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Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press
By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Members of special rating districts up and down the West Coast should attend their annual meetings, elected representatives say.
The West Coast Regional Council is holding a round of annual meetings in the next month for each of the two dozen … View moreBy local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Members of special rating districts up and down the West Coast should attend their annual meetings, elected representatives say.
The West Coast Regional Council is holding a round of annual meetings in the next month for each of the two dozen special rating areas it administers on behalf of local ratepayers for flood or coastal protection assets.
Council chairperson Peter Haddock said ratepayers within each special rating district give the mandate to the annual asset maintenance budget presented by council, and the consequent levy above their general rates.
That was why it was so important for people to attend their annual local rating district meeting to tell council what they wanted, he said.
"It's the people that make the decision on what their budget is for the year. That's the reason they should attend," Haddock said.
Nearly 75% of West Coast residents are affected by one of 22 special rating districts dotted up and down the 650km long region.
They are mainly for small rural or farming communities but include the three main towns and the tourist hotspots like Punakaiki and Franz Josef.
As the council's rating mess emerged in late 2023 some ratepayers such as the Greymouth floodwall area were shocked to find substantial special rating increases.
CHaddock said in the end rating district members had a significant say.
"The regional council run the programme for the rating district members - it is important people turnup, so they can have their say."
The reserves held ensured money in the pot when unforeseen events such as storm damage came up.
Haddock said this was demonstrable at Punakaiki following a battering 10 days ago of its coastal defences and the annual meeting there last week demonstrated "good conversations" to be realistic.
"There was varying people from commercial operators down to people with holiday homes.
"Everyone is concerned. They know that if they don't continue to maintain the walls, it could fall behind and then they are up for a big bill."
The Karamea meeting saw about 50 show up but many had a false impression for the meeting.
"I think they thought it was (for) the long-term plan submissions rather than the rating district."
A private landfill and the use of 1080 were among unrelated issues brought up.
"A lot of people, I think, don't realise what the regional council does," Haddock said.
Council deputy chairperson Brett Cummings said it was obvious a lot of attendees at the Karamea meeting came to raise other issues -- in itself not a bad thing.
"They thought it was a meeting about rates. A lot of people didn't understand what a rating district is, and they possibly should … there's a lot of confusion."
Cummings said the issues at the heart of the purpose of rating districts -- flood and inundation -- were only going to escalate for them.
"The amounts are getting bigger because the problems are getting bigger … I think a lot of them are beginning to understand we are not spending (the rating district) money ourselves."
Cummings said some meetings also exposed a gulf between the priorities of local landowners and those who did not live in the district but had an interest.
An example was the recent Kongahu meeting where the locals were "all for" addressing an outbreak of the listed water weed Parrots feather in the area but with an absentee landowner
haggling over that priority, he said.
At the same time, the council had a big job ahead of it with the first formal meeting in May of the new Franz Josef/Waiho joint rating district, where council had been "through a torrid time," after years of no meetings for the locals to have their say.
Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton’s deputy mayor was first down the new flying fox and now she's been the first to use the new jumping platform at Lake Hood.
Liz McMillan and some eager volunteers were the first to launch off the purpose-built tower at an officially… View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton’s deputy mayor was first down the new flying fox and now she's been the first to use the new jumping platform at Lake Hood.
Liz McMillan and some eager volunteers were the first to launch off the purpose-built tower at an officially opening event on Friday morning.
Despite the autumnal weather, the water wasn’t too cold, McMillan said.
“But I think it will be very popular in the summer months.”
With the community always asking for more activities for youth, the diving platform provides another option at Lake Hood.
“I think it will be pretty popular with kids and teenagers and even the young adults, and probably the young-at-heart adults too."
The platform is a use-at-your-own-risk facility.
Infrastructure and open spaces group manager Neil McCann said jumpers needed to be confident swimmers to access the platform, then climb a ladder to either a 2.5m or 4m high jumping-off point and swim out.
“The jumping platform is in a 4m deep body of water, with no lifeguard supervision.
“There is a lower gradient entrance and exit beach and emergency climb-out ropes on the steeper gradient sides.
“The main safety rule is that jumpers need to ensure the water below is clear of others before they leap off.
“If everyone sticks to the rules, there shouldn’t be problems.”
The platform is in a separate body of spring-fed water at the northern end of the new lake extension – so is not under the same algal bloom warning as the main lake.
The platform and surrounding water would eventually be incorporated into the new lake as it expanded.
“But right now it is separate and water quality testing in the jumping platform’s pond shows no cyanobacteria is currently present.”
