Glenvar Rd update – AT Board have heardus and have approved the business case!
You’ll remember that this project was deferred as part of Auckland Council’s Emergency Budget despite strong opposition from the Local Board and nearly 1,000 locals.
On 1 December, I went to the AT Board meeting to see our local MP Erica Stanford present on the urgency and priority that must be given to this project as soon as funding becomes available. Following that meeting we’ve found out that AT Board have approved the business case for the project, so $500,000 has now be allocated for the initial design work – a great win! This project will also need to again be included in the upcoming Regional Land Transport Plan, but this is a really positive sign that it will be included. We just need to make sure that it is the number 1 priority project for funding so shovels can hit the ground 2022/23 as planned.
In November our Local Board advocated to the Mayor and Councillors that AT needed to be adequately funded so that safety upgrades like Glenvar Rd can be completed with the urgency it deserves.
Council’s Long-Term Budget – what it’s looking like
Council have been working on developing the next long-term budget for 2021-2031. It’s a 10 year planning document but it gets refreshed every 3 years. This will be a particularly important one given the financial deficit Council faces (expecting a $1 billion loss in revenue over 4 years).
The Mayor released his proposal for the budget yesterday afternoon. As part of that, he is proposing that we should retain the 3.5% rate increase, but have a one-off increase in the average general rates for the next financial year of 5% (before returning to 3.5% from the following year onwards). The cost of the one-off increase represents approximately $36 a year on a residential property valued at $1 million, in addition to the currently planned increase of 3.5 per cent.
He’s indicated that this rate rise, raising the borrowing threshold, as well as cost-cutting measures will allow them to put as much as $550 million into transport projects in the first 3 years (so projects like Glenvar Rd, which he specifically names, can continue).
I’ll be spending the next couple of days digesting the budget proposal. The key thing from my perspective will be ensuring that key projects and services continue to be funded and cuts to spending are in appropriate places. I’ll post the links ASAP. You’ll be able to have your say on the next budget from 15 February 2021 – I’ll keep you posted along the way and as always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Ramsgate Tce proposals – locals say no to AT
The community were loud and clear at Auckland Transport’s drop-in consultation last month. There was very little support for an afternoon peak-hour bus lane and mixed views on proposals for a pedestrian crossing on Ramsgate Tce. Thank you to all of you who submitted your feedback online or in person. The Hibiscus and Bays Local Board will get the summary of feedback and we will provide our own feedback to AT. The previous Board had wanted AT to investigate formalising the existing crossing point with their community safety fund. However, this proposal with a bus lane came as a surprise to us, so better communication and heads up need to be worked into their processes.
We’re getting the summary of feedback this week and will formulate our feedback to AT in the coming week or so.
Installing a rainwater tank to become easier
Changes are underway to the Auckland Unitary Plan that will more easily enable people to install a rainwater tank without the need for a resource consent. This follows the announcement back in June that consent fees have been scrapped.
Using rainwater rather than reticulated water comes with a price incentive of lower water supply charges and volumetric wastewater charges. Our Local Board has given extensive feedback on the Plan change and have pushed for further water resilience initiatives and a targeted plan for uptake of tanks.
Our local students are tackling the big issues…
I had a lot of fun being interviewed by some very bright students from Northcross Intermediate who were doing a project on sustainability. We talked a lot about the problem of plastics in the environment, what the worst types of waste were, what Council are doing about the problem, and whether or not society can drive change. This is a big passion area for me, especially as the northern representative on the Waste Political Reference Group. Northcross Intermediate has a wonderful environmental focus and students have access to some awesome hands on projects (they look after the bush reserve next to the school and this year some students learned how to germinate kowhai seedlings!).
Banana palms flourishing in Waitoki thanks to food waste
In November I had the pleasure of spending the day at the City to Farm composting farm in Waitoki. This operation is run by Hibiscus Coast Zero Waste. In about 2 years, they’ve diverted over 40 tonnes of food waste from landfill to compost and improve soil quality at a farm in Waitoki.
The scheme picks up food waste from businesses and schools (including Northcross Intermediate) each week for a small cost, which is then composted and put into swales on the Waitoki farm. The growth of food (and especially hungry banana palms) is quite remarkable. The soil quality and reduction in water run off at the farm has improved substantially as a result – to witness this first hand was eye-opening.
The research that has gone into this project is phenomenal and the volunteers have a wealth of knowledge about best practices and ensuring that there is no smell from the swales.
Right now, the City to Farm operation is eager to get more buy-in from commercial food waste producers. There is a lack of incentive for businesses to pay a small amount extra for their food waste to be removed as the current waste collection system charges on volume, not weight so businesses find it cheaper to send it all off to landfill in one go.
When food waste is sent to landfill, it doesn’t just decompose there, it mixes with all the other waste and produces methane and contributes to leachates. It’s estimated that about half of what Aucklanders send to landfill could be composted instead.
Our very own Northcross Intermediate is part of this scheme and City to Farm pick up food waste weekly from the school.
It’s now been a year since I was elected as a Local Board member. In lieu of my monthly report for October, I’ve done a short video to share an overview of year one.
Next month I’ll be doing a video update covering the year that’s been. Here’s a little overview of what happened in September.
Waiake pontoon in place
The kayak launching pontoon down at Waiake is now complete. This is a Local Board funded initiative and will provide people with greater access to the estuary. This is a great example where a vision started with the local community and they worked with the Local Board to feed into their work programme planning.
Photo by Bill Ellis
The Deep Creek Restoration Society volunteers are hard at work with regular planting and weeding working bees. To get involved, contact Brian Mooney at bmooney@maxnet.co.nz or follow their Facebook page ‘Restore Deep Creek’.
Update: Glenvar/ East Coast Roads upgrade
Auckland Transport has set aside $500,000 from their ‘Pipeline’ fund to start detailed design in 2021. This hinges on the Business Case being approved, which is still in review. Funding for the project will need to be confirmed in the 2021-2031 Regional Land Transport Plan in June 2021.
I drafted and moved a resolution at our Board’s business meeting that our Board go and address the Auckland Transport Board will be supporting the urgency and high need for this upgrade project at the Auckland Transport Board meeting in October. We were pencilled in to attend, but they are trying to sideline us for a phone call instead. I’ve drafted a response letter to go back to them insisting that we speak in front of the AT Board about the urgency that this project must be given as soon as money is available. It is unheard of for AT to decline a Local Board speaking rights at their meetings. I’m not letting this go!
24-7 Youthwork – supporting our young people
Long Bay Baptist Church has partnered with Long Bay College to supply youth workers as part of the 24-7 Youthwork programme. The team of three have provided 30 hours per week of youth-work in the school since early 2019.
24-7 Youthwork emerged in the 1990s in the youth arm of a Christchurch church to provide support for youth at Riccarton High School. Now 24-7 Youthwork provides 175 youth workers in over 71 schools nationwide.
The team at Long Bay College support the school by offering students a listening ear, providing mentoring services, and encouraging leadership development. They focus on student wellbeing and strengthening students with the tools required to work through any concerns.
The Hibiscus and Bays Local Board has supported this 24-7 Youthwork programme in the last two financial years with a total of $20,000 going towards the wages of the youth workers at Long Bay College, providing vital support in promoting the health and wellbeing of our local young people.
Ramsgate Tce – consultation extended
Many of you have already given feedback on Auckland Transport’s (AT) proposals for Ramsgate Terrace which included a signalised pedestrian crossing and a northbound bus lane (operating weekdays, 4 pm – 7 pm).
On our request, the consultation will remain open until the public drop-in session can be held. When COVID-10 restrictions drop to level 1, AT will reschedule the session to discuss the proposals with locals. To read the proposals and give feedback, search ‘Ramsgate’ at www.at.govt.nz
Graffiti rates are dropping
Auckland Council’s Graffiti Vandalism Prevention Programme started in 2013 and has resulted in a noticeable reduction in the number of graffiti incidents and requests for service in the Bays. Recently we’ve seen a 55% decrease in graffiti (from Jan-June 2020, compared to the same period in 2019). Incident rates were nearly halved earlier in the year even before lockdown.
The success comes down to a consistent approach to responding promptly to remove graffiti as well as proactive measures (such as partnering with Vector to beautify their publicly visible assets with artwork).
