This summary of the December 4th Raglan Community Board agenda prepared by John Lawson, Secretary of Whāingaroa Environmental Defence Inc., 51 Cliff St, Raglan 07 825 7866 email johnragla@gmail.com
The next Raglan Community Board meeting is Wed 4 Dec at 1.30pm in the Raglan Town Hall Supper Room. The public forum will be near the start of the formal meeting, giving an opportunity to discuss issues. You might prefer to email/phone the Board.
Wednesday’s agenda includes –
includes –
- Waikato Regional Council Aquaculture Strategy “While Raglan does not currently have active aquaculture operations, an application for spat catching is underway (awaiting additional information) . . . the spat-catching consent, which sits outside WDC’s jurisdiction. However, WDC may be considered an affected party if the WRC notifies the application.”
- Wainui Bush Park “Further signage installation for the Bushpark cycle access track has been confirmed now through consultation with Dirk De Ruysscher, and this is due for installation in the coming month”.
- Wi Neera South End walkway Verbal with plans (included twice, but no other detail) showing widened footpath and railing to the footbridge, but not going further into the harbour – no mention of cycling.
- Sewage Tue 3 Dec 3.30-7pm Wainui Reserve car park drop-in session, “discharge is proposed to be gully on Wainui Reserve and final testing being carried out to confirm it can handle the volumes”.
- WRC Long-Term Plan Engagement – Verbal, with a regional public transport rate leaflet.
- Xtreme Zero Waste Verbal
- Open Spaces Verbal
- Manu Bay Breakwater “Have raised this with Chair infrastructure . . . as advice from parks and reserves appears to be to do nothing and had not considered the HSE risks in this decision”.
- Wharf prohibited fishing “Signage has been ordered for the wharf and the appropriate pedestals are being acquired for installation pre-christmas.” Concrete finished on boat ramp.
- Civil Defence “meeting planned for December to put team together of community volunteers”.
- Alcohol ban submissions on extended area and dates close 8 Dec.
- Soundsplash “looking to sign off approval in early-mid December following approval of special license..”
- CCTV “next steps will be to complete a full detailed design”.
- Adaptive management – Papahua erosion “Discussions to continue from the November meeting on Adaptive Management and Dynamic Adaptive Pathways Planning (DAPP) to address natural hazards like coastal erosion, flooding, and landslips.”
- Greenslade Rd Reserve playground “will engage the local residents for feedback before finalizing the conceptual design”.
- Camp ground – stormwater as last meeting.
- Councillor & Board Members’ Reports Verbal.
- Discretionary fund has $9,696.04.
These items are not on RCB’s agenda –
25.6% work at home, 5.8% of walk to work, 2.7% cycle, 0.5% catch a bus, 0.2% by ferry. Without a car 5.3% in 2013, 3.5% in 2023, Unoccupied Dwellings 26.5% in 2018, 26.4% in 2023.
Water Governance Board 26/11
Storm Water community engagement Tangata whenua and key stakeholder liaison group as required under the resource consent has been identified as an area for improvement. Over the next few weeks, we will be making contact with key stakeholders that have an interest in the 16 consents, sampling program to meet consent conditions. Quotes have been requested from 4 consultants
WWTP construction of the new perimeter security fence commenced in Oct and will be completed in Dec, sludge management strategy will be complete by May, Wallis St rising main was previously identified as requiring replacement, however, this is being re-assessed, Marine Pde has been identified as being in poor condition, investigations underway, In Oct the WWTP received a 2023-24 audit report from WRC identifying non-compliance. The current upgrade will address non-compliance. Oct WWTP results show elevated levels of cBOD5 and Total Suspended Solids – the cleaning frequency of the Final Effluent Pond has been increased to bi-monthly. Contact has been made with Streamline regarding options for potential skimming of surface sludge of the upper ponds. The UV controller has been upgraded, and an internal inspection of the UV system has also been completed (15/11/24). Post-UV Sampling of Resource Consent parameters has been increased from monthly to fortnightly, allowing for improved proactive and reactive changes, Power outages are managed by deploying mobile generators until electricity is restored. This incurs high unplanned costs, such as over $80,000 for generator use during the Raglan outage. Earlier escalation could have mobilised support staff for handover from those working overnight, reducing fatigue risk. Lessons from the Raglan event include arranging food and wellness check-ins for staff, as power outages may limit local food access, 2 drop-in sessions will be held, Wainui Reserve and library are being considered for a mid-week after-school and a weekend
Water Demand Management Plan will be presented to WGB in Feb, Te Akau South new water bore drilling to start on 21 Oct for 2 weeks. sampling test results in Nov consent application Nov/Dec
Infrastructure 12/11
Dump – slip remediation works at Raglan site have been completed
4 options in report to WDC –
1.Low cost. Emphasising affordability and focuses on user-pays systems with minimal changes to existing infrastructure.