The platform was built to attract people who were currently jumping off Lake Hood canal bridges.
“Jumping off those bridges is a safety concern for council as boats and other watercraft could be in the area, so we’ve provided a purpose-built alternative which will generate a lot of fun and be another attraction for the lake.”
The area around the platform is being developed so people can sit and have a picnic while they watch the action or supervise youngsters.
The platform was constructed by the council, in conjunction with Ashburton Contracting Limited, using $35,000 from the Government's Better Off Funding.
Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Safety upgrades to a series of rural intersections in Mid Canterbury are almost complete five years on from a fatal crash that killed a mum and her two children.
Upgrades to 33 sealed rural intersections, due to be finished by the end of this month,… View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Safety upgrades to a series of rural intersections in Mid Canterbury are almost complete five years on from a fatal crash that killed a mum and her two children.
Upgrades to 33 sealed rural intersections, due to be finished by the end of this month, came in response to a coroner's report into the fatal crash at the intersection of Mitcham Rd and Hepburns Rd near Ashburton in April 2019.
Chante Harmer and her two children, Wysdom Tapiata-Harmer and Te Awanuiarangi Haami-Harmer, died after Harmer did not see the give way sign, the intersection or an approaching vehicle.
The coroner's report, released in April 2022, recommended the Ashburton District Council review 79 rural intersections.
Infrastructure and open spaces group manager Neil McCann said the work to improve signage and visibility, including larger signs and road markings, should be complete by the end of April.
The council had identified 79 sealed and unsealed intersections that were similar to the Mitcham Rd and Hepburns Rd where the triple-fatality occurred and reviewed signage and visibility for road users, McCann said.
“Of those, 33 sealed crossroads were identified for improvements.
“We have many long, straight sealed roads in the Ashburton District and we are concerned that drivers may miss signs alerting them to a give way or stop ahead.
“So we have put in additional warning signs and installed larger signs to draw attention to the upcoming intersection.
“Ultimately drivers need to do their part and drive safely and to the rules, but we are doing our part and making sure the intersections are well identified.”
Improved signage has already been installed at the intersection of Maronan Valetta Rd and Tinwald Westerfield Mayfield Rd, the scene of a fatal crash last year.
The intersection was awaiting an upgrade in response to the 2022 coroner’s report at the time of the crash.
That crash involved a truck from Mayfield-based Trailways Transport and owner John Stringer said earlier this year that putting up more signs won’t stop “inattentive drivers making bad decisions”.
“Mid Canterbury is one of the worst places in the world for complacency, with so many fatalities on straight road intersections.
“You can add all the signs you like but it won’t make a difference if someone’s on a cell phone or not paying attention.”
The Ashburton District had one of the largest roading networks in the country and the condition and safety aspects of the road, particularly intersections, were regularly reviewed, McCann said.
“Given the volume of traffic on our roads, we have relatively few crashes but we are committed to making our roads as safe as we can.
“We’re proposing to spend a lot more on road maintenance and rehabilitation, and will also keep looking at signs, visibility, line markings and anything else that could impede a driver’s ability to safely negotiate an intersection.”
Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
The minister of transport was given a belated birthday cake adorned with a picture of the Ashburton Bridge in a not-so-subtle reminder from his colleague.
Simeon Brown visited Ashburton on Friday to open the office of Rangitata MP James Meager and … View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
The minister of transport was given a belated birthday cake adorned with a picture of the Ashburton Bridge in a not-so-subtle reminder from his colleague.
Simeon Brown visited Ashburton on Friday to open the office of Rangitata MP James Meager and the Fairfield Freight Hub.
Meager presented Brown with the cake with a extra sweetener - a photo of the Ashburton Bridge as a reminder about the proposed second bridge project.
The bridge is listed as a road of regional significance and the minster said he wants all funding options on the table and hasn't ruled out the option of introducing a toll, either on the new bridge or existing State Highway 1 Bridge, to help pay for its construction.
During his visit, minister Brown was asked repeatedly about the plans for Ashburton’s second bridge – including a sit down with mayor Neil Brown.
At the office opening, the minister said he was impressed at the over-sized novelty scissors used to cut the ribbon that had been borrowed from mayor Brown.
The mayor was quick to quip that the minister was more than welcome to use them again when he opened the second bridge.
The bridge has been included in the re-draft of the Government policy statement on land transport, which sets the direction for NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Waka Kotahi.
Minister Brown said he did not have an update while it was going through the process.
“The next step is for NZTA to put the national land transport programme together,” he said.