Spring-time in the Bays
Lots of our volunteer groups have been busy weeding and planting. If you are interested in getting involved with a local group who are doing fantastic work in your local community, get in touch with Restore Hibiscus and Bays and they will connect you.
This month I gave a hand to the group in Browns Bay who are doing some beautiful work along side the Taiaotaea Stream, as well as Restore Deep Creek.
Our work programmes were approved at our last Board Meeting. Have a read of the agenda for the full list and description of projects coming up (these are in various stages – some at planning/concept design and others near completion of physical works). Some highlights include:
Long Bay / Okura / Torbay / Waiake
Awaruku Reserve – renewal of pathways and walkways. Location for Kauri dieback programme.
Emlyn Place – retaining wall and some track and signage renewals. Location for Kauri dieback programme.
Okura playground – installation of a new play equipment piece (a supernova).
Waiake Beach Reserve – seawall renewal and upgrade of assets such as seating and bins. Kayak Launching pontoon being constructed right now. Basket swing installed at playground.
Weiti-Wild-Link (Weiti River Restoration Project).
Browns Bay
Bayside Drive – renewal of play equipment.
Browns Bay Beach Reserve – replacement of boardwalk and renew play space. Sun Smart initiative programme this summer. Installation of park fitness equipment. A small upgrade to the toilet block. Some renewals to park furniture.
Bushglen Reserve – implement the concept plan.
East Coast Bays Leisure Centre – reconfiguration of front of house and new bathroom flooring.
East Coast Bays Library – detailed designs starting this year for a renewal. Renew carpark at Village Green.
Freyberg Park – demolish and rebuild main park building, replacement of pedestrian bridge and boardwalk. Install a half basketball court
Sherwood Reserve – renew footbridges and lighting
Trash Free Taiaotea – Browns Bay waste minimisation initiative
Woodridge Reserve – renew play space equipment
Murrays Bay / Mairangi Bay / Campbells Bay
Centennial Park – improved pathway network.
Mairangi Bay Arts Centre – renew the carpark.
Mairangi Bay Reserve – implement development plan.
Outram Hall – replace walkway and paving.
Other
Development of a dog exercise park – location TBC.
EcoNeighbourhoods – six groups across the Bays and Hibiscus Coast will be established.
Pump track (for bikes/scooters) (this is something I asked for – Panuku has a pop-up one that they shift around neighbourhoods for children to enjoy and for events – they are fantastic!)
Waste minimisation ‘sorting’ bins installed in some locations.
Year two of sediment related water quality testing.
Zero Waste Kindergarten project.
An example of a pop-up pump track that we will be investigating.
North Shore misses out on NZTA fund
Earlier this year Auckland Council and Auckland Transport (AT) submitted a package of projects for the Innovating Streets for People Fund (ISPF), funded by NZTA Waka Kotahi. This is a fund to create some people-friendly spaces (pilots, pop-ups and interim projects) that are low-cost, can be rolled out rapidly, but that also demonstrate a pathway to permanency should they be successful.
We put forward a project in the Browns Bay Centre Plan, where retractable bollards are placed in Inverness Road. This means that for events in the Village Green (e.g. Cairo to Capetown festival), the lower part of Inverness Rd could be closed off with ease (and without the enormous costs associated with road closures and traffic management plans). It also provides a great opportunity to have some high-quality markets which could draw in visitors and support the local businesses. It fitted perfectly – low cost, can be rolled out easily, great to test for permanency, and supports community spaces and local economy. It was rated highly as a suggested project and then we got the news on Friday that it was turned down. There are 8 projects funded in Auckland – and guess what? None are north of the bridge.
This isn’t the end though – we’ve got a couple of other options to explore for this particular project and to get some good things done for our area. Watch this space.
We can’t even get the Glenvar Road upgrade funded… but there’s a walking/cycling route over the bridge going ahead
Last week NZTA put out a press release to say they’ve selected alliance partners for the Northern Pathway Project (walking and cycling route over the bridge). They’re finalising designs and preparing the 3-year long construction to begin in 2021. The government is putting in $360 million towards this first section (eventually it will connect to Albany).
I’m not entirely against this project- it’s certainly a ‘nice to have’. Is it the appropriate time to be doing it? Absolutely not. We can’t even get AT and Council to commit (again) to funding a basic safety upgrade to the pothole-ridden Glenvar Road where people take their lives in their hands at the East Coast Road intersection – and meanwhile, we’re getting a walking route over the bridge. It’s unbelievable.
If it’s a requirement for cars to be road-worthy, shouldn’t it be a requirement that roads are car-worthy?
At the time of writing, the Single Stage Business Case is still being reviewed and progress on the project is on hold until available budgets are confirmed for 2020/21.
At our last Board meeting, I put forward a resolution seeking to get on the agenda of the October AT Board meeting. We’re pencilled in to attend. We’re continuing to fight for Glenvar Road to be upgraded and for the safety of our community.
For those of you in the Mairangi Bay community, you would have probably heard about the proposals AT put forward for Ramsgate Terrace. They’re proposing a pedestrian crossing (which I agree with) which was raised with the Local board last term. They’ve added on other work though including a bus lane which would operate in peak afternoon hours to save a whopping 180 seconds (I am not even joking). It removes 9 car parks and 7 more when it is operating as a bus lane. Mairangi Bay is a nightmare for parking in summer and/or when there are events on at the Mairangi Arts Centre or Bowling Club. This would be a significant loss of car parking and a hit for local businesses.
I have to applaud AT for trying to future proof work – I suppose they were thinking that if they are coming in to do some work (pedestrian crossing) that they may as well do some upgrades that will be required in the future. Feedback from the community I’ve heard already is anti the bus lane which misses the mark – particularly at a time when rates have gone up and Council is in financial turmoil, a project proposal like this does not give the community any faith in AT’s priorities.
We moved a resolution from Julia Parfitt last Business meeting that the consultation is extended to allow for a drop-in community consultation with AT (as they had planned before we went into lockdown again).
I’ve also requested AT brief us with the consultation summary and answer our questions. In the meantime though, the consultation is open until further notice, so have a look and let AT know what you like or don’t like about the proposals.
Review of Council-Controlled Organisations (CCOs) – time for the governing body to stop playing the blame game
Earlier this year the Mayor established an Independent Panel to review five CCO’s (e.g. Watercare, Auckland Transport). The ‘Supercity’ has been in place for a decade now so it is very timely that a review is underway. The Panel published its findings and has given 64 recommendations. Julia and I penned the Local Board’s feedback on this review back in March and I again penned last-minute feedback from our Board members on the proposed recommendations.
The recommendations centre on creating leaner agencies that are more responsive to communities, have clearer mandates, and greater accountability and strategic direction. We had quite a bit to say on various recommendations (supporting or providing some feedback to enhance or add more to them), but overwhelmingly I was gobsmacked with them. I was stunned to learn that standard good-governance practices were not taking place already. Here is a small selection (in order of ridiculousness) of some recommendations in the report that are the best ‘how-was-that-not-happening-already’ moments:
51. CCO chief and senior executives’ job descriptions include requirements about collaborating with the council, following council directions and meeting council expectations.
49. The quarterly meetings of council and CCO executive leadership teams have a formal agenda.
22. The council prepares a statement of expectation setting out its expectations of each CCO and of CCOs generally (this is long-standing, standard practice in central government)
47. CCO chief executives establish a group, led by the council’s chief executive, that meets monthly to deal with any common or significant problems, risks or developments.
4. AT and the Council jointly prepare the Regional Land Transport Plan.
15. The Council formulates a three-waters strategy (for background here- some local authorities are integrating their water, wastewater and stormwater services (AKA a three-waters strategy). Watercare is responsible for two of the services, and Healthy Waters is responsible for the third. Council had advice in 2018 from a commissioned Martin Jenkins report that the three-waters strategy should be developed. Auckland Council still hasn’t completed a strategy. There are a host of benefits from such integration – lower water charges, more competitively priced supplier contracts, improved all-round efficiency, less street disruption during upgrade work and better customer experience).
33. The council exercises its statutory powers under section 92 of the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009 if it has any concerns that a CCO is not acting consistently with any strategy. (This should have been happening many times. If the Governing Body is concerned about a project or the performance of a CCO, this is the avenue. Sounds like it is rarely used.)
