Welcome to the Clutha District Council E-Newsletter, a Council service that aims to keep ratepayers, residents and stakeholders more informed. The E-Newsletter is released every six weeks, following Council meetings. It is also available online at www.cluthadc.govt.nz

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In this edition of Clutha District Council E-Newsletter:

New bridge for Tawanui

Council has approved a complete replacement for the Tawanui Bridge.

The bridge spans the Catlins River about 12km west of Owaka, and links Puketiro with the Owaka Valley. It has been closed since November last year, after inspections revealed significant damage which may have initially been caused by an overloaded vehicle.

Council last week approved the replacement of the existing timber bridge with a single lane concrete structure. Economically, this is the best long-term option, as well as providing a more suitable operational structure for the surrounding farming community.

However, we must stress that there is still a process to go through to secure funding, and for the construction of the new bridge.

Council has to now apply to the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a 70% construction subsidy. If NZTA funding is approved, a timeline for construction will then depend on whether resource consent conditions allowed work in the riverbed during winter, and on river levels during construction.

At this stage, the earliest anticipated completion date is November 2010.

We realise this timeframe will continue to be a huge inconvenience motorists who regularly travel this route. However, approving hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of public money, and then construction of a new bridge takes time.

In the meantime, Council will erect signage at the beginning of all four main entry roads leading to the bridge. Anyone wanting to access the Catlins River Walk or Department of Conservation Tawanui Camping Ground needs to travel via Owaka Valley then Morris Saddle roads, while anyone wishing to access accommodation on Catlins Valley Road needs to travel via the Papatowai Highway.

Maps detailing these routes have been placed on the Council website (available by clicking here) the district’s tourism website (www.cluthacountry.co.nz), and are available from the Catlins Information Centre and Clutha i-SITE in Balclutha.

Dog Registration enforcement

Council wishes to inform all dog owners that it will be taking a tighter stance in enforcing dog registration requirements.

Each year, dog owners are required to renew registration of their dogs, for the period 1 July to 30 June. Currently, notices and registration forms are sent out to all known dog owners in June. Most dogs are registered by June, and from 1 August we impose a 50% penalty on the fees.

For owners that still fail to register their dogs after that, our Animal Control staff follow up with reminder letters, and in many cases a visit or a call. However, if these measures fail they can issue an infringement notice (instant fine) of $300.

In the past, our approach has been that if the owner paid the registration fees within the 28-day response period for the infringement notice, then the $300 fine was waived. This approach was taken to encourage owners to complete the registration.

However, we have become increasingly concerned that this approach is allowing some owners to essentially delay registration as long as they can. Due to this, and given a number of recent high-profile dog attacks in other parts of the country, we are taking a stronger stance than in the past on dog registration.

Our approach now is that once an infringement notice has been issued for late registration – which would always be after a final warning – the fine will be enforced as a matter of course. Staff will still have the discretion to waive fines of fees, but this would only happen in cases where there was a very good reason for the non-registration.

In summary, we will simply be enforcing what already was the law. 

Liquor Ban for Lawrence drags

Council has approved a request for a temporary liquor ban for parts of the town for the Lawrence Quarter Mile Drags to be held on either April 3 or 4.

The request for the temporary ban came from the Lawrence Drags organising committee and Lawrence Police due to last year’s event being marred by some drunken behaviour from a small number of people, mostly from out-of-town.

The ban covers the area including State Highway 8 between Kilmarnock Street and Brown Road, Ross Place, Colonsay Street, Harrington Place, Bloy Road, Thompson Road, Irvine Street, Wetherstons Road and Waipori Road from Irvine Street to 1km west of Thompson Road.

Alcohol will be available for purchase and consumption within the Lawrence Quarter Mile Drags venue itself, subject to appropriate controls. 

The temporary liquor ban means a prohibition on liquor consumption, bringing into, and possession of liquor in those parts of Lawrence specified above. Anyone found to be in breach of the ban faces possible prosecution. 

Meeting agendas available online

It is now easier for residents and ratepayers to keep track of decisions made by Council, with meeting agendas now available online.

Agendas for the full Council, Standing Committees, the District Development Board and the Community Boards are now accessible via the Council website by clicking here.

The intention is to make information about Council and its decisions more readily available to the community and stakeholders and also to reduce future photocopying and postage costs.

Agendas will generally be available online on the Monday prior to a particular meeting. Interested people can receive an email notification advising them when a particular agenda is available.

Agendas can be downloaded in PDF, either in full, or by each agenda item to make the service more user-friendly and accessible for those on dial-up Internet connections.

Minutes of each meeting will also be published on the website, after they are confirmed at the subsequent meeting.

Naish Park redevelopment work

Council has approved $55,000 worth of improvements for Naish Park in Balclutha.

The improvements will include the construction of concrete pathways, aluminium seating and viewing platforms around the duck pond; a heavy duty ornate solid steel gate at the park’s main entranceway; and other ancillary work such as repaing the stile to the Blair Athol Walkway, new rubbish bins and a concrete path from Pearson’s Lane to the Public Toilets.

