubbish and the amount of refuse in the pit
was unacceptable. The contractor has been having several issues with staff
shortages, machinery breaking down, problems at their recycling disposal
centres in Fielding & Thames where the recycling is transported and
clearing the backlog of refuse to Central Hawke’s Bay landfill.
These problems are not isolated to just Tararua, Central
Hawke’s Bay are having similar issues with the same contractor.
We are working with Smart Environtal’s Area Manager on a
solution short term and a better long term outcome for Council moving forward.
Economic Development, Communications and District Marketing
Economic Development
Regional Collaboration Meeting
Angela attended this meeting in Levin. This is a great way to keep
up with economic development projects across the Horizons Region and build collaborative
relationships.
Provincial Growth Fund Projects
Mark, Colin and Angela met with Catriona McKay to discuss the
projects Colin is managing and writing applications for.
The final report for the Alternative Land Use Project came through
just before Christmas and planning began for the workshop in which the
consultants will present their findings. The workshop will be part of
AgriFood Week, on Monday 16 March 2020.
Solid Waste
Mark and Angela met with Central Hawke’s Bay District Council
staff involved in solid waste and community engagement to begin a conversation
about how the two councils and community groups can work collaboratively on
recycling/upcycling programmes.
Business Support
One client requested a conversation about the potential for a farm
based accommodation and walks venture.
Builders Seminar
This was organised and hosted by the building team. Angela
spoke about the Tararua Business Network team functions and the business
support provided. Carl Baker from Central Economic Development Agency also
presented on the Regional Business Partners Network.
Tourism Network Meeting
This was held at Masters Hall. Kathy and Andy talked about
their journey from early struggles in the conference and accommodation business
to the huge success they’re enjoying now. We were treated to their
wonderful Christmas displays.
Community
Lindauer Art trail - shared path: Work has
commenced with the Lindauer Group to investigate the potential of a shared path
on the outskirts of Woodville. Initial meetings have taken place with the group
and early discussions with KiwiRail have commenced where the shared path has
the potential of being on their land.
Mark has been working with the Fantasy Cave and the
various Norsewood groups to help advance their plans.
Communication
Pahiatua Town Centre Upgrade
Stage 1 of underground works is essentially complete, with the only
task outstanding being the footpath sealing. There have been delays with Chorus
in regards to their fibre duct future proofing and this affects our progress
with regards to the asphalt reinstatement of the footpaths, the idea is to hold
off with the asphalt until they have gone through, so as not to have to rip it
up and do it again.
Stage 2 was due to commence in January 2020, however, our teams
worked hard during 2019 and were able to complete the Stage 2 sewer main
installation early, putting us ahead of schedule for the Stage 2 underground
works. Since returning to work in 2020, we have officially commenced Stage 2
with a major focus on the water main installations.
We expect that we will begin Stage 3 underground works in
late-January.
Pongaroa Water Treatment Plant
A letter was sent
to urban Pongaroa residents connected to the town water supply in December
2019. The letter provided an update on the Treatment Plant and future storage,
encouraged water conservation and management, discussed separation of roof
water and drinking-water and advised of the recent review and adoption of the
Council’s Water Bylaw.
Pahiatua Water Treatment Plant
A media release was distributed on Monday 16 December
2019 to update our communities on the progress of the Pahiatua Water Treatment
Plant project.
Events
2020 International Woodville New Zealand MX Grand Prix (Woodville
Motocross)
Ongoing support is being provided to the Woodville Grand Prix,
District signage has been designed, produced and placed around main traffic
routes to promote the event.
After an investigation of possible promotion methods, Mitchell
implemented a Facebook campaign to promote the event page gaining 1,700
responses. This campaign finished on
13 January 2020 and was found to be highly effective. Coinciding with the Ad,
Mitchell also actively managed the event pages engaging the event responders.
Negotiations with Spark have also concluded and eftpos
has been made available on site for the first time in 59 years.
TARARUA
I-SITE REPORT –November – December 2019
Welcome Packs
November to December 2019. There were 62 packs sent out, 23 of
these were sent to purchasers outside the Tararua District.
Staff
Shanise will go on Maternity Leave from 27 January 2020. Loni
Peretini has been employed for a fixed term of 12 months. Turia
Brackenbury has been employed fixed term for 5 months.
Inaugural Tararua Golf Open
There have been 12 registrations.
New Highway Walk
The i-SITE have assisted by selling tickets of which 598 were sold,
also providing photocopying of Health and Safety forms.
Tourism Business Meetings
The November meeting was at Dannevirke Fantasy Cave, those who
attended had a tour of the Cave and heard a little about their plans for a new
building.
A Christmas meeting was also held at Masters Hall in Pahiatua, just
before they opened their wonderful Christmas Display to the public, so much
work has gone into this collection.
The next meeting will be held in February at Middleton Model
Railway.