It’s easy to play the blame game (and a lot of Councillor’s do) with CCO’s – just look at the treatment of AT any time a project hits the headlines, or even the blame game that’s been happening with Watercare and its departed CEO. The performance of CCO’s is not just on them – it’s Council’s responsibility to set their strategy and ensure that they’re performing. The Panel picked this point up well and criticised the Governing Body for not exerting sufficient oversight or strategic direction. If you ever see or read a Councillor hammering into a CCO for poor performance, ask them questions about when this was alerted to them and what actions they’ve taken – because they should have regular oversight and regular reporting to intervene early if something is not right.
Regional Facilities Auckland to go, but the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Board still exists?
Back to the CCO recommendations though. One proposal is to merge Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA) with Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development which could save up to $6.7 million a year. There’s a lot of double up, and with the disappearance of a tourist industry, a reshuffle is in order.
What does RFA do? They look after the art gallery, Auckland Live (arts and entertainment and all the big venues), stadiums, the zoo, and the maritime museum. When the ‘Supercity’ formed, RFA was established as a CCO to act as the interface with the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Board (ARAFAB).
ARAFB is the real clincher in all of this though. Before the ‘supercity’, all the amenities serving the Auckland region (e.g. Stardome, NZ Opera, Surf Life Saving Northern Region) would have to front up to every district council around Auckland begging for money. This was really challenging as lots of district councils didn’t want to give them much. So in 2008, a piece of legislation was passed (the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Act) which essentially forced all the city councils in the Auckland region to fund these amenities who were struggling for money and serving ratepayers from the whole region.
But two years later, the ‘Supercity’ was formed which combined all the district councils in the Auckland region. The amenities only have one Council in Auckland to go to now to seek funding from, removing the need entirely for the ARAFB and for the legislation that enables it. All the ARAFB does now is act as the middle-man moving money from Council to the amenities. They meet to hear from amenities how much they require for running costs, and then they resolve to seek an amount from Council.
There are ten members on the ARAFB who reportedly get paid between $16,000 – $30,000 each per annum. What a colossal waste of ratepayers money.
During July, the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board have been consulting on our Local Board Plan (LBP). This is our strategic 3-year plan that sets the key initiatives and outcome areas we will focus on.
The Hibiscus and Bays LBP was developed on the ideas and feedback from an initial round of community consultation. Now that we have the draft, we are going back to the community to check that we have got it right.
We held two drop-in consultations at Whangaparaoa and East Coast Bays Libraries, as well as a Youth Webinar. The East Coast Bays Library session also involved a sit-down discussion with the Browns Bay Chinese Association and an organisation based in Windsor Park that supports new Chinese immigrants settling in the East Coast Bays. It was interesting to hear what they wanted to see more of. One suggestion was wanting the Local Board to provide greater information about the history of the area. They are also very eager to learn more about Maori culture and history here in this area. Julia Parfitt is connecting them with Te Herenga Waka o Orewa Marae and I’ve linked them up with Sir Peter Blake MERC in hopes that there might be some opportunities to collaborate.
Mairangi Bay – proposals for Ramsgate Tce getting flak
Auckland Transport is asking for feedback on some big changes for Ramsgate Tce in Mairangi Bay. The proposals are causing quite a bit of backlash from the local community already, so I’ve asked for more background information and an urgent briefing for the Local Board.
The proposed changes include:
A northbound bus lane operating 4 pm – 7 pm weekdays (175m long outside 18 Ramsgate Tce)
Changes to bus stops and shelters, these directly affect properties at 3 (Countdown), 6, 7 and 12 Ramsgate Tce.
A new signalised pedestrian crossing (outside 7 Ramsgate Tce).
The footpath heading down the hill between 8 and 10 Ramsgate Tce is being resurfaced and widened. The steps down the same hill are being removed.
Removal of on-street parking at various locations and during the operation of the bus lane (9 permanent and 7 unavailable during the operating hours of the bus lane).
As far as I’m aware, the need for a pedestrian crossing was what spurred the rest of this work to come about. Ramsgate Tce can be very busy at peak times, and this proposed crossing would provide a safe crossing location, when activated by a pedestrian. The rest of the proposals appear to be ‘future proofing’ – they’re attempt to carry out work that may need to be done in the future while they’re there putting a crossing point in. Can’t blame them for trying to be responsible, but equally, I’m not sure residents and businesses are willing to lose car parks for it.
There is also a public drop-in session at the Mairangi Bay Bowling Club, 19 August 5-8 pm. I’ll be at this.
Local Board input into the Emergency Budget
Earlier in July, the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board workshopped our feedback to the Governing Body on the Emergency Budget. This was formalised at our 9 July Business Meeting. It was a hefty amount of feedback on various issues. The full feedback we gave is in the minutes.
Some notable feedback we gave:
– Our Local Board, and all other 20 Local Boards, supported a 3.5% rate increase. Whilst Local Boards do not make decisions like this, we were asked to provide feedback to the Governing Body who do. At our meeting, a division was called for and there were 6 members for and 0 against our resolutions. In our Local Board area, 80% of respondents to the budget consultation supported an increase of 2.5% or higher. I appreciate that for some of you, the support we gave for an increase of 3.5% will be disappointing and not what you may have wanted. Personally, it was a bit gut-wrenching in some respects, but it was clear to me that the best outcome for our community was for a 3.5% increase. Even with this increase, we will still see most projects deferred and savings activity will still mean some disappointing cuts to services in our community and region. A 2.5% increase would have seen devastating cuts to services that would have been inconceivable. The types of cuts we would have had, would have been damaging to the well-being of our community and would have had detrimental environmental effects. I very carefully weighed up the consequences of an increase for ratepayers, and the outcomes of supporting a smaller increase. The outcomes of anything less than 3.5% were not in the overall best interest of our community and environment. I know it may not have been the ‘popular’ decision to make, but I am fully confident, that with the information provided, it was the right thing to do given the circumstances. I think the general feeling among ratepayers, and what I hear a lot of, is that they resent paying more when they aren’t seeing any value from the rates they pay. I empathise with this view, but in my view, it is a much wider organisational problem to tackle than the immediate financial problem at hand the Emergency Budget was dealing with.
– Do not support the proposal that Glenvar Road/ East Coast Road intersection and corridor improvements should be delayed. This is an essential, long-awaited safety upgrade that must proceed as planned.
– Don’t support the closure of either Henderson or Silverdale Animal Shelters as it will likely result in increased costs. (As far as I’m aware, this was a success- neither are closing).
– Strong opposition to any proposals to defer funding in the environment space (e.g. pest eradiation, reduction in compliance staff, delay of planned track upgrades, deferral of Water Protection Fund grant and Natural Environmental Heritage grant) as it would have a detrimental effect on the environment, wildlife and wellbeing.
– Do not support the deferral of the Recreation Facilities Investment Fund – a key leveraging fud for sports groups to gain additional external funding.
– Don’t support reductions in public transport service levels (where analysis and investigation haven’t been undertaken to identify appropriate, necessary reductions) or charging for Park and Ride facilities.
– Supported the need for additional spending by Watercare.
The Emergency Budget strikes a tough balance – it deals with a nearly half-billion income shortfall while meeting an additional unbudgeted capital investment of $224 million to bring forward water infrastructure projects to deal with the worst drought we have ever faced. Council have cleaned out jobs – over a thousand will be disestablished and non-essential spending has been slashed. About $240 million worth of ‘surplus’ properties and non-strategic assets are going to be sold too. This, all whilst still undertaking some critical upgrades to keep our city running, people employed, and some certainty to the construction sector to support economic recovery.
Open now: Hibiscus and Bays Local Board GrantRound One
Grant Round One is now open for the Hibiscus and Bays Local Grant. Applications are open until 21 August. Our Local Grants are for sums between $2,000 – $10,000.
Grants help groups and organisations to provide activities, projects, programmes, initiatives and events that make a positive contribution to the community within the local board area.
Stage one water restrictions remain in place. We’re continuing to experience low rainfall this winter after the driest summer on record.
