Tairua skatepark update, Waikawau rāhui, and Community Board news

Published on 15 September 2023

The latest from Mayor Len

Kia ora koutou,

This week our Council hosted a meeting of the Hauraki Gulf Forum, which is held every three months. It brings together elected representatives from Auckland and the districts bordering or on the catchments leading into the gulf, Waikato Regional Council, iwi, and representatives of the Ministers of Conservation, Fisheries and Māori Development. 

The forum promotes and facilitates the integrated management of the Hauraki Gulf. 

Auckland Council administers the forum, but recently the group has been getting out into the members’ rohe. This is both to understand what’s happening ‘on the ground’ and to raise the profile of the forum.

So, this week it was our turn to host. We took the members to Kōpū to visit the business and marine precinct construction site (see more on the project on our website tcdc.govt.nz/kopu).

The meeting then took place at our Council Chambers in Thames where we heard presentations in the public forum on the state of seabirds in the gulf and the bioremediation trials that Agrisea is carrying out on some of our unused Council land, just south of Thames. This is looking to help restore the purity of our waterways, using seaweed to remove nutrients that freshwater plants can’t absorb.

The forum was also updated on work going on to trace the sources of heavy metals in our coastal environment and the findings of the recent natural capital valuation of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.

This may seem like heavy, dry going, but the health of our waterways and the Hauraki Gulf (which the Firth of Thames is part of) is essential to our local economy and lifestyle.

You can find out more about the Hauraki Gulf Forum on the Auckland Council website, including the minutes of this week’s meeting.

It’s been the second week of our upgraded rubbish and recycling collection system. There have been a few hiccups with delays in collections here and there. If you think something has gone wrong with collections at your property, please follow these steps:

• Check your collection day: Schedules are on our website www.tcdc.govt.nz/bindays. Print outs of the collection schedules are available at our Council service centres.
• If you’re not sure which collection zone you’re in, go to our Smart Maps system and open the Rubbish and Recycling viewer. Enter your address in the search bar in the top left of the page. Click your property on the map and the pop-up box will tell you your collection day and whether we’re on a Yellow Week (recycling and food scraps) or a Red Week (rubbish and food scraps).
• If you’ve confirmed your collection was missed, please politely contact our Customer Services team and tell them your address and the time you put out your items for collection. Phone 07 868 0200; email customer.services@tcdc.govt.nz; online www.tcdc.govt.nz/rfs. When you contact us with your issue, please remember you’re dealing with people and be kind.
• We also post regular updates and information on our Facebook page.

Thanks everyone for your patience while we all get familiar with the new system.

Updates from our Community Boards

Agendas, minutes and recordings of all Council and Community Board meetings are on our website at tcdc.govt.nz/meetings.

Mercury Bay Community Board meeting, Wednesday 6 September 

Cooks Beach Lakes Management – the Board heard about options to manage the two lakes at Cooks Beach to make sure water quality as well as recreational use and visual amenity can be provided for. The Board are supporting the development of a management plan which will include community input, and that budget to implement the plan be set aside in the 2024-2034 Long Term Plan. 

A word from our acting Board Chair Rekha Giri-Percival: 

“We’ve been busy with discussions of what the priorities for our 2024-2034 Long Term Plan should be. The focus will be cyclone recovery and building resilience into our infrastructure and communities. Some of the Board members are part of the community engagement groups for stormwater management in Matarangi, Austin Drive in Whitianga and Cooks Beach – the one I’m attending. We had our first meetings recently. I attended the Whitianga housing hui, which our Mayor Len Salt set up to look at affordable housing in the district. Recently I was part of the Mercury Bay arts centre feasibility focus session – an important bit of work looking at a permanent site for the arts in our area.” rekha.giri-percival@council.tcdc.govt.nz  

Tairua-Pāuanui Community Board meeting, Monday 11 September

The Board approved Discretionary Grant Applications for the following:

• Tairua Elim Church will receive $4,000 for costs associated with the light party to be held in Pepe Reserve.
• Tairua Information Centre will receive $7,325 for costs associated with holding a series of events over the summer break.
• Tairua Pāuanui Promotions Inc will receive $4,140 for costs associated with distribution mailout of the 2023 appeal for donations.