This work is being brought forward to take advantage of current market rates, and will be funded from depreciation reserves meaning there will be no additional impact on rates to pay for this work.

It follows the recently completed construction of a new concrete entranceway and sealing of the driveway and car park area. Grass has also been sown around the entrance, replacing loose rice gravels and a variety of annuals have been planted.

Two new picnic tables are also being installed at the park, and we’re pleased to report that there has been plenty of positive feedback about the work completed to date.

Community Max programme underway

The Clutha District Development Board is providing up to $16,000 towards a ‘Community Max’ programme underway in the Clutha District.

The programme is a response by the Government to the rising levels of youth unemployment in New Zealand. There are currently about 40 people aged 18- 24 registered with Work and Income in the Clutha District.

Through a partnership between the DDB, Enterprise Clutha and Work and Income, the programme allows four young people and a supervisor to be employed to undertake work that may not have otherwise been completed, such as improving access to the local environment including parks and reserves.

Work and Income provides a wage subsidy (the minimum wage) for the 26-week programme, Enterprise Clutha supervises the project overall, while the DDB provides a wage top up for employer obligations such as holiday pay, ACC etc, as well as the cost to lease a Council vehicle and purchase of a second hand trailer.

In consultation with community organisations, a number of projects - mainly based around maintenance and beautification - have been identified for the four young people and adult supervisor taking part.

The programme will run for a maximum of 26 weeks, with the workers being employed for 30 hours per week.

This programme differs from other work experience programmes offered in the past, in that it is aimed at young people, most of who are motivated and enthusiastic about entering the job market.

Through Community Max, the young people have an opportunity to build skills and work experience while also contributing to the community. They will be supported to search for jobs and to apply successfully for long term employment as positions are identified.

While this is a one-off opportunity, it is expected that a number of young people will be supported through this programme. It is designed so that as one young person leaves to enter the permanent workforce, another young person can take a place.

Anyone with suggestions for community projects the Community Max workers could undertake should contact Enterprise Clutha Business Project Manager Sarah Hayward on 03 418 4048. Please note there are no guarantees your suggestion will be included as a project.

Recycling drop-off facilities now available

It is now easier for Clutha residents to be environmentally friendly, thanks to the establishment of recycling drop-off facilities at Mt Cooee landfill, near Balclutha.

Residents now drop off the following items for recycling:

·         Glass (lids removed and rinsed).

·         Plastics (Type 1 and 2, which includes most milk and beverage containers. Lids removed and rinsed).

·         Aluminium and steel cans (rinsed).

·         Paper and cardboard (cardboard to be flattened and no bigger than 1m by 1m).

There is no cost for using the recycling drop-off facilities and landfill staff will be able to assist anyone unsure of what materials they can recycle.

The drop-off facilities are one of several waste minimisation initiatives adopted in Council’s Long Term Plan earlier this year.

Council will also be looking at whether recycling drop-off centre will be economically viable for Milton, Lawrence and Tapanui, before introducing a second wheelie bin for recyclables in 2011/12, hopefully to be done in cooperation with neighbouring authorities. As the second wheelie bin will result in reduced residual waste pickup, recyclables will only be collected once a fortnight, alternating with rubbish only collected the following week

In the meantime, Council will be working with the community to provide more information and education to cut down on the amount of waste going to landfill.

This includes Council’s funding of a part-time Enviroschools Facilitator for the Clutha District. Local resident Melinda Beattie was recently appointed to this role, which involves supporting local teachers and students with environmental/sustainability learning and action. 

Youth Council approves development fund

The Clutha District Youth Council will allocate up to $2,000 towards a youth development fund aimed to help young people in the district reach their goals.

Although the details are yet to be finalised, the intention is for the fund to be available for young people to apply to, and recipient(s) then selected by an interview panel consisting of several youth councillors, one councillor and one staff member.

Once the process and criteria for the fund has been finalised, it will be advertised throughout the district.

The decision to establish the fund was made at last month’s Inaugural Youth Council meeting for 2010.

This year’s Youth Council has seven new members – Danae Bradley (Blue Mountain College), Hayden Cockburn (The Catlins Area School), Terry Batt (Lawrence Area School), Brianna Watt (Lawrence Area School), Natasha Cameron (South Otago High School), Courtney Tekoronga (Tokomairiro High School), and Daniel Fenton (workplace representative).

They join Todd Murray (Blue Mountain College), Meghan Bennet (South Otago High School), Christiaan Faber (Tokomairiro High School) and Brendan Morrison (workplace representatives) who are all returning members. Cr Bruce Vollweiler and Cr Chris Hargest remain as Council’s representatives on the Youth Council.

Workplace representative Brendan Morrison has been elected to the position of Chair, while Todd Murray has been elected Deputy Chair. 

The Youth Council is a Standing Committee of Council, enabling it to regularly report to and make recommendations to the full Council.

Record numbers for library summer reading programme

Clutha District Libraries’ summer holiday reading programme has again proved popular, with a record number of children taking part.