Hunua rainfall
Watercare is working on pushing water treatment up from 165 to 175 million litres a day at the Waikato Water Treatment Plant. The first of two connections from the reservoir to the existing water supply network was completed in July. While the second connection is being made, the 50-million litre reservoir will be filled and the commissioning process can then begin. Construction on this project was delayed by appeals to the Environment Court, which set Watercare back about a year and resulted in additional conditions affecting things like the working hours of heavy machinery.
Demolition of the old Papakura Water Treatment Plant is almost complete and makes way for the construction of the new treatment plant, which will treat water from Hays Creek Dam. It should be up and running before Christmas treating up to 6 million litres a day.
Watercare is at work on its network improvement programme, which includes proactive leak detection. An important part of their role now that we know they’re losing around 70 million litres a day through leaks and poor infrastructure. They use acoustic methods to find leaks that are not visible on the surface and therefore go unreported. They’re planning to run leak detection on 6000 kilometres of piped by this time next year.
Earlier this month I had a few people contacting me about the ECB Leisure Centre – classes were being stripped back, and their sports leagues and school holiday programmes were going to be canned for the foreseeable future. I sat down with the Manager to hear more about what had been going on, and it was quite shocking.
What I assume was a panicked financial decision, Council directed that casual staff couldn’t be used. For the ECB (and many other leisure centres) this meant that they couldn’t use 70% of their staff! Casual staff are essential for them – they’re the group fitness trainers, the referees for school basketball tournaments etc. Leisure Centres were also directed to make cuts to their group fitness classes. The Council were cutting off the ability for the Centre to earn money through its biggest income earners – the money they make through sports leagues and group fitness classes far outweighs the cost of casual staff needed to run them. These blanket decisions were crippling them.
The extent of the situation and the impact to staff, leisure centre users and the creche, was shocking. They could barely keep the doors open with just 5 staff running the show (in fact the doors would have shut if it wasn’t for the staff and Manager going above and beyond working overtime for free), children and adult sports leagues couldn’t run and school holiday programmes (which are Out of School Care and Recreation (OSCAR) accredited, so low-income families can afford school holiday care) was going to be cancelled, leaving families in the lurch.
I took these, and other serious concerns to the relevant Council staff and raised it with our Board. There seem to be some changes afoot and I’m so pleased to see that some group fitness classes have returned and the school holiday programme is going to be running for July school holidays.
I’m still waiting on answers – as far as I’m aware the sports leagues still aren’t running due to the cuts to staff. I want to ensure that the wonderful, hard-working staff at the ECB Leisure Centre (and other centres) are supported appropriately and our school children can get back to playing after school sport games like basketball and netball.
Council’s Emergency Budget: Board gets another chance to submit feedback
During June, Auckland Council consulted on its Emergency Budget. Thank you to all of you who submitted your feedback and those who gave specific feedback about the proposal to defer the realignment and upgrade of Glenvar Rd. The last figures I saw were that 27,000 Aucklanders had provided feedback on the Emergency Budget. I’m looking forward to seeing how many people gave feedback fighting for Glenvar Rd to be back on Auckland Transport’s books – I suspect it will significant!
Our Board will get another chance to submit feedback to the Emergency Budget in mid-July. Please get in touch with me with any feedback or concerns you have – alexis.poppelbaum@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
#GreenLightGlenvar with fellow Board member Gary Holmes and local MP Erica Stanford.
We’ve cut catering
Our Workshop meetings (held every second Thursday for 5 hours) has a light lunch provided for Board members. It’s never sat right with me – it’s unnecessary and we are not incapable of bringing our own lunch from home or purchasing it! I asked our staff to stop providing lunch at these meetings, and this has now been implemented with the support of the other members. There’s nothing special about Local Board members and no reason at all why we would require a light lunch to be provided.
Auckland’s water crisis: an update
We’re facing the worst drought in our history. Our lakes are currently only 44% full when they would normally be at 78%. Don’t be fooled by a bit of rain we’ve had the last few days – it’s not enough to make a significant difference from months and months of next to no rain.
The drought it so bad that it’s exposed an old rail tunnel that is usually submerged at the Lower Huia Dam (photo credit: Simon Runting).
Meteorologists are still predicting a drier than usual winter and spring, so we need to be preparing for what could be a critical shortage of water this summer.
Here’s another terrifying fact – we’re losing about 70 million litres of treated water PER DAY from leaks poorly maintained infrastructure – that’s about 15-17% of Auckland’s daily water usage. I’m waiting with bated breath for the outcomes of the recent CCO Review as well as Council’s water strategy which is under development.
Extra water being pulled from the Waikato River
In June, Council used its emergency powers under the Resource Management Act (1991) to take an extra 15 million litres of water per day from the Waikato River. Steps are also being taken to utilise additional water sources such as the Hays Creek dam (supply of potable water) and the use of a bore and new reservoir in Pukekohe.
The problem with the Waikato water is that it is much more expensive to treat and supply. Unlike the Waitakere and Hunua ranges that produce water that only needs sand filtration and disinfection, the water we’re getting from the Waikato contains organochlorine pesticide farm chemicals and microbial contaminants. This includes cryptosporidium from dairy herd sewage which requires high-tech treatment. (Source: Joel Cayford, Council’s water shortage response ‘dictatorial’. NZHerald, 24/06/2020)
Watercare has been maximising production at its Waikato Treatment Plant over the past 12 months. The current resource consent allows it to treat up to 150 million litres a day year-round, and 175 million litres a day between 1 May and 30 Oct when the river is above median flows. Construction works associated with the Waikato Water Treatment Plant upgrade will enable the treatment of up to 175 million litres a day once completed in August.
Resource consent fees for rainwater tanks scrapped
Hallelujah – a common-sense decision has been made by Council to scrap resource consent fees for residential rainwater tanks. The numbers are staggering – if just 1% of households used a rainwater tank in the winter seasons to cover their entire non-potable requirements, this would lead to about 1 million litres per day of water over winter being served by rain tanks instead of dams.
“Rainwater tanks don’t just retain a supply of water for toilet flushing, laundry use and outside taps, they also detain rainfall during extreme rainfall events to alleviate flooding. Using rainwater rather than reticulated water comes with a price incentive of lower water supply charges as well as lower volumetric wastewater charges. The financial benefits and environmental benefits combined with the streamlined process make installing a rainwater tank more attractive than ever”.
If you’re keen on learning more about rainwater tanks, check out the great Rainwater Tanks overview Auckland Council has.
I am interested to hear from people who: – aren’t on the network and have water tanks. How did you find the support available to you over the summer period? What could be done better in the future? – have installed rainwater tanks (either retention or detention). How you got on installing these and getting the appropriate consent, how they are working for you etc – are interested in putting in rainwater tanks, what barriers you might be facing and what incentives might work for you to act on this.
Email me at: alexis.poppelbaum@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Looking ahead
The good news is that Council is also looking at further measures to incentivise rainwater collection – such as removing consenting requirements for rain tanks in residential zones (via the Unitary Plan) and making water tanks a requirement for new developments. These are smart moves and I hope that they make decisions quickly – we need action now.
Please continue reducing your water use where you can and don’t be fooled by some rainfall – it’s not enough to put a dent in the severe drought we’re experiencing.
June Board meeting
A webcast of the June Board meeting is available. One interesting report we had was from Panuku who were seeking support for the proposed ‘Panuku Development Auckland and Auckland Transport Park and Ride Integrated Development strategy’, and its endorsement to utilise the Silverdale Park and Ride for integrated transport orientated redevelopment.
Panuku is the council-controlled organisation that delivers urban regeneration for the Council. They also manage properties owned by Panuku and the Council while they are not needed.
Apparently, several credible development companies have enquired with Panuku and AT about the prospect of partnering to progress opportunities. Panuku and AT have worked together to develop a framework to progress. The proposed strategy seeks to integrate transport service requirements at designated council-owned park and ride sites with mixed-use development. The focus is on the current park and ride sites which have the potential for the airspace above the site to be sold for development or another disposal component, while the underlying transport asset is retained in council ownership.
I have some very serious concerns about this and it would have to be quite a remarkable future proposal to warrant me supporting it. The support of this item by the Board is just a ‘support in principle’ and is by no means a commitment to anything. I supported it at this early stage because I am interested to see what options might be available for consideration. Better to have opportunities presented for consideration, than none at all.