The meetings are well attended with everyone introducing themselves
and their business as well as getting an update from Mark Maxwell on marketing
projects.
Regulatory
Building
Services
Quality
Management System
Council is a
Building Consent Authority (BCA). Regulations require BCAs are accredited and
have a system that supports quality and continuous improvement in their
management and operation. This includes consenting and inspecting building work
and issuing code compliance certificates.
Every two
years, Council applies to renew its accreditation. This involves an assessment
of Council’s quality management system by International Accreditation New
Zealand (IANZ). Council was assessed in November 2019.
The assessment
report found there were no ‘serious’ non-compliances and that
Council’s accreditation could continue, subject to clearing the
‘general’ non-compliances that were found. This will involve
additional training, audits, and procedure updates.
An action plan
was prepared and has been formally accepted by IANZ. Council is on track to
clear all non-compliances by the due date (6 April 2020) and renew its
accreditation.
In relation to good practice and performance, the assessment report
found the Council were receptive to improvements and were actively implementing
their Quality System.
Building
Consents
The table below is a comparative summary of
building consent statistics, from July to December:
|
Building
Consents
|
2017/18
|
2018/19
|
2019/20
|
|
No. of
Applications Received
|
151
|
176
|
193
|
|
No. of
Inspections Requested
|
546
|
500
|
574
|
|
No. of
Applications Processed
|
149
|
202
|
194
|
|
% Processed
within Statutory Timeframes
|
97.3%
|
70.3%
|
93.3%
|
|
No. of
Inspections Performed
|
831
|
721
|
904
|
|
Total Value
of Applications Processed
|
$9,164,418.00
|
$9,865,267.00
|
$12,123,400.00
|
Animal
Control
Public
Education and Information
No articles were published in December.
Annual Dog
Re-registration
Annual dog
re-registration was due on 1 August. Follow up activities by the animal control
team have resulted in an additional 47 dogs being registered since the last
report to Council.
119 known dogs remain unregistered (1.7%),
out of 6,649 dogs. Owners of these dogs can expect to receive a $300
infringement notice for failing to register their dogs.
Dog
Attacks
The following table is a comparative
summary of dog attack (people and animals) statistics, from July to December:
|
Dog
Attacks
|
2017/18
|
2018/19
|
2019/20
|
|
Ind/Com Nth Ward
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Ind/Com Sth Ward
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
|
Non Rateable
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Rural North Ward
|
1
|
4
|
1
|
|
Rural South Ward
|
1
|
2
|
6
|
|
Road or No Property
Address
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
|
Urban North Ward
|
7
|
9
|
8
|
|
Urban South Ward
|
8
|
5
|
9
|
|
Total
|
23
|
25
|
29
|
The increase in reported attacks in the
rural southern ward is due to multiple complaints for a single incident.
Environmental
Health and Licensing
Alcohol
Licensing
No licensing applications have required a
public hearing. There have been no appeals to the Alcohol Regulatory and
Licensing Authority.
Environmental
Health
Environmental Health staff have audited six
Food Control Plans under the Food Act 2014. No premises required annual
inspections under the health regulations.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)
provided the Minister with a briefing paper on a review of Council’s
responsibility under the Food Act to verify (audit) certain food businesses
operating with a template food control plan (safety plan). The Minister
must decide whether to retain the provision, amend, or repeal it. Council is
waiting for a decision.
Illicit
Dumping
The following table is a comparative
summary of illicit dumping statistics, from July to December:
|
Illicit
Dumping
|
2017/18
|
2018/19
|
2019/20
|
|
Ind/Com Nth Ward
|
0
|
1
|
12
|
|
Ind/Com Sth Ward
|
3
|
0
|
4
|
|
Non Rateable
|
6
|
2
|
5
|
|
Rural North Ward
|
8
|
2
|
3
|
|
Rural South Ward
|
6
|
3
|
2
|
|
Road or No
Property Address
|
64
|
52
|
57
|
|
Urban North Ward
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
|
Urban South Ward
|
6
|
3
|
3
|
|
Total
|
96
|
66
|
90
|
Council has requested illicit dumping
statistics be provided by community, rather than ward. Work has begun on
scoping what changes are required to Council’s computer systems to
provide this information.
6 infringement notices have been issued for
illicit dumping from July to December. The total value of the notices is
$2,200.00
District
Planning
Te Ahu a
Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway
Council is awaiting the outcome of
mediation between the New Zealand Transport Agency and appellants to the notice
of requirement for the new state highway designation.
Turitea
Wind Farm
Mercury’s Construction Traffic
Management Plan (CTMP) is being reviewed for technical compliance by Mike
Skelton of Stantec. Mike is waiting for Mercury to clarify some minor items
before the CTMP can be accepted.
Resource
Consents
The planning team is continuing to receive
a significant number of general and site specific enquiries for developing and
subdividing properties around the district.
