Feb 19: Raglan Community Board meeting

The next Board meeting is Wed 19 Feb at 1.30pm in the Community House basement. The public forum will be part of the formal meeting, giving the usual opportunity to discuss issues. You can also contact the Community Board members:- Bob MacLeod, Chris Rayner, Dennis Amoore, Gabrielle Parson, Lisa Thomson, Satnam Bains and Tony Oosten.

This summary of the agenda was prepared by John Lawson of the Whaingaroa Environmental Defence Incorporated. Secretary: John Lawson, 51 Cliff St, Raglan 07 825 7866 email johnragla@gmail.com

The agenda includes – 

1. Works – there are 3 very short reports in less than a page about –
   1. Cliff Street One Way – Policy Committee amended the bylaw.
   2. Footpaths – verbal report to be given. [This NZTA map of crashes could be useful for deciding priorities]
   3. Coastal Reserve Management Plan – consultation 25 March to 25 May.
2. Harbour Catchment Management Plans – no report – speaker from Waikato Regional Council will discuss.
3. Climate Response report shows WDC emissions, but misses out emissions of contractors, such as the camp ground and roading. 3^rd highest are 101 cattle at Wainui Reserve. Suggested targets include 30% recycling and phasing out LPG at camp ground.
4. Wharf Provincial Growth Fund request for $2.5m put in 30 Jan for floating pontoons for more commercial, recreational and charter boats, walkway extensions either side of the wharf and to “explore parking and access improvements along Wallis Street and Aro Aro Park”. $630,000 of Harbour Board money would use up spare funds until 2028, including $140,000 paid to council in interest. It is said to aim at “improving resilience, particularly of critical infrastructure .. . . Enabling Maaori to realise aspirations in all aspects of the economy . . . Increasing social inclusion”!!
5. Internal planning workshops – RCB had these in Dec and Feb, with no published agenda, or minutes and only an outline of what was discussed. Roading, CBD, footpaths/cycleways and Freedom Camping may be on 1 April agenda. Tony was appointed to Town Hall Committee, Stormwater Group, Xtreme Zero Waste and Local Energy, Gabrielle to iSite, Holiday Park, Freedom Camping and Reserves Committees, Gabrielle, Dennis and Chris to Wharf Group, Chris to Climate Action Group, Bob to Resident Ratepayers, Medical Centre, Community Response Group and Waikato Tourism.
6. Soundsplash – RCB had a paper presented to Dec workshop. “Overall, it was considered to be a very well run and successful event. . . WDC staff, NZ Police and the District Health Board a full debrief within the next month”.
7. Manu Bay Breakwater – “If stakeholder discussions do not result in approval to proceed [with removing boulders from the sea], a further workshop will be organised with the Forum to discuss the way forward.”
8. Raglan Naturally – “community information evening” to be held with the draft trust deed and revised RN. Suggested Ngati Mahanga/Hourua, Tainui o Tainui and Tamainupo nominate 3 trustees, with 4 other trustees. List of income and spending on RN.
9. Code of Conduct – since 2007 WDC community boards have been expected to adopt a code, which has changed little. It includes wording such as, “Members will respect the impartiality and integrity of Council staff.”
10. “Community Board Charters will be reviewed by the Council in the near future. To this end, it would be helpful to understand the Community Board’s views on the current charter.”
11. Coastal Reserves Oct meeting – “community who are interested in horses on the beach should get together and discuss what they see may be a fair way” Dec – “no riding on the beach after a certain date the infringements will begin to happen once the information has been spread”.
12. Holiday Park – stormwater design consented. May be staged to spread costs and assess the effects. Expected completion April. Road bridge to camp entrance upgrade expected completion June. Entrance to pedestrian bridge – “discussions will continue to refine the proposed alignment.”
13. Gilmour St – “design is ongoing following consultation and feedback from residents.”
14. Wainui Rd footbridge (near sewage ponds) rebuild Feb/March.
15. Sewage resource consent – Hapu reps met technical team in January to discuss challenges and solutions. “Technical work is underway (Beca), on solutions that meet community/Maori expectation for disposal of treated wastewater over the long term. Additional work will be undertaken to understand geotechnical issues. Council has approved additional funding to support the consent application.” Long term solution by Nov 2021. “Improved engagement methods and frequency will be required to reach this target. Staff will set up regular engagement sessions with the public.”
16. Cliff Street Jetty – replaced broken and missing fenders, bottom and middle timber rails and refurbished rust-stained, handrails and concrete posts with new timber in Dec. Top rails only surface-treated “due to severe delamination of the concrete posts”. To avoid damage the timber was. “In the next 6 months remedial work to the concrete piles will be completed.”
17. Wharf Handrail Replacement and Dolphin – Quotes from local contractors to replace timber rails being assessed. WDC’s Community Connections and Community Projects teams are working on a maintenance plan for the dolphin.
18. Year to Date Service Request Report to 31 Dec – Dogs Aggression – Current, Parks & Reserves – Graffiti and Park Furniture and Footpath Maintenance – Non Urgent dealt with no calls on time. Only 2 out of 6 Environmental Health Complaints were dealt with on time. There were 4 Wastewater Overflows or Blocked Pipes. Zoning and District Plan enquiries have risen from 81 in the previous 6 months to 91. Overall 86.62% was up from 82.87% success rate to June.