Rates consultation – Let Council know where you stand
I mentioned in my last report that Council would be running a public consultation on a proposed 2.5% or 3.5% rates increase. The Council’s Emergency Budget consultation document is out now. It is certainly grim reading. It does outline some very useful information as to the full situation and likely impacts of the two proposed options. I hope you take the time to provide your feedback on this important consultation – 3,500 people did so in the first 4 days.
It only takes a couple of minutes to fill out the four-question survey (three are multi-choice!). As part of your feedback – please let Council know that the Glenvar/East Coast Roads realignment project can not be deferred (see below).
#GreenLightGlenvar – Tell Council that Glenvar Road realignment project MUST NOT be deferred!
In the supporting information for the Emergency Budget (pg 26), Auckland Transport’s capital programme is reduced to $700 million (under a 3.5% rates increase scenario). With the proposed reduction in capital investment, they are proposing to cut and pause some work – including deferring the Glenvar/ East Coast Roads realignment project.
This is NOT a project that can be deferred any longer. The state of Glenvar Road and its extremely dangerous intersection has been a major safety issue for 30 years. This is NOT a ‘nice to have’ project that can be put off, but rather a significant and very dangerous safety issue for all road users in the area. We can not wait several more years. Someone will be killed as a consequence of inaction.
Once again our local MP Erica Stanford will be championing this project, with Julia Parfitt, Gary Holmes and myself from the Local Board. Our community fought and won for this project to be on AT’s books before, and we will do it again together. I will let you know our plan and share the details ASAP. In the meantime, please respond to the Emergency Budget consultation now and let Council know this project MUST go ahead. There are four questions to the consultation feedback – please let them know your thoughts about the Glenvar Road project in the fourth question open text box.
Please share my FB post about this matter and get everyone you can to respond to the consultation #GreenLightGlenvar! For more information and text that you can copy and paste visit www.greenlightglenvar.co.nz. Here is text that you can copy and paste into question four of the consultation document if you wish:
Our community is calling on Auckland Council to re-prioritise the Glenvar Road project and commence work in 2021 as originally promised. The Glenvar Rd realignment project is an essential safety project to upgrade the most dangerous roads in the East Coast Bays. The upgrade and realignment of Glenvar Road has been due for decades. In recent years, the development at Long Bay has put a great deal of pressure on the road and made it even more dangerous. There are stories from hundreds of motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and residents about accidents, near misses and traffic chaos. This upgrade has never been a nice-to-have. It is an essential safety upgrade that has been put off for decades. Glenvar is NOT a project that can be deferred. This is an essential infrastructure project and an essential safety upgrade. We have waited decades for this and we can not wait any longer.
#GreenLightGlenvar
May Business meeting
The Hibiscus and Bays Local Board has a business meeting once a month – usually held in either Orewa or Browns Bay. We’re still holding these as Skype meetings for now, but the good thing is that the May meeting was recorded. Not all the items came up chronologically, so I’ve included the minute mark at which each item came up if you want to listen to a particular section to hear how the discussion went.
The real hot issues were the Notices of Motion (NOM), I’d highly recommend listening to those and the discussion and points raised around them.
You can see the full minutes here. The items for decision making to highlight were:
Item #
Item name
Recording minute
Outcome
8.1
Deputation: Sir Peter Blake Marine Education and Recreation Centre (MERC)
Deputation received and Caitlin Watson and Sam Mills thanked. We also requested that we receive an update on the Orewa Basketball Court and where the project sits within the Community Facilities renewal programme.
10.1
Notice of Motion: Member L Willis – Open Workshops for Hibiscus and Bays Local Board
Motion carried – 7 votes in favour, 1 against. Before the motion went to vote, an alternative amended motion was proposed by Julia Parfitt to hold two business meetings a month instead of 1 business meeting and 1 workshop. The benefit is that they are all public and two business meetings a month means as a Board we can be nimbler. This was lost – 4 votes in favour, 4 against (in these situations the Chair makes a casting vote, which he did against the motion).
10.2
Notice of Motion: Deputy Chairperson V Short – Rates Review
Motion carried. To exchange part of Sidmouth Reserve for part of 10 Sidmouth Street, owned by Watercare, to enable the upgrade of a critical wastewater asset).
Motion carried. The new road name is Ridgelea Road. I consulted with the Long Bay Residents’ Association and Okura community of which the majority supported this option.
16
Auckland Transport Update to the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board May 2020
Motion carried (we supported the submission of the Inverness Road Activation which is the creation of an urban village shared space project, and if confirmed we would contribute 10% of the funding).
18
Renewal of community lease to Sir Peter Blake Marine Education and Recreation Trust Board and Long Bay Beach Road Reserve
Motion carried (we noted that an urgent decision was made and approved under delegation by the Chair and Deputy Chair. The decision was to approve the name ‘Ngaru Way’).
Notices of Motion
What is a NOM?
Items can come before the Local Board in a few ways. One way is that a Member may give notice of a motion (NOM) they propose to move at a meeting. The mover must sign the notice, stating at which meeting they want it to be considered. It must be seconded by another member. Then that notice must be delivered to the chief executive of Auckland Council at least five working days before the meeting.
Usually, NOM’s are reserved for urgent matters but unfortunately, sometimes they can be used by members for ulterior motives or not in the spirit of collegiality. Both NOMs were ‘out of the blue’ and the movers, unfortunately, didn’t give all the members a heads up before or after they were lodged. Edit: I have been told that the open workshops NOM was alerted to our Chair, but this did not filter to the Board as a whole.
NOM – open workshops
As a result of a NOM, our Local Board workshops are now public. This is a great move and our Local Board is now leading the charge as one of the two Local Boards to do so (there are 21 in total). Under the legislation, workshops are not ‘official’ meetings so are not subject to the same legal requirements of Board Business Meetings. Our workshops are usually 4 to 5 hour meetings every other week where we have Council staff come and present on a range of matters such as key projects. These are quite useful meetings to discuss and debate matters before matters come to a business meeting.
Now that these will be open to the public, some of the items will be of a confidential matter, or at an early stage – so staff will give guidance to our Chairman who will make the call each time on what items will need to be discussed in a confidential part of workshops. I’ll keep you updated with information on the recordings of these workshops and how you can attend them in person.
Before we went to vote on this NOM, a proposed amendment was raised by Julia Parfitt to essentially get rid of workshops all together and turn them into Business meetings. That way we would have two business meetings a month. The benefit being that we could be far nimbler in decision making. I preferred this option, but the vote was split and it was voted down by our Chair using his casting vote. You can start watching/listening to this NOM from 03:43:00.
I spoke quite strongly about this NOM – I was saddened about the way it had come about with no discussion as a Board together. The issue of public participation and transparency of our Board is a much broader problem and policy question that needs to be answered. Don’t be fooled. Simply opening up workshops doesn’t address the problem at all. This is essentially a populist move (that I voted for in the end!) to appear more ‘open and transparent’ but does very little to actually address these bigger, more fundamental problems. No members of the public have ever come to our public business meetings in Orewa, and only one diligent Browns Bay couple sometimes come to our Browns Bay business meetings.
NOM – rates
The other NOM had 6 out of 8 people turn it down. Put simply – Local Board’s do not set rates and levies. Aside from that, at the time of the NOM, we also did not have the full extent of information of Council’s economic situation and what the resulting impacts would be so it wasn’t even a matter we could even discuss with good information at hand.
COVID-19 have left many in our community without employment, or their incomes reduced. It is and will continue to be a very stressful time for so many. I am glad that Council immediately offered rates postponements to people suffering as a result of COVID-19 and I’m also pleased to see the consultation proposing more support. It is a challenging situation and always ends up with the broader concern that our community seems to have an inherent lack of distrust in the Council’s spending and priorities.
No one wins out of Council’s Emergency Budget – Council doesn’t; those employed by Council or the workers contracted to complete projects don’t; Local Board’s don’t; and we as ratepayers don’t – especially those facing hard times right now. Important projects will be deferred and bigger and necessary infrastructure won’t see the light of day for years and years (here’s looking at our dire water shortage and wastewater infrastructure problems).
Grants for local community groups and organisations
Our May Board meeting took 5.5 hours (2.5 hours overtime) largely due to the length of time and deliberations over allocating grant budgets.
