This summary of the Jul 31 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 31 July at 1.30pm in Town Hall. 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 omits information as highlighted in orange and has little of substance, but includes –
- Manu Bay Breakwater stakeholder workshop was held on 25 July – listen to summary of it on radio
- Wi Neera Walkway has temporary railings and will close again in August to replace them when the concrete has hardened. Lighting being looked at by Parks, along with lights on the bridge that are not working – no explanation of the narrow bit by the bridge, or mention of the southern part of the walkway.
- Civil Defence – Chairperson to circulate a copy of the response plan – WDC’s Emergency Manager prepared a final draft plan – another meeting in Aug will finalise it and aim to get people willing to be members of the initial response group.
- Soundsplash – staff starting work for 2025 event, fees options to be presented to RCB in the near future.
- CCTV – finalising an agreement with Hamilton CC [see also Infrastructure below]
- Greenslade Rd Reserve playground – waiting to confirm a meeting with mana whenua to bring in some traditional Māori play.
- Wainui Beach & Papahua Recreation Reserve car parks – Wainui scope increased reseal to remove confusion with old line marking starting to show again. Papahua to be done after soccer is over and finished by Christmas.
- Community Board Plans – no detail.
- Camp ground Stormwater and Roading – design put out to closed tender to 3 select suppliers closing 2 Aug.
- Rangitahi road names proposed as Katakata St, Wananga St, Te Unga Waka St, Aio Lanes
- Privet although the minutes say Item to come off, it’s still on the agenda.
- Councillors Reports, Board Members’ Reports Verbal.
- Discretionary fund has $925. St Peters Anglican Church want $5,000 for centennial stained glass window, Te Mata Tennis Club want $5,000 for upgrading grounds and Raglan Country & Blues Festival want $2,953 to promote and pay local artists.
These council items are not on RCB’s agenda –
- Accessibility/Transport options stakeholder implementation actions – WRC to instigate trials of low-cost low risk public transport services over the next 3 years (e.g. Raglan regional bus extension). Raglan bus patronage up 45.2% in last year, 42.5% of Raglan buses within 5 minutes of being on time.
- public transport infrastructure and services, walking and cycling improvements and safety promotion go from 69% of the budget combined, to 12%.
- Chapman Tripp review – 80%+ of exports to countries with mandatory climate related disclosures either in force or on the way.
- Water Reservoir Tower Mural Confirmed advisory panel, $50k from DIA, landscape plan pending RCB approval, lighting options, 17 submissions shortlisted down to 5 artists, Whaingaroa Youth Collective and have 4 youth representatives involved in the project, advisory panel including 2 youth reps continue to meet to review artist submissions for selection of a final artist, expected to take up to 8 months for completion
- 3000 km Te Araroa trail winds through our district for approximately 100 kms. It is one of the least visited sections of the trail and has suffered from a lack of maintenance. A local volunteer group consisting of N Waikato residents has formed to improve the tracks state and appeal, both for local and international hikers. There is scope for this group to evolve into an operation that can fund paid positions to help get beneficiaries into work through MSD funding whilst maintaining the trail. The Te Araroa National Trust has been approached to support through advice and potential funding to help direct and grow this project. The Trust has also indicated a desire to engage with manawhenua and communities along the trail to facilitate community led projects for signage and storyboards to enrich the trail with local narratives
- again no mention of WDC’s climate work
- RCB has finished building the content of its Plan. It is now with our internal designers to populate into the template. Following this, it will be sent to RCB for review and input ahead of it being formally adopted. The next steps include the creation of an implementation plan and development of a training plan. adopt the Plan at their 31 July hui
- Bathurst Coal on a list of businesses to engage with about sustainability
- Te Ao Moana Whaingaroa $23,344 complete by 30 Apr, lift for Old School Creative Space Building $38,396.80 and Bowling Club Irrigation Upgrade $9,123.40 complete by 15 Dec. Whaingaroa Wharf Walkways $3.2m by Jun 2027
- Public excluded from update on Energy Farms.
- collaborating with HCC to finalize an agreement for HCC to procure and manage a new CCTV network, but it currently lacks the necessary operational funding. To resolve this, WDC will consider increasing the funding in the Enhanced Annual Plan, alongside reviewing the Privacy Policy, updating crime statistics, and discussing the future of the Waikato Crime Prevention Camera Trust at a workshop in June.
- $380,239 more for road repairs
- Sealed carparks up from 17,165m2 (40%) to 30,528m2 (72%)
WDC want to keep Māori wards, one reason being that the alternative would cost over $50,000, as they’d have to redo their representation review.
Other issues missing from the RCB agenda are stormwater (2024 annual meeting not held), Te Uku Recycling Centre, freedom camping, footpath obstruction by cafes, Wainui Reserve 30-50 year plan, old Harbour Care site, Manu Bay planting, Raglan Naturally, Coastal Reserves (last annual meeting was Sep 2022), structure plan, overflow car parking, waste collection, Papahua erosion, fluoride, off-shore windfarm, Community Energy Whāingaroa, roading, Blueprints, water pipes, 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, 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.