The following table is a comparative
summary of resource consent statistics, from July to December:
|
Resource
Consents
|
2017/18
|
2018/19
|
2019/20
|
|
No. of
Applications Received
|
26
|
37
|
50
|
|
No. of
Applications Processed
|
27
|
39
|
45
|
|
% Processed
within Statutory Timeframes
|
96.3%
|
97.4%
|
97.8%
|
Strategy
and District Development
Government
Policy Announcements
There are a number of Government policy matters underway. A
number of these were announced just prior to Christmas with little time for
consultation, with some already closed by the time this can be reported to
Council, which is less than ideal.
|
Policy Matters
|
Government
Consultation
Closing Date
|
|
Fire and Emergency New Zealand Funding
|
22-Jan-20
|
|
Trade for All Advisory Board
|
28-Jan-20
|
|
1 Land Fill Levy Changes
|
3-Feb-20
|
|
2 Urban Development Bill
|
14-Feb-20
|
|
3 The Productivity Commission
Technological Change
|
17-Feb-20
|
|
4 Emissions Trading Scheme
|
28-Feb-20
|
|
5 Taumata Arowai - The Water Services
Regulator Bill
|
4-Mar-20
|
|
6 Infrastructure Funding and Financing
Bill
|
5-Mar-20
|
|
7 National Policy Statement for Indigenous
Biodiversity
|
14-Mar-20
|
Background to the first three February policy matters are as
follows. The March policy matters will be presented in February:
1 Land Fill
Levy Changes
Government consultation is underway on proposed landfill levy
changes.
The government is seeking feedback on proposals to increase the levy
for municipal landfills;
· apply
the levy to all types of landfill except cleanfills and farm dumps; and
· apply
the levy at different rates for different landfill types, to reflect different
environmental and social costs of disposal and different opportunities for
recovery of different materials.
A recent presentation was made by Sierra Energy of California USA on
a gasification plant (blast furnace) for elimination of solid waste. The
funds generated from the waste levy, may in the future be used to invest in
this type of technology, enabling even the mining of existing closed landfills
for their raw materials and metals, including the elimination of residual
contamination and production of greenhouse gases over time, such as methane.
2 Urban
Development Bill : “Kāinga Ora”
This bill follows on from the Kāinga Ora–Homes and
Communities bill, which disestablished Housing New Zealand and set up a Crown
entity in the same name.
The overarching aim of this bill is to provide Kāinga Ora with
powers to improve the social and economic performance of New Zealand’s
urban areas through complex development projects.
Projects, called specified development projects (SDPs) are intended
to improve urban development outcomes through a mix of housing types, transport
connections, employment and business opportunities, infrastructure, community
facilities, and green spaces.
Kāinga Ora would have the ability to undertake these projects
by itself, or partner with iwi, local government or the private sector.
3 The
Productivity Commission Technological Change
In the third draft report, “Training New Zealand’s Workforce”,
the Commission looks at how work-related education and training can support a
more dynamic labour market.
In the context of the Government’s current reforms of the
vocational education and training system, the Commission finds that more system
flexibility is needed to meet the education and training needs of people in the
workforce and for those soon to join it.
Specific recommendations focus on widening access to work-based
education and training, reducing barriers to providing credentials that help
labour-market dynamism, and making it easier to move money around the tertiary
education system in response to demand.
Tararua Aquatic Community Trust (TACT)
The TACT annual report to 30 June 2019 has been completed indicating
that the Trust has been holding its financial position on improved turnover of
$572,000 ($476,000 in 2018).
The Trust made an operating loss of $32,000 ($44,000 in 2018), but
after adding back depreciation and deducting capital grants, this was reduced
to a loss of $5,456 ($371 surplus 2018). Council has boosted funding for
2019/20 by $40,000 that will allow for minimum wage movements and place the
Trust in a positive operating position for the first time in many years.
The Audit Opinion, as expected, was qualified for operating income with no
audit options available to assess the public’s uncontrolled entry to the
facility. The Trust is investigating options to upgrade the building and
its point of sale system.
The Trust has had a major year of improvement to its delivery of
services and increased revenue from fees, and external grants towards its
operating costs. This including nearly a 10% increase in
‘at-the-gate’ revenue, but also funding from the Infinity
Foundation towards payroll costs. Council significantly increased its
funding in recognition of cost increases, including the ongoing effects of
increases to the minimum wage. The replacement and maintenance of plant
boosted the resilience of the operation. A new Aquatics Manager was in
control of the operation for the year and there was a great deal of
effort put into improving the presentation of the operation. A kind
donation of a water fountain was welcomed by the Trust during the year.
Climate
Change
Climate Change Risk Assessment
The Ministry for the Environment is progressing work on Aotearoa New
Zealand’s first National Climate Change Risk Assessment. Tararua District
Council is involved in distilling the over 500 risks identified of the effects
of climate change down to a number that can be understood and easily
communicated.