There were three different types we looked at – Facilities Grants, and Local Grants. Local Grants also include Multi-Board Grants, where applicants seek funding from more than one Local Board. You can imagine, given the current climate, how many groups in our community were seeking various types of support. I lobbied hard for a fairer deal for very worthy Bays groups where funding was suggested as a lower or nil amount (e.g. Friends of Okura Bush and the Mairangi Bay Tennis Club).
The process for deliberating and decision-making on each application is quite poor and I have serious concerns about how fairly applications are treated. I’ve outlined these issues in detail to our Local Board staff and have made some recommendations on how the process can be improved – one major suggestion is actually based on some very loose tools that used as a Policy Analyst at PHARMAC. I’m committed to ensuring a fairer process and fairer treatment for our community groups and organisations.
In brief
301 Beach Road, Campbells Bay: Auckland Transport is proposing to upgrade the pedestrian crossing to a Swedish-style raised zebra crossing. This crossing will be raised to a platform level with the footpath and is expected to improve safety by slowing high traffic speeds on the approach to the crossing. A Swedish table has only one sharp ramp and a gentler exit which gives a smoother ride for vehicles and passengers. Have your say by 17 June.
On behalf of our Board, I’ve raised my hand again to complete a little piece of work – investigating the statement of proposal on the proposed amendments to the Alcohol Control Bylaw (2014). The feedback will be a short bullet point list that will highlight the local concerns for our community. If you have any comments on this Bylaw at all, please get in touch with me ASAP – alexis.poppelbaum@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Earlier this month I visited some homeowners on Glenvar Road who share a driveway. They had some concerns regarding a new retaining wall put up by a developer alongside their driveway. We discussed some of the issues, with a Council staff member present. It’s always helpful to visit and speak to people on site so I always make the effort to do so. You’re welcome to get in touch with me over any Council related concerns you have. The owners also noted some safety concerns regarding Glenvar Road, so I’ve booked in Auckland Transport’s traffic engineers to visit their address and undertake a survey.
Make Browns Bay Great Again! At the end of May I organised a walk-over around Browns Bay township with senior Auckland Transport staff, a representative from Auckland Council Community Facilities and the Browns Bay Business Association Manager Kim Murdoch. We discussed and looked over areas of concern in the cleanliness and upkeep of the town (gardens, rubbish bins, street furniture, paving, lighting etc). Some of these things (such as street furniture) are the responsibility of AT and others (e.g. planting and cleaning) are Auckland Council. There are some action points coming out of this and i’ll update you with more when I can – there are some great ideas to progress to ‘Make Browns Bay Great Again’ #MBBA 🙂
At the end of May Aucklanders will be asked to have their say on the Council’s emergency budget. This emergency budget is the Council’s response to the financial impacts of COVID-19.
Many of the sources of revenue Council relies upon to fund services has been reduced substantially because of COVID-19 (e.g. transport fares, consent fees, fuel taxes, event revenue, airport dividends). These types of revenue sources make up 60% of the Council’s income, with the other 40% coming from rates.
The consultation will seek feedback on a proposed 2.5% or 3.5% rates increase. Auckland Council were already planning on a 3.5% increase prior to COVID-19. The document will outline the impacts of what a 0% and 3.5% rates increase would look like – but 0% won’t be an option that they will be proposing. I know that this will disappoint some of you who have made contact with me about this. The consultation will also seek feedback on measures aimed at offering support to all ratepayers, including businesses, facing hardship due to the impacts of COVID-19. In the interim, there are a few measures in place already to immediately offer support to those experiencing financial hardship.
Revenue and borrowing impact of differing levels of rates rises. Copy of table supplied to Stuff.co.nz.
The consultation will run for 3 weeks and I will post it on social media when it is live. Local Board input will happen mid-July and the final annual budget document will be adopted end of July. We will also be placing in some feedback, earlier in the process, this week.
My main concern (and was prior to COVID-19) is that Council was in a terrible position to start with being up to their debt ceiling, having made the decision to borrow heavily for capital projects rather than increase rates or charges. Borrowing to invest in much needed infrastructure is one thing – but to the levels they did is madness. With a significant loss of income and existing large debt, they are in a poor position. My key focus is to lobby for financial policy changes so that the debt-to-revenue limit is lowered. Of course, I would like to see a 0% increase like many of you, but in reality, there’s no leeway for this to happen – Council probably can’t provide basic functions at this level (info will come in the consultation on this). The impact on unemployment would be significant too with jobs foregone from projects not progressing. My call is that it will end up as a 2.5% increase.
A severe drought continues to bite Auckland, particularly in the Hunua and Waitakere ranges which is home to the city’s water storage dams.
Lower Huia dam
The total volume of water stored in our dams has dropped below the halfway mark for the first time in more than 25 years. The total water storage is currently at 47% (historical average for this time of year is 76.5%).
Please continue to do your bit to reduce your water usage (but continue washing your hands regularly). There are no water restrictions right now but this may change if rain doesn’t arrive.
Watercare has been working to reduce the impact of the drought on its water storage dams. They’ve been maximising production at the Waikato and Onehunga treatment plants, which draw water from a river and aquifer. This helps to ensure there is less demand on the dams.
Over the summer months, Auckland Council implemented a tanker-to-tanker water delivery service. With tank owners facing long waiting lists when ordering water from commercial operators, Council contracted tankers from the region’s milk tanker fleet to shuttle larger volumes of water. Nearly 44.5 million litres of water was shuttled to tank suppliers. This reduced the wait and travel times for local operators and helped ease the backlog, which is now back to a manageable level.
Our local Bays business associations have been posting information about what businesses in their area are open during Alert Level 3, and what services they are providing. Please support our local businesses where you can:
Browns Bay / Pinehill – Auckland Transport proposals
AT are consulting on some proposed changes in the Browns Bay and Pinehill area. Nearby residents have had letter drops seeking their feedback. If you have any feedback to provide, please do so by 17 May at the survey links I’ve included.
• The creation of separate right and left-turn lanes on Oaktree Ave • Installation of broken yellow lines on both corners of the intersection • Trimming of the corners of the kerb around the intersection • A new pedestrian refuge island and associated infrastructure • A new central median
• Moving of the bus stop and shelter from 730 East Coast Rd to 716 East Coast Rd (and associated infrastructure) • Removal of a pohutukawa tree • Modifications to the existing bus stop outside 609 East Coast Rd
I provided feedback to AT on this one to say that whilst I support a refuge island, I had concerns about the safety of pedestrians using it (especially school children) on such a busy road. I have asked what measures they can take to enhance safety, such as increasing driver alertness to the crossing point. I’ve also noted that I don’t support the removal of the Pohutukawa tree and have asked whether their designs can be reasonably altered to allow for its retention.
Outside 788 Beach Road • The installation of a painted bus stop bay at the existing bus stop. This will stop parked cars blocking the bus stop • The installation of broken yellow lines (no stopping/parking at all times) either side of the bus stop bay • Widening of the existing footpath next to the bus stop to provide more space for bus passengers • Trimming of a tree that is overhanging the road next to the bus stop
From 799 to 805 Beach Road • The installation of broken yellow lines (no stopping/parking at all times) from 799 to 805 Beach Rd
Photograph: NZ Department of Conservation/ Nga Manu Images
While all our hard-working pest controllers and volunteers are in lockdown, pests like rats, mice, stoats and possums have exploded in population, threatening our native birds and reptiles.
Restore Hibiscus & Bays is an umbrella community-led conservation initiative that represents 30 community groups and covers 155km of coastline. The group has a really great Facebook page, and have recently published some useful information about biodiversity, how to remove different pest plants, and tips on rodent trapping at home.
Council contract workers and volunteers are still not allowed in parks and reserves in Alert Level 3 – so, no trapping is going on at all unfortunately. We will have to wait and see the damage this has caused when the alert level drops again to allow them access to traps in parks. With that in mind, the annual ‘Rat Trapping Competition’ has come at a perfect time. This year is the ‘lockdown’ edition and is limited to backyard trapping only, so if you’re up for a more unusual competition, then please get involved! Rats are the most challenging predators to manage, and our native birds need all the help they can get. Contact Friends of Okura Bush for a trap.