2.Low carbon. Seeking to minimise carbon impact by rationalising collection areas and choosing anaerobic digestion as processing option for food scraps.
3.Zoned approach. Introduces differentiated service levels based on geographic zones and housing density; providing weekly collections in some areas, fortnightly to others and reducing to no kerbside services in others with alternate pop-up solutions instead.
4.Wheeled bins. Using wheeled bins for food scraps and garden waste, rubbish (excluding rural properties), and recycling collections. Maintaining a part user-pays system for rubbish collection. 5.High diversion. Seeking maximum diversion by collecting food scraps and an opt-in garden waste collection; a rates-funded wheeled bin for a fortnightly rubbish collection and weekly recycling.
Sustainability 6/11
Water Tower Mural – begins 4 Nov with expected completion 16 Dec
Public transport Future Proof 1/11
Despite 20% fare rise, bus use up to 24,600 (+12.8%) in 3rd quarter, 49.5% on time
Strategy 29/10
Karioi Coast Residents Association (pages 45-54) objections to motor rallies and low charges for them. KCRA say $1,290 should be the fee, but Road closures for motor sports events increased from $250 to $650 and “Staff recommend no further changes to these charges as a result of submissions.”
2025-2034 LTP engagement feedback 30 October
803 responses to the most valued service – roading, 3 waters in urban areas, least – grants
“traffic light trial on Wainui bridge with majority unsupportive”
203 responses to services that are valued less – governance, sustainability, grants
cost to run Te Uku waste exceeds the rates, illegal dumping, used by Auckland & Hamilton
143 (67.2%) want waste paid by users rather than rates – 19:4 (83%) in Raglan
219 responses 83.5% do not want to pay for an extra recycling crate a week – 24:2 (92%) in Raglan
220 responses 51.8% would not use a food scrap service – Raglan 12:13 (52%)
29 Zero waste is too aspirational, 17 support
29 (16.4%) use Raglan library (89.7% Raglan, 6.9% Te Uku, 3.4% Whatwhata), Huntly 12.3%
Libraries door headcount (Jul 2023-Aug 2024) Raglan 105,889, Huntly 62,744, Tuakau 51,527, Ngaaruawaahia 40,075, Te Kauwhata 32,471, Meremere 2,036
“Library services appear to be highly valued and well utilised across the district so no change to the current level of service is recommended.”
“fund more maintenance on our roading network using rates alone or reduce future rates increases by around 2%. . . Council made the decision late in November 2023 to change the current supplier model from an Alliance . . . contract ends 30 June 2025. We have split the Waikato District local road network into two contracts, north and south . . . preferred option being that we don’t use our local share (in 2025/26 and 2026/27) without associated NZTA subsidy”
188 responses 60.6% for additional maintenance, 87.8% for rates increases kept lower
189 responses, 113 (59.8%) from Raglan, 88.4% (64.7%) oppose a traffic light trial on Wainui Bridge
“discussions with Hamilton City have been placed on hold while staff explore a lower cost network option for a CCTV”
“Council has requested that staff review and provide feedback on the structure plan process, specifically assessing whether the current approach is appropriate for ongoing use. If one considers the Ngaaruawaahia, Hopuhopu and Taupiri Structure Plan —spanning 1,200 pages and requiring 24 months to complete—as representative of the ‘current model’, it is clear that such an approach is not suitable for each town in the district.”
Other issues missing from the RCB agenda – Coastal Reserve Stakeholder meeting, Community Board Plans, bus publicity (old timetables still up), aerodrome, Cliff St pohutukawas, development next to 4 Square, freedom camping, footpath obstruction by cafes, Wainui Reserve 30-50 year plan, old Harbour Care site, Manu Bay planting, Raglan Naturally, structure plan, overflow car parking, waste collection, fluoride, off-shore windfarm, Community Energy Whāingaroa, roading, Blueprints, organic waste, rubbish on SH23, Area School road safety, 3 Bow St, Greenslade Rd SH23 junction, Connectivity Strategy, Surf2surf walkway, speeding on Main Rd, WEL EV Charger (almost complete beside Bowling Club), Harbour Strategy, Animal Control late responses, cycle counts, Bayview Rd safety, Canada geese, Cliff St, Park Dr/Long St crossing, town square, Town Hall Committee, WRAP, Calvert Rd parking, volunteer worker safety, Puriri Park.
Should WED be taking up these or other issues?