This work does not extend to consideration of two types of
associated risks: transition (e.g. resistance to change) or cascading risk
(e.g. social disruption reducing woman rights resulting in increased births
etc.). Transitional risk is further broken into adaptation risks
(prepare) and mitigation risks (prevent).
A significant cascading risk can be those that we do not immediately
think of - such as bacteria, viruses and fungi adapting to their new environments
and becoming more dangerous to us, our livestock and our crops. There are
several examples of this already occurring - in Kazakhstan antelope and a foot
fungi in humans (Candida auris). We are also
experiencing higher commodity prices for livestock in NZ, as Asia tries to
manage the outbreak of a pig virus. These types of events may become more
likely and more extreme with climate either a contributing or direct factor.
Climate Models continue to be Catastrophic
A recent assessment by the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and
Analysis has modelled cascading risks for the first time. Modelling has
previously struggled to reflect all the climate dynamics, such as temperatures
at different strata in the atmosphere, even though the models are generally
consistent with observations. However, new models are constantly
improving their real world measurements and the paleo ancient record.
The new results indicate an 8 degree Celsius increase by 2100,
rather than the current “business as usual” based forecast of a 3.8
C increase. This has not yet been reported in the mass media. The release
of methane and CO2 from the Arctic is the major input not included in current
UN modelling due to insufficient scientific data (There is a wide variation of
what might happen). There is also uncertainty of timing – of
when a “blue ocean summer event” in the Arctic Ocean will
occur. A blue ocean event reduces the white reflective ice and instead
becomes like a blue “solar panel”, accelerating the release of
frozen methane hydrate below the shallow areas of the Ocean, unfreezing
permafrost and warming the general region.
An informal meeting with UN Climate Secretariat negotiator, Livia
Hollins, added to the context of the recent COP25 meeting in Spain where
negotiations failed to achieve the necessary commitments from large nations to
avoid catastrophe.
The Australian fires provide a salient lesson as to what to expect
at the initial stages of climate change. However, it is important to
realise that this is just the start of the changes that can be expected.
A recent report that the Amazon forest is bordering on collapse, from being a
rainforest to a savannah. This will impact on planetary oxygen supply as
well as remove a current carbon sink as it becomes a net contributor to carbon
emissions.
What is certain is that significant change is coming, be it our
civilisation changing its course or the eventual extinction of most higher
lifeforms, as indicated by MIT research and previously reported to
Council.
Unusual Weather Patterns
Temperatures in the Antarctic appear to have been continually
elevated since November with many parts of the continent being exposed daily to
above zero degree Celsius/melting winds. This has likely been the
cause of the disrupted southern polar vortex shown below on the right,
resulting in shifting weather patterns across the Southern Hemisphere and
possible interaction with the Indian Ocean - thought to be the cause of the
Australian extreme heatwave, including Penrith in Sydney achieving the highest
temperature in the World on 5 January of 47.3C.
The left hand map on the following page shows unusually warmer winds
buffeting parts of Antarctica in the past week. Blue areas in left hand
map is cold and green to orange is warmer (above zero degrees Celsius);
Purple shown in the right hand map is very cold temperatures in the
mid-stratosphere. But it is the position of the polar vortex shown on the
right hand map that is the main concern, as it is thought to shift if the
temperatures at lower land levels become uneven.
The left hand map shows unusually warmer winds buffeting parts of
Antarctica in the past week. Blue areas in left hand map is cold and
green to orange is warmer (above zero degrees Celsius); Purple in the
right hand is very cold in the stratosphere, but it is the position of the
polar vortex shown on the right hand map that is the main concern, as it is thought
to shift if the temperatures at lower land levels become uneven.
The result in the Tararua had unusually higher temperatures in
November, along with dry weather and the need to move to impose water
restrictions much earlier than in the past. Since then the wave action
has moved and brought cool air directly from Antarctica north, as it appears to
warm.
Wind at 7C entering Antarctica partially
from Australia following its heatwave:
Commercial
Property
Tudor Road
The Tararua Alliance continue to operate out of the Tudor Road
site. This site has been fenced, gated and services connected as an
operational base for the Pahiatua Town Centre upgrade. Additional
security CCTV cameras have been installed at the site. It has been recommended
by Southgate Valuations that the steel structure be removed should Council, at
the end of the project, determine to re-market the site for sale.
Woodville ex Infracon Building and Yard
Ngati Kahungunu are in receipt of our offer to sell them the McLean
Street and Atkinson Street properties. They are presently waiting for
their Provincial Growth Fund application to be considered by Government, which
includes use of the land.
Woodville NZ Post Lease
A lease has been entered into with NZ Post for part of the building
and secure yard attached to the i-SITE public toilets and carpark off
Vogel and Grey Streets, Woodville. They intend to base their courier
service and local postal deliveries from the site (but no retail services are
planned). They moved into the premises on 6 January 2020.
Community Support
Seventy low profile LED Street Lights are being installed as part of
the Pahiatua Town Centre upgrade. These will provide a different lighting
experience to the current under verandah lights.