Total funds allocated were $15,465 of the $28,500 Tairua-Pauanui Community Board Discretionary Fund.

The channel works at Holland Stream, to re‐grade and provide a minimum bed width of 2m, has now been completed. Works on the left bank (Holland Close side) to lift the overflow level by reconstructing the access to #19 has also been completed. The Mount Ave works were tendered in May but were deferred in the Annual Plan review. Construction will be considered in the upcoming Long Term Plan.

Staff provided the Board with a list of Tourism Infrastructure Funding (TIF) project applications in the South-Eastern Ward.

• Toilets – The TIF application is for upgrades / enhancements to facilities in Tairua (Cory Park) and Whangamatā (Port Road).

• Relocation of Whangamatā Dump Station. The TIF application is to relocate the dump station to 118 Lindsay Rd, Whangamatā.

The outcome of these applications will not be known until September.

Whangamatā Community Board update, Tuesday 12 September

The Board heard from our Council’s Roading Manager about potential options for temporary traffic calming in sections of Whangamatā’s busiest pedestrian areas over summer.

They discussed the best ways to manage safety, cost-effectiveness, community engagement and upcoming local events.

The Community Board approved Discretionary Grant Applications for:

• Whangamatā Real Estate (for a Christmas Fair at Williamson Park, $2,000)
• Whangamatā Lions Club (for the Santa Parade, $1,500)
• Whangamatā RSA (ANZAC Day 2024 $3,400, Remembrance Wall project $2,000)
• Whangamatā Patch & Quilt (bi-annual exhibition $1,500)
• Whangamatā Rugby & Sports Club (for Thames Valley provincial rugby games $2,500)
• Whangamatā Community Church (bi-annual exhibition, $1,500)
• Onemana Residents and Community Association (costs for defibrillator battery and pad replacements, $600)
• They also approved a request from Eastern Coromandel Community Services to retain and repurpose a previous Whangamatā Community Board Grant.

They received the Action Schedule for local infrastructure and maintenance projects, discussing several areas that had been raised in conversations with the community.

Thames Community Board meeting, Wednesday 13 September 

The Board endorsed an initative for Thames visitor promotion that the Ministry of Social Development has granted $50,000 to fund, as a result of a Council application to the North Island Weather Events Recovery Fund. The grant will allow the development of a Thames visitor promotion website, signage and other marketing collateral to attract visitors to the Thames area. Board member Holly MacKenzie and Thames Ward Councillor Martin Rodley were approved to be part of the steering group overseeing the initiative. 

The Board recommended to Council that up to $100,000 be allocated from the Thames Urban General Purpose Reserve to complete the site investigation and assessment work for the feasibility studies and into implementation of the Thames Sub-regional Aquatic Facilities Project and the Thames Sports Partnership Project. These two projects are running in tandem to find a suitable site for an aquatic facility to replace Thames Centennial Pool and for sports fields and related facilities. See more on the pool project here and the sports facilities here.  

Coromandel-Colville Community Board meeting – no meeting this period  

Please note that our Coromandel Town customer service centre is closed Wednesday 20 September from 12-1 pm.

Our next Council meeting is at 9am on Tuesday 19 September in our Thames office. Find out more by clicking here.

The three-year Shoreline Management Pathways Project identified our Coromandel communities’ preferred pathways of action to improve resilience to the effects of climate change.

 

The next steps involve prioritising and implementing projects from those pathways. Our Council is hosting a series of meetings to share the latest thinking and next steps.

Construction on Tairua Skatepark set to begin

Fencing around the skatepark site at Cory Park Domain in Tairua will go up on Monday, 18 September, marking the beginning of construction. 

Some parts of the domain and its facilities will be unavailable during construction. Fencing will go inside the tennis courts, but one court will be available, except while drainage work is completed (in mid-October). Access to the tennis courts will be from the back via Hornsea Road. 

The site fencing will extend to the current location of the rugby posts, which will be removed until the fencing is pulled back at the end of the year within an earth bund that will be built to separate the field and skatepark. 

On Friday 8 December the site will shut down until 30 January. The target is to have the retaining walls and pathways to the netball courts and Hornsea Rd completed. 