“We are obviously committed to the project, and that process will identify when and how it will be delivered.”
The question remains how it will be funded, and by who.
As it is not a state highway but a local road project, the minister suggested there would be a requirement for the council to contribute.
The process would provide the answers about how it was funded, who funded what, and when construction would begin, he said.
With myriad infrastructure projects required around the country, the Government was looking at “a range of funding and financing tools”.
“All of our roads of national significance should be tolled.
“Part of that is so we can protect the maintenance budgets, particularly for rural state highways, and rural and local roads, because we need to make sure we are doing a much better job of maintaining what we have currently got.”
The direction to NZTA was that all options should be on the table for funding the bridge, he said.
“The reality is there is only a limited amount of money in the land transport fund and so we need to look at all funding and financing tools to get things happening.
“Funding is part of the puzzle but consenting has become another challenge which can delay projects by years.”
The Government was looking to pass fast-track consent legislation that could help expedite the bridge construction when the time comes.
Mayor Brown said he had a good discussion with minister about ways the bridge could be funded, and discussion about funding options would now take place between NZTA and the council.
Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press
By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
E coli found at the Waiho River in January appears to be linked to seepage near a controversial stopbank and the Franz Josef sewage ponds.
West Coast Regional Council environmental consent monitoring staff detected "a spike" in E coli … View moreBy local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
E coli found at the Waiho River in January appears to be linked to seepage near a controversial stopbank and the Franz Josef sewage ponds.
West Coast Regional Council environmental consent monitoring staff detected "a spike" in E coli discharge levels to the Westland District Council's wastewater treatment cells after the Waiho River shifted course in mid-January.
The finding was flagged in council's first quarterly compliance and enforcement report for 2024.
The river began running hard up against the Westland District Council's Havill Wall, in front of the wastewater treatment plan, following a storm in January.
That event saw the Waiho River's avulsion escalate into the separate Tatare Stream catchment to the north.
The Havill Wall was controversially built following a moderate flood event in April 2016 where the river overtopped a stopbank to the north of Franz Josef township. It flooded the now abandoned Scenic Hotel site and swamped the district council's current wastewater treatment site.
The council's quarterly compliance report said the E.coli discharge to the treatment plant's disposal cells was found during regular monitoring by staff.
"Surveillance of the site found an unusual stream of water emanating from below the site," the report said.
A council compliance officer took samples of the surface water below the site.
"This was found to be contaminated with E coli bacteria.
"At the time these samples were taken the Waiho River was pushing up against the Havill Wall outside of the wastewater treatment ponds," the report said.
Subsequent additional protection work by the district council to stop the river from cutting back up towards the ponds had covered over the water sample area.
"The area sampled is now under these works."
Further inquiries were ongoing "to pinpoint" the source of the contamination.
Westland District Council chief executive Simon Bastion on April 18 said his council had been advised by the regional council an area of ponding below the level of the oxidation ponds had been sampled and found to be positive for E coli.
"The level of E coli can fluctuate in any standing or flowing water body depending on natural contamination via wildlife or human interference factors," he said.
Both councils then visited the oxidation ponds.
"A very minor clear stream of river water was visible and flowing along the toe of the stopbank and ponding near the base of Maturation pond 1. This was believed to be the cause of the positive E coli sample."
Bastion said the district council was confident its sewerage treatment ponds at the site were not permeable or posed a risk to the river.
"The new primary and secondary oxidation ponds are lined with PE (Polyethylene) to ensure they do not leak. The oxidation ponds are fit for purpose and have operated satisfactorily since commissioning in 2020."
Bastion said the final effluent disposal cells for the site were located further away from the Waiho River and complied with their Resource Consent.
The council's iwi partner, Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio, were also approached by LDR.
Makaawhio chairperson Paul Madgwick said it was the first he had heard of the incident.
Madgwick said his expectation was that council would have informed the rūnunga about the finding in the spirit of their joint agreement.
The council not keeping them in the loop undermined the formal Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreement between Makaawhio and the council, he said.
The agreement, first signed four years ago, sets out a working relationship where council and iwi work together on resource management issues.
Regional council chief executive Darryl Lew said the E coli initially found at the site had disappeared, following more tests.
"The recent sampling is clear. That doesn't mean to say we've cleared that line of inquiry," Lew said.
He believed Makaawhio had previously been briefed about the contamination but it was a case of nothing further emerging to keep them in the loop.
However, Lew said he would communicate further.
"We certainly informed the district council."
Escherichia coli (E coli) is a bacteria commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms. Some E coli strain can cause serious food poisoning.
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