The old lights were gifted to Council by PowerCo when Central Power
was sold and became a community support activity cost. The current lights
are attached to the privately owned under verandahs.
To fund the project for a new lighting system, a $160,000 grant has
been confirmed from Central Energy Trust with the remainder of funding coming
from the under verandah lighting depreciation reserve of $62,700. The
project is being supported by PowerCo and the undergrounding is being
incorporated into the Electric Vehicle and telecommunications project work.
Programmes and Projects Office
Project updates
Despite the Christmas break, work has
continued on many of the projects across the team. Work has continued
across the organisation on scoping for the annual plan, assessing the overall
capital works programme forecast. Additional work has also taken place on
refining the project management methodology, with further sessions planned to
shape this up in more detail.
Marco’s work on the section 17A
review of the council’s solid waste services has revealed that a further
update to the current waste minimisation plan would be required and an audit on
our waste and recycling needs to be conducted. This has led to
discussions with a potential contractor to ensure that this audit is done along
with the investigations on options available to improve the current solid waste
landscape. We will be starting community consultation in the near future
with the hope of gauging community expectations and to discuss the options
available at this stage.
He has also continued work on the Business
Intelligence tool, which has proven to be adding value to Council services and
the way we manage our services to the community based on current and past
data. We strive to continuously improve the management of our services,
using data to steer key business decisions.
We have recently procured the Services of
SHE Software to deliver a ‘Contractor Management system” which will
allow a greater response to services and the management of contractors to
ensure that only pre-approved contractors who have passed the Council’s
qualification process are allowed to deliver their services.
To ensure that infrastructure is sound and
keeping up with the levels of demand and supply, we are actively looking at new
and better ways to do things using the technology available. We are in the
process of piloting the use of IOT devices in Woodville which could assist in
early leak detection and identifying faulty water meters faster than before to
allow us to act early and avoid any lasting or bigger issues. The pilot
started just before the shutdown in December 2019 and has proved to be
extremely valuable as we have already identified leaks that we were able to fix
and have identified water meters that needed to be replaced. If successful, we
will be looking at piloting the IOT devices for uses in different sectors of
the community.
Jessi McKenzie is continuing to assist with
the Dannevirke Rail Hub project, which has recently secured a supplier to
conduct the investigation and determine the commercial viability of proposed
hub. Jessi is also continuing to support the Long Term Plan project, which is
progressing into the workshop stages and correlating with annual plan process.
She is also continuing to support the section 17A review of Parks and Reserves,
which enables TDC to make a more informed decision around governance, funding
and delivery of services. Jessi is also assisting with the Pahiatua
Swimming Pool project, working with Sport Manawatu, Sport NZ and others.
Tom has started working with the community
in Woodville to assess options for resurfacing the tree sculpture, to ensure
that this will last well into the future. He has also undertaken further
work to refine operations on the raw water intake and storage in Woodville,
along with continuing work in Eketahuna on plumbing in and filling the
relocated Kliptank.
Pahiatua Water Treatment
Plant
On site 16
January 2020
Steel reinforced concrete wall panels
for the building are nearing completion offsite
Construction has continued on the Pahiatua
Water Treatment Plant both on and offsite. The drainage work is nearly
completed onsite, with the foundation work also drawing to a close. The
offsite fabrication of the steel reinforced concrete wall panels has also been
progressing, though the sheer amount of steel required has made this a
challenging process. Once completed, these will be moved onto site to
allow the building to be erected.
Work is also continuing at the Auckland
Filtec factory in preparation for the water processing equipment installation,
with procurement and fabrication occurring during the civil build
process. A factory test of the plant equipment and SCADA control screens
is planned early this year to provide additional assurance prior to the
equipment installation.
Work continues at the Auckland Filtec
factory to preassemble water processing equipment
Sport
Manawatu Report 1 October to
31
December 2019
Tararua outcome areas:
1. The Tararua District exceeds the national average for Physical
Activity, particularly in Schools.
2. People have the skills to safely and confidently cycle on our roads,
shared paths, and cycleways.
3. Sport and Recreation facilities (Spaces and Places) across the
District meet community requirements.
4. Sports
and community sport events create social opportunities and economic
benefits.
1. THE TARARUA DISTRICT EXCEEDS THE NATIONAL
AVERAGE FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, PARTICULARLY IN SCHOOLS
· The Tararua
Recreation Advisor and BMS Facility Manager attended a pickleball introductory
session in October at the Massey Recreation Centre hosted by Pickleball NZ. The
sport originated in the US and has recently featured as a TV news story, with a
focus on it as a senior sport. This has generated local interest in Pahiatua
and Woodville. Bush Multisport Park looks to be first out of the gate with a
KiwiSport application (mentioned further in funding).
