The next Board meeting is Wed 18 October at 1.30pm in the 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.
This summary of the agenda was prepared by John Lawson, Secretary of Whāingaroa Environmental Defence Incorporated, 51 Cliff St, Raglan 07 825 7866 email johnragla@gmail.com
Wednesday’s agenda (only 20 pages) omits some, but it includes –
- Arts Centre Carpark Repairs “Tender documents will go out to the Market (4/10/2023). With a planned start date 10 November”.
- Bus survey “The proposed start date for the on-demand service is October 2024. The service extensions to Manu Bay (expanding the 23 route) is proposed to commence on 1 April 2024.” WDC agreed in 2021, “to initiate this service by tender in August 2021, to be operational for summer 2021/22”!
- Harbour Beacon “construction of the new beacon structure. Tender documents have been received”.
- Papahua erosion “between bridge and boat ramp. Project Manager has been asked to do some preliminary costings on this and what engineering may be required if a groin was required under footbridge.”
- Wi Neera Walkway repairs to be done by Christmas with “5-8 day period where the northern section of walkway will be closed . . . Design is underway in parallel for construction of a new 2.5m wide concrete walkway with a handrail to go on top of the repaired northern seawall. We are tracking to have this complete late summer / autumn. . . We believe this section can be done without a resource consent . . The seawall south of the pedestrian bridge is at the end of its life. Waikato District Council are working through how this could be rebuilt.” The agenda doesn’t mention this is part of the Town2Surf cycleway and not just a walkway.
- Kaitoke walkway “meeting with Weed Busters, Noel Barber and Ben Wolf”.
- Soundsplash “Six management plans have been received . . . Staff are expecting the remaining management plans to arrive by Monday 2 October 2023 for feedback from Council staff” – none attached to agenda.
- Civil Defence “within the next couple of months a public meeting will be held. . . a meeting in November for interested parties”.
- Wharf “Contaminated material has been excavated and removed offsite. . . the wharf fully open to the public between 21 December and 12 February”.
- Manu Bay Breakwater – “Further analysis is required to achieve desired design goals. Timeframes still to be confirmed.”
- CCTV “finalising designs and purchasing hardware”.
- Connectivity Strategy “Further discussion with various residents in Raglan west re connectivity strategy particularly Nihinihi Ave”.
- Rugby club “starting on the exterior painting mid-October”.
- Camp ground “start on the laundry upgrade in early October”.
- Raglan Naturally, Councillors, RCB members verbal reports.
- Discretionary fund has $19,792.
Consultation – have your say!
Regional Coastal Plan consultation to 14 Nov.
WED would welcome further feedback for the WED submission on marinas, aquaculture, vehicles on beaches, surf breaks, offshore wind farms, spraying, trawling, dredging and mining. A summary of the items covered at the WED meeting is here and covered in several Facebook posts.
Thursday 26 October at 7pm is the next sewage (or Raglan Waste Water Treatment Plant Upgrade) zoom
These council items are not on RCB’s agenda –
Water Supply Upgrade project is complete. . . reservoir compound area was restored and ready for public use. Raglan Waste Water Treatment Plant Upgrade Tender review is complete and submitted for approval. Beca has delivered the groundwater study as a draft. . . next important step is completing the tender process for the treatment plant upgrade . . . costings for all options will also commence in September – public excluded.
MfE is consulting on a biodiversity credit system and WDC pointed out lack of a Tiriti link. Papahua Joint Management Agreement with Ngaati Maahanga 2022 Shane Solomon report.
Local Area Blueprint Update – changes by Dennis – Support a strong Maaori culture, including education on the Treaty of Waitangi, respecting tangata whenua, and creating Te Reo signage – leave with RH Hapouri Rep – this initiative does not need to be considered for inclusion in the LTP; Consider a bed tax – Delete was felt that Destination Management Organisation has now taken this on; business hub for high tech promotion and exchange – Delete; parking – “Keep and rain priority”. Extend free wi-fi around the library and i-site. Delete now working hours to be limited.
Extension of surf club with room and observation platform.
SH23 proposed for 90km/hr, side roads to be reduced but not Waitetuna, Ohautira, or Te Mata. RAS Whitley 30kph.
WRC Transport 18/9 Raglan Trial Service
workshops were held with RCB on 14 and 27 June to discuss route and service options. Service costings are being developed with the proposed trial service looking to involve a combination of changes to the existing 23 Raglan bus service to increase coverage and frequency as well as a new local on-demand service.
Also proposed is an extension of the 23 Raglan (Whatawhata to Hamilton school assist) bus service to include Te Kowhai. This will allow Te Kowhai to be connected to Hamilton via one AM service and one return PM service during the school term only. Costing and feasibility of this option is still to be developed.
Of the over 29 known community transport providers in the region, 14 applied and were approved for a total of $190.5k in distributed funds. – Raglan District Community Vehicle Trust $11,860.
SH23/39 intersection – Whatawhata • Detailed design continues and conversation with landowners, mana whenua and key stakeholders are ongoing. • We are applying for consents and then construction funding. • There is no guarantee funding will be able to be made available as the Safety Improvements Fund is already under pressure due to cost escalations in various projects.
Future Proof transport 25/8 – Raglan bus passengers (000s) and % of Raglan buses no more than 5 mins late
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| quarters | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 |
| 000s carried | 18 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 5 | 15.5 | 12.3 | 16.9 | 19.2 | 13.5 | 5.9 | 13.4 | 18.2 | 20.3 | 15.4 | 15.7 | 20.5 |
| % on time | 21.6 | 41.2 | 42.6 | 42.8 | 31.4 | 37.2 | 41 | 42 | 42.4 | 43.4 | 41.1 | 45.5 | 47.4 | 46.9 | 46.2 | 40.2 | 28.1 | 45.5 |
“Waikato District have community boards/community committees at the main towns and villages that can be used to leverage community inputs into the Vehicle Kilometres Travelled reduction programme.”
Other issues missing from the RCB agenda are freedom camping, fluoride, off-shore windfarm, Greenslade Rd Reserve playground, Community Energy Whāingaroa, roading, Blueprints, water pipes, boat ramp charges, Te Uku Recycling Centre, organic waste, Climate Response and Resilience Strategy, rubbish on SH23, Swann Access Rd, Ruapuke Rd closure, Area School road safety, 3 Bow St, Greenslade Rd SH23 junction, Surf2surf walkway, speeding on Main Rd, WEL EV Charger, Coastal Plan, Manu Bay planting, Rangitahi swimming pool, Harbour Strategy, soccer field flooding, Coastal Reserves meeting, Animal Control late responses, World Rally Championship, unsealed roading, parking, cycle counts, Bayview Rd safety, Canada Geese, Cliff St, Park Dr/Long St crossing, town square, Town Hall Committee, WRAP, Town Hall Warrant of Fitness, Calvert Rd parking, Te Mata Recycling, Hills Rd water tower, volunteer worker safety, Puriri Park, Eco Village.
Should WED be taking up these or other issues?