The agenda misses out –MINUTES of Waters Governance Board – Friday, 20 December 2019Two KPIs not met were due to availability of suppliers to attend wastewater issues in Raglan within required timeframes. The Board requested Watercare to review how to address this going forward, including whether the target needed to be amended.Consenting Strategy – Raglan Wastewater Treatment Plant Discharge Consents (Renewal)The general subject of the matter to be considered while the public is excludedWaters Governance Board 11/2 agendaSewage resource consent – re-engagement of Watercare’s lead advisor (Beca) is underway, with a draft engagement contract being worked through now. Key technical support requirements are to include:- advice on soil soakage assessments of land areas alongside necessary plant upgrades, and;- working through co-design ideas that are arrived at through community and hapu engagement over the next few months.WDC approved funding in late January to allow the consent application and technical studies to proceed.Arrange/facilitate presentation on implications of Raglan Wastewater Consent with regards to the cultural aspects. Sam Toka Feb 2020 Verbal presentation scheduled for February 2020 meeting. Completed Inform the WGB of the project milestones for the Raglan Wastewater Consent Application. I Cathcart Watercare March 2020Raglan WWTP final effluent discharge UV plant failed 8th of December resulting in no discharge to the receiving waters for several tidal periods. UV unit lamps and controller cards replaced to resolve. The final discharge pond, wet well and pipework have been cleaned using a vacuum truck. Normal tidal discharge pattern resumed. There is no turbidity monitoring of this discharge. UVT sensor may need to be upgraded to provide data for future process and discharge improvements.• Raglan WTP comms failure required replacement of transmitter antenna and Moxa unit checks to recover comms between the WTP and reservoirs.Minor leaks formed much of service requests for the month of December, focussed in Raglan predominantly. Ops have moved servicemen to Raglan to compensate for the increased work volumes.Water main break at 22 Main Rd Raglan mid-January. Remedial works were completed within KPI timeframes.• Water main break at 4 John St, Raglan. A T junction had snapped completely. Again, all works completed within KPI timeframes.Raglan continues to be a hotspot for both water and wastewater network faults. Water minor leaks and fast fibre sewer strikes form the majority of service requests received. The increased staffing in Raglan implemented in December is ongoing as a result.62 on page 39 says the Stormwater Management Plan is to be updated and on page 41 it says it’s, “well overdue for a review”.Register of Interests – Waters Governance BoardPolicy 3 FebThe purpose of altering Cliff Street to one-way is to reduce congestion, improve safety and allow for the potential to improve parking and pedestrian facilities.

Infrastructure Mon 10/2 agenda

Coastal Reserve Management Plan

Consultation 25 Mar-25 May – hearings panel 2 Crs and a rep from Waikato Tainui

Solid Waste Review update

Workshops were held on 11 Sep, 25 Nov and 9 Dec on current services, objectives, linear vs circular economy, methodology and timelines. A discussion document was circulated to Crs. Helen Ramsey from Morrison Lowe presented a paper on the services other Councils are offering regionally and current trends. Work has commenced on developing a consultation plan. A Steering committee will convene in the new year.

Xtreme Zero Waste

Zero Harm and the Waste team visited in Dec. A risk assessment was carried out on the Te Uku container. Soundsplash was in January with XZW providing waste services. There were no significant incidents. Discussions are underway with XZW regarding the Engineering Exception Decision (Left hand side collection) variation and possible contract extension to line up with the other contracts. A review of the current financial position of solid waste services will be presented to Strategy & Finance Committee in March.

Operational Separation of solid waste activities from Waters activities

Arrangements are being put in place to deal with solid waste asset data currently situated in AssetFinda (a combined waters and waste asset database), moving it into an asset register that Council controls.

Te Mata Cemetery Entranceway Improvements (Expected completion April 2020)

Access will be improved by installing a post and rail fence extending the gate into the property, similar to a dairy tanker entrance, to ensure vehicles parked at the gate are clear of the live traffic lane.

Bridge Maintenance

Following on from the rebuild of the temporary bridge abutments on Otonga Valley Rd the re-skinning of the deck has been completed. This has solved the noise issue and allowed logging trucks to cross the bridge safely.Other issues missing from the agenda are sewage – still no news of the sewage resource consent renewal applied for in Nov, reports on spills, RCB’s priority action list, consultation with WDC on extra buses for Whatawhata, James St and Museum bus stops and shelters, i-SITE tender (discussed at public excluded meetings), Town Hall and Campground committees, Rangitahi, Hills Rd water tower, glyphosate, volunteer worker safety, parking infringement money, harbour lease, coastguard lease, Puriri Park, weedbusters, etc. Should WED be taking up these or other issues?

Thanks

John.