Thanks to sponsorship from the Trusts Charitable Foundation, all Clutha District Council libraries offered the free, incentive based reading programme title ‘Dive into Books’.

Each child who took part set their own reading target, with incentives along the way and a book prize for all those who reached their reading goals. The idea being that all Year 1 to Year 8 children kept reading while they were off school over summer, while having some fun along the way.

Two hundred and tem children from throughout the district completed the programme, and Council’s District Swimming Pool Supervisor Holly Ramsay was the guest speaker when children received their book prize at the Balclutha Library on 18 February.

Fire and water restrictions remain

Council wishes to remind all residents that due to the extended run of warm weather, water and fire restrictions remain in place.

On 2 December, Council put in place ‘Stage One – Summer Mode’ water restrictions, which means watering is restricted to between the hours of 8pm – 8am only. This means that watering systems may be used during these times, but should not be left unattended and the occupier should always ensure water is not being used wastefully.

Exemptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis to commercial properties and for the purpose of irrigation depending on the level of restrictions in place, the extent of the dry period and the time of the year. For enquiries, please contact our Water Services Manager on 03 419 0200.

These minor restrictions will help to ensure there is sufficient water throughout the summer period and that more severe restrictions are hopefully avoided. If weather restrictions become too extreme, we may have to impose further restrictions including sprinkler and hosing bans.

While many of the district’s water schemes have plentiful sources, restrictions are required during times of high demand because the treatment plants and pipe capacities of the schemes restrict the amount of water that can be delivered to consumers.

Meanwhile, the restricted fire season came into force for the entire district on Monday 16 November. The restricted fire season means that permits are required for all fires in the open air, except for the following:

• The burning of agricultural crop residues, stubble or straw, provided a fully ploughed firebreak of at least 5m has been created first, and provided that Council is notified on the day prior to the burn.

• Barbecues lit in properly constructed containers which are fuelled with gas, solid or liquid fuel;

• Cooking fires at camping sites lit within a concrete or stone surround and with no less than 3m of ground surrounding the container cleared of all combustible materials.

However, none of the fires above are permitted to be lit in high or gusty wind conditions. In all cases the person lighting the fire must remain in attendance until the fire is out or cannot spread.

Anyone else intending to have a fire in the open – in either rural or urban areas – needs to get in touch with Council and give at least five working days notice to obtain a fire permit. This will give a rural fire officer time to inspect the site, check the conditions and give advice to the applicant.

Even with a permit, it is the responsibility of those lighting fires to ensure the fire does not spread. Prosecution and cost recovery is still possible if a fire gets out of control, even if the fire was of a type allowed to be lit.

Further advice and fire permit application forms were available from Council’s main office, from the Lawrence, Milton, and Tapanui Service Centres.

The status of water and fire restrictions is also available on our website www.cluthadc.govt.nz

Resident Survey reveals positive trends

The latest Council Resident Survey reveals some positive trends in the way residents rate Council and the services it provides. 

The Resident Survey 2009 was conducted via phone over three weeks in November last year. A total of 633 randomly selected residents took part and were asked about their satisfaction with various Council services.

As has been a common trend since Council began conducting resident surveys in 2006, the highest ratings went to library services (97% resident satisfaction rate), wheelie bins (96%) and information/service centres (94%).

One of the most pleasing aspects of the latest survey results, however, was to see large upward trends in residents’ satisfaction with the overall performance of the Council since surveying began.

The rating for the effectiveness and advice from Council staff has risen 21% since 2006, from 44% to 65%; the decision-making, planning and leadership of elected members increased 14%, from 46% to 60%; and the overall performance of Council also increased 14%, from 50% to 64%.

It was also good to see the ratings for two areas where Council has focused a considerable amount of effort and expenditure in recent years – footpaths and town water supplies – well up.

The footpath rating is up 10% on last year, from 31% to 41%, while the rating for the quality of town water supplies has also risen significantly since surveying began, up 16% from 43% to 59%

Other pleasing aspects of the survey include the increase in the number of residents taking steps to prepare themselves for a Civil Defence emergency. For the first time, more than half (52%) of respondents had taken some steps to prepare for a disaster, compared to just 39% in 2006.

Disappointing aspects of this year’s survey include drops in the level of satisfaction with swimming pools (down 12%), public toilets (down 10%).

The swimming pool result could be largely attributed to problems at Balclutha and Milton pools last year. Major refurbishments at both pools are planned over the next year or so, which should lead to an improvement in future rating levels.

A copy of the Resident Survey report is available on our website by clicking here.

Online Community Directory

The Community Directory lists about 300 groups, committees, sports teams, and associations from throughout the district.

If the contact details of your sports club or community organisation have recently changed, please email your updated details to jamie.shaw@cluthadc.govt.nz so we can keep the online Community Directory up-to-date.

The Community Directory can be viewed on our website by clicking here.

Upcoming Meetings

Don’t forget to check out the Events page on the district www.cluthacountry.co.nz website for a comprehensive list of upcoming community events.

Clutha District Council

1 Rosebank Terrace

Po Box 25,Balclutha

(03) 419 0200

www.cluthadc.govt.nz