The skatepark is expected to be completed by the end of April. Landscape planting will take place within the planting season, starting in June. 

For more information on the project, visit www.tcdc.govt.nz/tairuaskatepark

Rāhui – Waikawau (Thames Coast) Coastline

Due to the missing kayaker who has not yet been found, local iwi Ngāti Tamaterā have implemented a temporary rāhui.  

The rāhui commences from today, Friday 15 September, from 3pm until further notice. 

The area out of bounds until further notice is from the south bank of Ōtakeao Stream, then down to the north bank of the Waikawau River in a direct line to the southern end of what is commonly known as A Block.  

This means no boating, no swimming, no fishing, no taking of any shellfish until further notice.  

Note: The Keretā and Waikawau Boat Ramps are not included in the Rāhui Area. 

We humbly ask that you respect the rāhui, and the anxious family awaiting news, like it was one of your own family members missing.  

The map above shows the extent of the Rāhui from the southern bank of Ōtakeao (excluding Keretā Boat Ramp) to the northern bank of the Waikawau River (excluding Waikawau Boat Ramp).

Kerbside collections update: Next week is Red Week

Next week is Red Week, when your red-lidded wheelie bin for rubbish and your foods scraps bin will be collected. You'll need to put a Pay As You Throw tag on the rubbish bin for it to be emptied. You don't need to put it out if it's not full. Make sure the tag is around both the handle on the lid and the lug on the side of the bin. 

There have been some delays to collections which our contractors are working hard to catch up on. Thank you for your patience while the drivers learn the new routes and familiarise themselves with the area. 

• Find out everything you need to know about the new service at tcdc.govt.nz/kerbside.
• Click here to watch videos on the new service.
• Find a map of the collection areas here. 
• Click here to check your scheduled collection days

If you think your collection has been missed, and you've double-checked your collection day, get in touch with us politely by phone, email or online (as listed above) and let us know your address and what time you put your material out.

 Catch a ride on the Thames Connector

We have 50 tickets to ride the Thames Connector on Friday 22 September, to celebrate World Car Free Day.

Car free day is when towns and cities all around the world allow people to experience streets free of motor traffic. 

The day celebrates the many benefits of going car-free to citizens — including reduced air and noise pollution and the promotion of walking and cycling in a safer environment.

Rather than bringing your car in, pop into our Thames service centre at 515 Mackay Street and ask for your ticket to ride.

Click here to find out more about the Thames Connector.

Manatū Taonga | Ministry For Culture And Heritage has opened applications to their Commemorating Waitangi Day Fund.

This supports events that commemorate the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi | the Treaty of Waitangi and increase awareness and knowledge through celebrations and local storytelling. 

They are keen to support events by communities in partnership with tangata whenua that invite wide community participation.

To see what type of events the Government funded last year, see Commemorating Waitangi Day Fund 2023 successful applicants.

Opportunity for artists to decorate Chorus cabinets

Chorus has worked with our Council to bring an opportunity for local artists to showcase their talents with the Cabinet Art Programme. 

Ten cabinets have been chosen for beautification across the Coromandel, with two in each Community Board area and artists are encouraged to submit their designs before submissions close on 8 October. 

A trial in Auckland demonstrated that cabinet artwork decreases the frequency of tagging. 

These cabinets become works of art in the street, often telling stories about the communities in which they are located.    

“This is our first year working with Chorus on their Cabinet Art Programme,” says our Mayor Len Salt. “And we’re excited to work with the local community to bring creativity to life on our streets.” 

Requests for designs are open until 8 October and the winning design for each cabinet will be chosen by a Council panel from entries received.   

To apply, go to our Council website for information on the location and dimensions of the 10 cabinets in our district: www.tcdc.govt.nz/cabinetart.  
 
Click here to find more information from Chorus.

Treasury archive goes online

The Treasury Research Centre and Archive has launched its online archive catalogue, a digital gateway to the centre's wealth of historical records and captivating stories. 

The online archive catalogue opens the doors to a trove of historical records, including digitised images, of the Coromandel Peninsula and Hauraki District. With the ability to search by names of individuals, organisations, and places, users can effortlessly explore whether we hold any records related to their interests. 