In Brief:
I have mentioned before that I wrote our Local Board’s feedback to the Glenvar/East Coast Roads upgrade project. The Consultation summary of feedback has now been published. You can see my feedback letter on behalf of the Local Board on page 21.
The Government has tasked the Infrastructure Industry Reference Group (IIRG) to seek out infrastructure projects that are ‘shovel ready’ and can start as soon as the industry returns to normal to reduce the economic impact of COVID-19. I was pleased to look over the Penlink Now Group’s submission to the IIRG for a four-laned Penlink. This is a very high benefit-cost ratio project that the Hibiscus Coast community has been awaiting delivery on for a long time. It has been the monumental efforts of people like Janet Fitzgerald and Penlink Now to get it to where it is today. Penlink was also recently announced as a project to be delivered via the government’s New Zealand Upgrade Programme. Fingers crossed that it gets over the line and work starts ASAP.
Council submitted a list of 73 key ‘shovel-ready’ projects to the IIRG too.
No Business Meeting took place in April for the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board. No decisions could be made without a quorum, since we couldn’t meet in person. The recent passing of the COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill allows local board members to attend meetings via technology like Skype while the Epidemic Preparedness (COVID-19) Notice 2020 is in place. Now that we can form meeting quorums under these situations, our May business meeting can go ahead virtually.
Council is temporarily relaxing the rules around construction noise for 4 weeks, from 28 April. Construction hours will also be extended.
Auckland Emergency Management (part of Council) has taken more than 25,000 phone calls and responded to 13,500 requests for basic food parcels.
Auckland Council Libraries staff were redeployed to make around 15,000 welfare calls to over-70-year-olds living alone over the past fortnight as part of the council and Auckland Emergency Management’s COVID-19 response.
It feels rather strange to be writing a monthly report when really, there is only one thing on all our minds at this time. I’m cognisant that you might be feeling inundated with so much COVID-19 information at this time, so I have intentionally put this toward the end of my report. I hope you and your family are all doing well.
Dying ducks in our waterways
In March I had a lot of people contacting me about a large number of dead ducks and eels in waterways around the Bays. Ducks only live 5-7 years, so there it won’t be uncommon to see the odd one, but this was on a larger scale. Over the summer drought we experienced (and still are experiencing), waterways and ponds remained stagnant without any rainfall which caused issues for ducks and eels.
Botulism is a bacteria which lives naturally in ponds, but problems arise during the summer months often due to high water temperatures. It can be spread by ducks eating maggots which have fed off dead ducks. The issue is made worse when well-meaning people feed bread to the ducks, which is unhealthy for them and will be left rotting in the water.
On one occasion I tested out Auckland Councils ‘Report It’ online tool to report an issue at a waterway around Scarlock Avenue and Celina Place. I was very impressed that I received a phone call within an hour, and a couple of hours later a phone call from a staff member on-site. He was very knowledgeable and knew the area well. He spent a long time on the phone with me talking through what he had been doing that day in the area, what he will follow up with and answered all my questions. He thoroughly checked the waterways around the area and found no unnatural pollutant issues.
I was very impressed with the responsiveness from Auckland Council and the knowledge of the staff. They monitor waterways regularly (and more so in summer months) and will respond to animal welfare concerns and remove dead ducks within a couple of hours.
One interesting thing the staff member told me was that brown water is not always a problem – many stream’s can often be brown due to natural iron content which can colour the water.
If you ever have any concerns about water quality and/or animal welfare, please contact Auckland Council ASAP. If you have reported a problem and there has been no action – send me the details and I will follow it up. I want to keep abreast of issues in the community and ensure Council staff are responding appropriately, so please keep me in the loop on any matters.
Auckland’s water quality under the microscope
The Environment Select Committee has initiated an inquiry into Auckland’s urban water quality.
Auckland’s waterways have some of the worst e.coli levels in the country – this hit home over summer for us when Browns Bay beach was closed for some time after a storm water outlet at the northern end of the beach registered e.coli levels thousands of times over acceptable levels.
I am very concerned about the lack of regular programmed maintenance of our water and wastewater pipes. I’ve been told that this infrastructure had routine scheduled maintenance under North Shore City Council – but with the amalgamation of Auckland Council, this has been lost in favour to a more ‘ambulance at the bottom of the cliff’ approach where infrastructure is investigated when problems arise (like wastewater all over our beaches…). It appears that Watercare is not placing enough importance on programmed maintenance of their assets and favouring spending more on new infrastructure from Council’s targeted rate.
It is appalling that the best asset of our city- our beautiful beaches are often un-swimmable. I am looking forward to this inquiry taking place. I suspect it will unearth some major systemic issues that the Governing Body (the mayor and 20 councillors) will need to take drastic action on.
I will let you know when the Select Committee’s inquiry opens, as there will be an opportunity for public submissions.
Council-Controlled Organisations Review – Local Board feedback
I mentioned in my February report that an Independent Panel is underway reviewing Council-Controlled Organisations (e.g. Auckland Transport, Watercare). Consultation is now closed for the public and I’ve just finished up writing the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board’s feedback to this review. A rather lengthy 5-page letter detailing feedback in theme areas of:
Scope of the CCO review (the scope should have been wider to include aspects of the CCO governance structure of Auckland Council, and there should have been greater opportunities for the public to give feedback – there was only one drop-in session north of the city!).
CCO model, roles and responsibilities (some CCO’s should have wider imperatives and clearer expectations. The Panel should consider what operations could be better brought in-house).
Accountability (the Governing Body should have greater oversight and involvement in the setting of CCO’s Letter of Expectations and Statement of Intent, and greater monitoring of their performance. Local Boards should also have some CCO oversight and reporting available to them).
Engagement (a concern that CCO’s are not responsive to and engaged enough with communities and that there needs to be greater communication between CCO’s and CCO-to-Council).
Culture (CCO’s to be more cognisant of the communities affected by their work and to ensure when consulting that they undertake meaningful public engagement).
Julia Parfitt and I worked together to ensure that the feedback included an array of local examples to illustrate the feedback we provided (e.g. under the second theme, we talked about Watercare and the Browns Bay beach e.coli contamination over summer). It wasn’t all criticisms though – we made sure to highlight the things that are working well (e.g. Auckland Transport and Watercare have dedicated Local Board liaison staff who do an excellent reporting job and are highly responsive to us in dealing with local matters. Recently, AT’s CEO took a phone call from Julia during the weekend and resolved a very urgent matter that same day).
A damming report: The Hauraki Gulf is suffering
What a way to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park – a damming report detailing its decline and revealing that bugger all has been achieved to protect or enhance the Hauraki Gulf.
The State of the Gulf 2020 was produced by the Hauraki Gulf Forum (a body established by the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act (2000) and which reports triennially). National media referred to the report as ‘grim’ ‘shameful’ and ‘embarrassing’. It was even picked up internationally, with The Guardian labelling it a ‘collapse of NZ’s landmark ocean park’ and noting that ‘the creation of the park has failed to prevent ecosystem collapse’.
The Hauraki Gulf is under significant pressure from human activity – probably more than any other coastal marine area in NZ. One of the biggest health issues for the Hauraki Gulf arises from contaminants from land ending up in the Gulf. Sedimentation is one of the biggest threats to our marine habitats. Despite Council regulations and ‘enforcement’, sedimentation run-off continues to be a serious issue which they seem to not be able to effectively control the compliance of. High inputs are still occurring in estuaries – including our local Okura estuary.
Here are just some of the low-lights from the State of the Gulf 2020 report:
The seabed is suffocating with plastic and sediment.
Waterways leading into the Gulf are sediment-choked and polluted.
The rivers in the Hauraki Plains (dairy farming area) still pump fertiliser and effluent into the Gulf each year – including 3,700 TONNES of nitrogen.
Water quality at many of Auckland’s urban beaches regularly poses a health risk for swimmers.
Potentially toxic algae blooms are now common.
Commercial fishing is up 30% on the previous 3-year period.
Potentially toxic algae blooms are now common.
It remains legal to drag dredges and trawls across the seafloor, even recreationally.
Dredging has stripped the seafloor of mussel beds (crucial for filtering the water).
Commercial fishing is up 30% on the previous 3-year period.