· Throughout school
term three and four the Tararua Recreation Advisor (TRA) has supported the
Whanau Fit Programme on Monday nights along with Andre Hetariki. This is a
Dannevirke based group who are currently working through a Racketlon module
(variety of racket sports, mentioned further in Active Community Advisor
content). This programme is showcasing a variety of different Tararua clubs to
the course participants and continues to be well supported by Dannevirke
Squash, Dannevirke Badminton and Dannevirke Tennis Clubs.
· November the TRA has begun a local business volunteer voucher
project. This to date is local café/coffee providers supplying
sponsorship of 4 x $5 vouchers to instantly thank our hard-working local sport
volunteers. It is hoped that this project maybe useable throughout the District
if businesses in other Tararua towns will come on board. The pilot has been
organised with: - The Fondest Love, Tonic Coffee and The Black Stump, of
Pahiatua. Recipients to date have been from Eketahuna, Alfredton, Pahiatua and
Woodville. The recipients have been pleasantly surprised to be acknowledged and
pleased to see sport being supported by local businesses.
· Woodville in Focus
Inc –attended recent meeting held by the group and they are a recruiting
phase to have other volunteers for their future committee project teams. It is
great to see the group in a positive phase and achieving funding to add
basketball hoops to reengage the local community to utilise the old tennis
courts now as a shared space. This is a safe location for the community youth
to recreate.
· Following the
resignation of Kelly Christensen in October, Sport Manawatu have appointed
Deanne Parkes as the new Tararua Recreation Advisor. Deanne resides in Ballance
with her husband and three children. Deanne and her family have been heavily
involved within the sports scene at both local and national levels. She joins
the team having taught Sport and Exercise at EIT in the Hawke’s Bay,
while the family are involved with Motocross. We look forward to Deanne starting
with us in January and spending the early stage of her induction meeting with
her community. In conclusion, we farewell Kelly who has made a significant
contribution to the sector in the Tararua. We wish her and her family the very
best with her new role within Council.
· We are continuing to
gather insights into the role of physical activity in the District and support
the Council’s aspirations of exceeding the national average for physical
activity. The Tararua Recreation Advisor has been compiling a Sport and
Recreation database of active sports clubs and groups delivering activities
across the District. Our role is to identify community groups most in need of
being active and support an improved quality of life through sport and active
recreation.
Tararua
Funding Opportunities
Support and administer Tararua Rural
Travel Fund and Tararua International Representatives Fund. Explore and promote
KiwiSport funding for Tararua clubs and schools.
· KiwiSport funding application for Bush Multisport Trust’s
“Pick up a Racket” project was approved $5,000 in the latest
funding round. This project is centred around establishing more racket sports
for primary school age at the facility. Bush Multisport Park has no
‘active’ tennis club and it is planned to provide tennis, badminton
and pickleball rackets with generic nets, along with coaching to engage more
juniors with these sports. Future plans are to be investigated to utilise the
same equipment for our more senior members of the community are supported by
the TRA and BMS Facility Manager. This project if successful it could be
activated in other areas of the Tararua.
Sport
Manawatu Programmes/Workshops in the Tararua
Deliver Green Prescription, Active Families
and Strength and Balance programmes.
Ensure
staff are available to assist the community to meet their play, sport and
active recreation needs.
Green Prescription:
The Green Prescription team continues to
provide our Phone Support Service in the Tararua. We provide:
· Fortnightly
visits to meet with individual clients throughout the district. These meetings
are wherever suits the client: Bush Multisport Stadium, Pahiatua gym, Wai
Splash Community Pool, Activate Gym, parks, or in the home or workplace.
· Monthly
information mailouts about activities available, getting organised, nutrition,
home exercises, and managing health.
· Regular phone
calls, emails and texts to help clients with information, advice, and
encouragement
Referrals in the quarter October to
December 2019:
· Eleven
referrals:
· Three from the
THG group
· Two from P.N.
practices
· Four by the
lovely MCDHB Physio at Dannevirke Community Hospital – well worth a visit
to that referrer
· Two Self
referrals
· Five
registered onto Phone Support
TARARUA
5-WEEK PROGRAMME WITH NGA ORANGA O TE RA
It was a successful team-up with Nga Oranga
o te Ra (the Rangitāne Community Mental Health group) for a 5-week
programme. During the 5-week programme participant numbers varied from four to
seven, although ten people registered. Three of the participants registered
will be continuing their Green Prescription on Phone Support. During the
programme activities were: Home exercises including resistance bands; walking
– this was a walk including talks on how to make walking interesting and
get the most out of it; Aqua Play at WaiSplash; Activate gym circuits –
this was the most popular so we went back for a second session!
Also, during the programme each week an
educational topic was covered, and resources handed out. Topics covered were:
How to organise lifestyle; improvements; eating healthy; self-managing
different health issues.
All participants received information about
facilities and opportunities for activities in the Tararua, with a discount
card to use at the pools and gym.