The Treasury General Manager Katherine Quinn says “digital access is especially important in a region like ours where travelling to Te Kauaeranga | Thames to view physical items can be challenging. Now people can view many of records from anywhere in the world. It has the added benefit of reducing handling with what are often fragile items, helping preserve them in our specialist archive.” 

While this online archive marks a significant achievement, only approximately 40 per cent of the centre’s extensive archive collection has been catalogued thus far. New records will be continuously added as funding is sourced to enrich the experience for users. 

To find out more, visit thetreasury.org.nz.

Thames Hospital needs permanent and temporary accomodation for staff

Thames Hospital is looking for staff accommodation, both fully furnished and unfurnished, on the Coromandel (ideally close to Thames Hospital).

Many hospital staff are coming in from overseas in the next few months and require accommodation that is fully furnished until they get settled. 

Staff are offered relocation packages by Te Whatu Ora so they have an arrival base and can then enjoy the region while working and deciding where to live.  

If you have something available, please email:

leane.O'Brien@waikatodhb.health.nz  
sarah.harrison3@waikatodhb.health.nz 

Roading and recovery updates

The latest SH25A bridge update from Waka Kotahi NZTA

The team pushed through last week despite the weather, keeping the project on track.

The work offsite continues, while on-site the team has begun transitioning from civil/ground level work to bridge/structural work.

Work's starting above ground, which is where the project really comes to life.

Click here to read their full update on this project.

Some of the construction team also visited our Council's careers roadshow, to share information about the work opportunities they offer.

DOC concerned about safety of people accessing closed Cathedral Cove

Department of Conservation (DOC) staff in Coromandel are urging the local community to respect a rāhui and adhere to warnings after a Hahei resident used social media to explain how they reached Cathedral Cove using a closed and damaged track.  

Nick Kelly, DOC’s Coromandel Operations Manager, says his team were alerted to a post in a local community Facebook group in which the person described their visit to the site.  

DOC staff contacted administrators for the community Facebook group, who promptly removed the post. 

Nick says this directly contradicts DOC’s clear advice and disrespects a rāhui placed by Ngāti Hei to ensure the safety of manuhiri (visitors).

Cathedral Cove was significantly impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle in summer 2022-23. 

In August, after obtaining independent advice in the form of a Landslide Risk Assessment, DOC announced it would not reinstate the tracks to the popular beach for summer 2023-24.  

Landslides and rockfall are known and ongoing risks at the beach. 

For more, visit this page of DOC’s website. Sign up to receive a digital newsletter by emailing cathedralcove@doc.govt.nz 

Our Road to Recovery

Our latest Road to Recovery update includes:

• The latest on our Council roads and State Highway repairs
• An update on visiting Cathedral Cove by sea
• A wrap-up of our Council's Careers Roadshow which visited local schools.

Click here to read the full update.

Click here to see our interactive Recovery Roadmap of repair sites. 

Upcoming local events

Clean Up Week begins tomorrow, with communities coming together to keep our region beautiful. The week is Aotearoa's largest movement against litter, and we would love for you to be part of it. 

We are lucky to live in a beautiful region and anyone can be part of the clean-up effort. Gather your friends, workplace, school, or family, take a walk in your local area and pick up any litter you see. Make to use gloves while cleaning up, and take extra care around any sharp or dangerous items.

If you would like to register an event, visit the Keep New Zealand Beautiful website: www.knzb.org.nz. Our Council is supporting these events and participating groups who have registered their clean up can drop-off their rubbish for free at our local RTSs. You will need to register your clean up with Keep New Zealand Beautiful and have your registration details available to show at the RTS when you drop off your litter.

What's happening locally?

Whitianga
Local environmental group Wāhi Tukurua are hosting a clean-up event at Buffalo Beach Reserve on Saturday 16 September from 9.30am. Click here to view the Facebook event, or visit Wāhitukurua.co.nz. 

The Seagull Centre is hosting a Thames Clean Up day on Saturday 16 September 9.30-12pm.

Te Aorerekura: Hauraki conference

The Te Aorerekura conference is a free one-day conference being held in Thames on 5 October as part of the Thames-Coromandel Cyclone Recovery Social Wellbeing Plan. 

The conference is is for frontline kaimahi working with whānau, to acknowledge the work being done in the family violence space across Hauraki. It's supporing organisations to be recognised as one resource across Hauraki – bringing to life Te Aorerekura in our communities.

It's being hosted by our Council, Te Whāriki Manawahine O Hauraki, Hauraki Family Violence Network and Regional Public Service Commission.

Registration is open to Kaimahi from social, community, Iwi, NGO, local and central government organisations working directly with whānau. 

Register online by clicking here. Registrations close Thursday 22 September. 

Volunteer call out for Cook's Beach planting on Tuesday

On Tuesday 19 September, Coastcare will hold an impromptu planting event, to plant around 1000 native species.

Last week, Coastcare carried out a sand push-up over the backstop wall at Purangi end of the beach. Until last week, the site conditions and sand levels were not right to do this. We now need to plant this site with Spinifex and Pingao to allow natural self-repair processes should the conditions be favourable. 

They will be using planting augers, which makes the task much easier and faster.

Coastcare will do a site safety briefing and a planting demonstration at 1pm.

Bring your favourite spade (clean), gloves, sun/rain protection and drinking water. If you would like to bring ear protection, please do. There will be earplugs available.

Click here to follow Coastcare Waikato on Facebook.

Community Dune Planting in Whangamatā

Join us for a Coastcare community planting day in Whangamatā on Saturday 23 September, 10am, meeting at beach access 17.

Digging in the sand is quite easy and you'll be doing your bit for our native plants and animals.

We've had a really strong volunteer turn-out so far this planting season and it would be great to see you there.

All you need to bring is covered sturdy footwear, water, suitable clothing, gardening gloves and your favourite spade (or you can borrow one of ours).

Visit www.tcdc.govt.nz/dunes or follow Save the Dunes Whangamatā on Facebook.

Limb it Less In Waikato with Shaz Dagg

Shaz Dagg will share her emotional and raw story of how she overcame adversity to achieve greatness. 

Shaz took up triathlon after losing her left arm above the elbow following a farming accident in 2016 and has gone on to win silver at the Paratriathlon World Cup and Oceania Championships. She was also the first female amputee to complete Coast to Coast, one of NZs toughest multisport competitions. 

The Rural Support Trust invites you to be part of an unforgettable event with an incredible athlete, who suffered a life changing farm injury which has inspired rather than hindered, providing what she can do rather than what she cannot. 

Tairua: 21 September, 6-9:30pm, Manaia Cafe & Bar, 228 Main Road.

This is free to attend but please register to help Rural Support Trust with numbers for catering purposes. Click here to register.

Opportunities at our Council

Senior Resource Consent Planner

As a Senior Planner this role undertakes assessment of the more complex resource consent applications and related management of environmental planning. You will provide mentoring to colleagues and support to the Development Planning Team Leader. Click here to read more about this role.

Governance Advisor

This is an exciting opportunity for a talented professional to join our Governance Services team as a Governance Advisor.

The Governance Advisor role will work to provide consistent and high-quality support and advice to Council's elected members and staff on governance matters, meeting requirements and decision-making processes, and to facilitate the management of Council, Community Board and Committee meetings. Click here to read more about this role.

Temporary Technical Support Officer – Parks and Open Spaces  

This role will provide support and administration assistance in the areas of activity management and project contract management to the Community Facilities team. This position is for a full-time, 12-month fixed term role. Click here to read more about this role.

Customer Services Representative – Thames

We are searching for a confident, motivated customer services star to bring their skills and enthusiasm to a great team delivering customer services in our Thames office.

The role sits within the team providing front-of-house, digital and phone communications, and is part of the wider Customer Services team across the district. Click here to read more about this role. 

Adoptable dog of the week

Chilled puppy

This 6- to 8-month-old male puppy is very quiet and chilled that loves playing with people or sleeping beside you.

He also loves cuddles when he gets to know you.

If you are interested in adopting a dog, please contact us on 07 868 0200. Once your interest is known a Dog Control Officer will be in contact with you to discuss the adoption and carry out the appropriate checks, this may include a visit to your property.

We also send this update as an email each Friday. To receive it, visit www.tcdc.govt.nz/subscribe