Active
Families:
The Active
Families programme in Tararua has continued to be delivered in Pahiatua at the
Bush Multisport Stadium as it provides the ideal facilities for being
physically active despite the weather.
We have received
the following referrals over the last quarter:
· Seven new referrals
with a mixture of self-referrals, GP referrals and practice nurse referrals
· Four referrals from
Dannevirke, three referrals from Pahiatua, and one from Eketahuna
· Four of these referrals have engaged in the Active Teens programme
here in Palmerston North, one has joined our Active Families programme based in
Pahiatua, one referral has joined the Sport Manawatu Whanau Fit programme
The programme this quarter has included
weekly sessions involving relevant summer sports taster sessions (Volleyball
and T-Ball) to encourage participation outside of the programme. As well as a
Boxfit session, backyard games, and fun fitness games families can easily play
at home with not a lot of equipment. An end of year full review will be
conducted of the Tararua Active Families programme to determine the most
effective action plan heading into the next quarter.
Active
Communities Advisor (ACA)
Earlier in the
year the Whanau Fit Programme (WFP) was redesigned to better effect lifestyle
changes in the target population in the Mid Central region, including the
Tararua region. We extended the WFP from 1 Module of 10 weeks focussed on
Triathlon disciplines, to 3 Modules of 10 weeks, each covering Sport (SP),
Martial Arts and Fitness Industry (MA & FI), and Triathlon (TRI). (An
Outdoor Recreation Module (OR) we developed was unsuccessful in securing
funding but may still be added on during the next financial year).
The radical changes mentioned above were
done with the intention to expose participants to more forms of activity, and
in keeping with Sport Manawatū’s move away from direct delivery, by
working with regional and local organisations already doing these things.
Thereby the programme can support and profile those organisations and clubs
simultaneously. During term 3 2019, participants of the Whanau Fit Programme
took part in activities delivered by the following local persons or
organisations:
· Activate Gym –
Step Class (led by Erana Peeti-Webber)
· Bush Multisport Park
– Circuit Class (led by Tim Sorensen)
· Tararua Kyokushin
Karate Club – Karate (led by Bob Fryer)
· Bam’s Boxing
Gym – Boxing (led by Adam ‘Bonesy’ Jones)
· Dannevirke Taekwondo
Club – Taekwondo (led by Jock Henderson)
· Begin Where You Are
Yoga – Yoga (led by Emma Elliot)
· WaiSplash –
Aquacise (led by Api Churchouse)
· Stronghold Grappling
Academy – Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (led by Jaron Vince)
· Te Kete Hauora - Mau rākau (led by Wharemako Paewai)
Following on
from the FI & MA Module, term 4 continued with the Sport Module based on
the four common racquet sports that combined make up Racketlon –
Badminton, Squash, Table Tennis, and Tennis. However, the focus in the
Tararua region was narrowed down to Dannevirke, as all registered participants
live in or around that area. Partnerships for delivery were formed with:
· Dannevirke Badminton
Club (Hilary Hirst)
· Dannevirke Tennis
Club (Albert Saunders)
· Dannevirke Squash Club (Erana Peeti-Webber/Albert Saunders)
The ACA liaised with all the above clubs
who were very were willing to open their doors, and provide equipment, coaching
and training according to their respective capacity. Coaching was provided for
badminton, table tennis and tennis by external governing bodies or professionals
within the wider region:
· Badminton
Manawatū – Josh Curry
· Table Tennis
Manawatū – Matt Ball
· Victor Romero (professional tennis coach)
During this
period, those partnerships helped identify areas where support is needed, to
better benefit the community. We have begun looking at various ways Sport
Manawatū could help address these issues, whether it’s equipment,
coaching, support for volunteers, or potential collaboration where clubs work
together to fulfil a larger community need, and improve their own current
situation surrounding membership rates, and long-term sustainability.
Community
Group Strength and Balance:
· There are now 10
Strength and Balance classes endorsed on the ‘Live Stronger for
Longer’ website across the Tararua District.
· We continue to
connect and engage with existing exercise providers throughout the Tararua
District.
· We have created a
‘Use it or lose it booklet’ which provides a list of all approved
classes in the District. Booklets have been placed in both the Dannevirke and
Pahiatua public libraries.
· Sport Manawatu is
working closely with the ‘Falls Prevention Team’ which comprises
the Strength and Balance coordinator, In-home Coordinator and Fracture Liaison
nurse and the regions Safe Mobility Council to identify ways to connect clients
to health services.
· The group have also
developed a quick reference flowchart for health professionals, which provides
information on the different programmes and pathways to the services available.
· Promoting the
programme as part of the Healthy Aging Discovery workshops and Super Senior
Expos.
Sport
Manawatu Workshops – Coach Capability Advisor:
· WICKED coaching Programme – 2 sessions delivered –
Introduction session and building your coaching capability session – 22
female coaches registered for the programme from across the region.
· Three Coach Volunteer workshops were scheduled at Bush Park during
the quarter. They included:
· Planning programme
session
· Team
building/Culture
· K tape strapping
2. PEOPLE HAVE THE SKILLS TO SAFELY AND CONFIDENTLY CYCLE ON
OUR ROADS, SHARED PATHS, AND CYCLEWAYS.
Sport Manawatū have continued to
progress actions within this outcome area relating to becoming an NZTA
BikeReady National Cycle Skills region. The NZTA BikeReady programme
centres on quality standards and measures which includes spending more
instructional time with individual participants. The programme includes an
increase in funding that will greatly assist with building local capacity
(developing more quality Cycle Skills Instructors and getting more children
riding a bike).
In October, the TRA supported the Active
Transport Advisor with the Sport Manawatu School Cycle Skills programme at Huia
Range School, Dannevirke and in November Roslyn School, Palmerston North. The
additional programmes assisted the Tararua Recreation Advisor qualify as a
national Skills Active Cycle skills instructor.
Alterations to the School Cycle Skills
programme see a concentration on quality of delivery and experience for the end
participant rather than quantity completing the sessions. This has meant an
increase the length of delivery at a school due to reduced instructor/student
ratios.
Sport Manawatū will focus on Year 5
and 6 students believing they have the required maturity and mental acumen to benefit
from the programme. We have also gained valuable insights through School
pre-programme surveys to support this rationale. We have begun to identify
programme benchmarks in addition to developing a case study to assess students,
teachers and parents’ attitudes and behaviours to cycling. Sport Manawatu
in partnership with the Council will monitor progress as part of a long-term
study to address the decline of children riding a bike. The Schools we are
partnering with in this annual period include:
· Huia Range Yr7/8
students 62 students completed the Grade 1 (on court skills) and 54 of those
went on to complete the Grade 2 (on road) training. We chose Yr7/8 students to
ensure continuity for 2020 programme.
· 2020 Schools Huia Range Yr5/6/7 also to ensure no gaps in the
programme.
A full analysis from the survey findings
will be presented in our annual report due in August 2020.
3. SPORT AND RECREATION FACILITIES (SPACES AND
PLACES) ACROSS THE DISTRICT MEET COMMUNITY REQUIREMENTS.
Bush Multisport Facility Manager:
· Kelly Wylie and
Raylene met with Iain Anderson Tararua college Principal to discuss
setting up an “Angel Fund” which would subsidise College
student’s sport subscriptions. Tararua College currently have
an Educational Trust we asked if this could be made into a Sports and
Educational Trust. Iain will talk to the committee to see what their thoughts
are of this idea. If accepted changes would need to be made to their
constitution. Funding would be applied for and donations for the community
would kindly be received.
· Bush Multisport have
set a Bush Sports Bank which is a community sports bank, which you can donate
sports gear or come and grab what you need no questions asked.
· Grandstand toilet
upgrade completed at the start of November, looks wonderful.
· Due to popular demand the Trust purchased another basketball hoop,
with a netball hoop attached which has been placed at the end of the half
court.
· Congratulations must
go to the Bush and Eketahuna Rugby Club’s for organising a fundraiser for
Jeff Ebbett who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Jeff has played rugby
for both clubs. The day start off with a friendly rugby match against Bush and
Eketahuna. With Eketahuna securing the win. Raffles and auctions were held with
a meal and drinks upstairs in the lounge bar. Approx. $30,000 was
raised. Tremendous effort!!
· Bush Primary Schools
annual maths competition organised by Mangatainoka School was held in the
upstairs lounge on 20 September. 70 children participated, lots of
supporters attended.
· WIFI installed in upstairs lounge to give the room better
connectivity.
· $40K received from
Eastern and Central Community and Trust House for a 14m x 7m storage shed to be
attached to the stadium with internal and external access to store equipment.
· Bush Multisports
Trust Xmas Function will be held on 17 December, Life Membership Certificates
will be awarded to Julie Jackson, Angela Leatherby, Kelly Parker and Sam
Ellingham.
· The Board wish to
acknowledge Colin Veale’s contribution, dedication and support he has
given to the BMST since inception in 2004, he has been amazing, and we truly
appreciated his support and wish him well in his retirement.
· Sport NZ and Sport Manawatu facilitated a workshop with
representatives from the Council and Pahiatua on Track regarding a process to
complete the needs assessment for the proposed community pool. Sport Manawatu
through its Insights Analyst will be assisting the group to capture community
feedback. A timeline has been agreed on when the tasks will be completed.
4. SPORTS AND COMMUNITY SPORT EVENTS CREATE SOCIAL
OPPORTUNITIES AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS.
No events held in the Tararua District for
the quarterly reporting period.
|
1. Recommendation
1.1 That
the report from the Chief Executive dated 22 January 2020 concerning an
update on key projects and items of interest to the Council (as circulated)
be received.
|
Attachments
Nil.