Commercial fishing company Danish Seiners are regularly fishing in prohibited areas
Reef-dwelling crayfish are now functionally extinct.
As a result of no crayfish (which feed on kina), kina is taking over and destroying kelp forests.
The number of small fish is significantly down
Snapper and Tarakihi stocks are overfished or depleted.
Scallops are at very low levels.
Dolphin numbers have plummeted 97% from historic levels.
Mass mortalities of fish and shellfish are now common. There have been 10 recorded mass mortality events in the Gulf over the last decade. Four of these events were in Whangateau and Okura Estuaries, where shellfish populations appeared to be stressed by adverse environmental conditions.
22% of seabirds are now classified as threatened, up from just 4% 20 years ago
Black petrels are dying at an unsustainable rate due to commercial fishing
Credit: State of our Gulf 2020, Hauraki Gulf Forum, p23Credit: State of our Gulf 2020, Hauraki Gulf Forum, p113.
I don’t want to be too negative though, so here are some positives in the report (blink and you’ll miss them):
40 islands in the Hauraki Gulf are predator-free due to eradication campaigns.
Fewer Bryde’s whales are dying from ship strike (due to a voluntary reduction in speed of large commercial ships).
Grim, indeed.
The Hauraki Gulf Forum is calling for urgent, drastic changes to the Gulf’s management. They’ve suggested that the legislation that establishes the Marine Park should be revised – arguing that the balance is tipped too far towards development and utilisation over the protection and enhancement of the Hauraki Gulf.
They are seeking an extension to the size of the Marine Reserve – which protects only 0.3% of the Marine Park. In 20 years, the Marine Reserve only increased by 0.05%! And that was due to an application that was submitted before the Gulf was entrenched as a Marine Park.
We need bold action now form our political leaders.
I am excited to have been nominated as our Local Board’s representative on the Auckland Council Hauraki Gulf Political Reference Group. I intend to lobby hard for significant action to improve the health of the Hauraki Gulf. Watch this space.
Murrays Bay Birdman – consulting and jumping!
The Murrays Bay Wharf Birdman event took place mid-March. Congratulations to the amazing volunteers, headed by Josie Adriaansen, who put on this fun community event. The Hibiscus and Bays Local Board had a tent set up and we spent the day talking with people and getting feedback on our Local Board Plan (the Board’s strategic 3yr document). It was great getting out talking with locals about what’s most important to you. We had a range of feedback, but there were some commonalities – the Board should continue and grow its support for local family events, greater support for initiatives that enhance and protect our environment, and advocating for improved performance of CCO’s (particularly Watercare – improving programmed maintenance of assets so that our beach water quality is not compromised).
Credit: Terry Holt, Mairangi Bay Village News
The day was especially fun for me as my sister and I were one of the 14 entries in the Birdman event. I can tell you that yes- it was a long way down! We jumped as part of a fundraising drive for North Harbour Community Patrol (NHCP), the charitable organisation we volunteer for. We didn’t win any prizes for our terrible jump, but NHCP felt like the real winners on the day – we reached our goal and got a much needed second patrol car! Thank you to everyone who donated, and to our major sponsor North Harbour Vehicles Limited, with Harcourts Cooper & Co. We are also grateful for the support of New World Browns Bay and New World Long Bay.
COVID-19
Looking after yourselves in lockdown
Firstly, I sincerely hope that you and your family are doing ok. I know that many people will be feeling anxious, stressed, worried and scared. Your wellbeing, the wellbeing of your family and our wider community are so important during this time.
Please remember that there are lots of great services out there if you want to talk to someone about it. You can free call or text 1737 to receive support from a trained counsellor. 1737 – free call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor. For a variety of different contacts visit: https://www.mentalhealth.org.nz/get-help/in-crisis/helplines/
The Mental Health Foundation have suggested that limiting the amount of news you follow might be a good idea if you are feeling anxious and worried. Pick a source you trust (like the Ministry of Health’s website) and check it periodically. I’ve been doing this and have personally found that it helps me get through the week a little happier with my toddler while husband is front line at the hospital.
Where to seek help, or volunteer to help others
I am in touch with local voluntary organisations who are busy supporting people in our community who need help during this time (particularly the over 70-year old’s and people with disabilities). If you or someone you know needs help with shopping, prescriptions or perhaps just a friendly phone call – please let me know. I will connect you to people who will help. Likewise, if you’d like to volunteer to help, let me know.
I want to acknowledge the owners and staff at our local supermarkets who are doing a phenomenal job – thank you. I’ve also just heard that the wonderful folk at Torbay 4 Square are doing free home deliveries to local people over 70 who need the help.
Auckland Council’s response
Local Board’s are continuing to operate. We’re still working hard on your behalf so please continue to contact us about any matters.
All 885 playgrounds are closed, and most toilets are closed with signage up. We’ve had some requests for further signage to go up at beaches and some parks to ensure people don’t touch or use street/beach furniture or exercise equipment – we’re following this request up.
Please remember that during this time, ALL dogs should be on a leash. We have had many reports of dogs being attacked and one this week dying on the way to the vet after being viciously attacked by an off-leash dog.
Kerbside rubbish and recycling continues as per normal. Pay as you go tags will be left on the bin and not taken off by the collector. People will need to remove this themselves when they put a fresh tag on for the next collection. This is to minimise the contact collectors have with all the bins each day.
Community recycling centres are closed during this time.
A minimal amount of mowing is continuing to maintain essential vehicle accessways and paths so that people can continue to use for physical activity. Only essential tree maintenance will be undertaken.
Parks remain open but please remember the two-meter distance rule, stay local, and don’t touch any furniture, playground or exercise equipment.
All Council facilities are closed. If you have any library items, hold on to them and don’t return them until they re-open (you won’t accrue any late fines).
Mayor Phil Goff has set up a Mayoral Business Advisory Panel to help work through issued created by the lockdown.
20 Council staff have been redeployed to Auckland City Mission – helping to provide 400 meals a day, seven days a week to support our rough sleeper community and those facing severe financial hardship.
CCOs were a hot political topic for all the major mayoral candidates. Phil Goff pledged to undertake a review if he got back in the hot seat, which he’s done so promptly into his second term. An independent panel has been appointed, and consultation is now open to gauge how well (or not) CCOs are performing. The CCOs being reviewed are Watercare, Auckland Transport, Panuku, Regional Facilities Auckland, and Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development.
It’s been a decade since the amalgamation of Auckland Council and the setup of CCOs, so it’s very timely that a review is taking place to gauge and re-evaluate the effectiveness of the model.
This is something I’m very passionate about and I’m working with other interested Local Board members on putting together our Board’s official feedback for the review. It’s already looking like it will be a lengthy and substantial piece of feedback from the notes I’ve got. I hope to share it with you when it is drafted and submitted – but at this stage, I wanted to reassure you that we are taking this review and the opportunity to provide meaningful feedback, very seriously. Like other Board members, I continue to receive very concerning feedback from our community about the poor performance and poor engagement from CCOs. A very topical example in the last two weeks has been the slow response, poor communication and management from Watercare in resolving a large number of pipe faults across the Bays.
Consultation on this project wrapped up recently. I’ve talked to many locals over the last few months about their views, particularly at the consultation session Auckland Transport ran at MERC last year. AT received 420 submissions from the public – a huge amount. The Local Board recently had AT staff present an overview of the feedback provided. This seemed to largely reflect the views of the Local Board members themselves and helped to inform the Board’s feedback to AT. I worked with ECB subdivision Board members and enjoyed the opportunity to pen the Board’s official feedback. I hope to be able to share it with you soon.
Key points of concern raised in the official feedback were:
The timeframe of the project – AT had advertised early 2020 as a start date for work to begin. I’m extremely concerned that this start date has since been pushed out to 2022/23. Waiting an additional two years is an unacceptable safety risk for this area which is, quite frankly, a ticking time-bomb.
Glenvar Road intersection realignment – It’s my understanding that a geotechnical report hasn’t been completed and this part of the proposed project really hinges on this – the land and topography may not be suitable. A delay in the project’s delivery because of this would be unacceptable.
T2 lane (southbound on East Coast Road between Glenvar and Glamorgan) – a suggestion to AT that it be initially for all road users and converted to a transit lane at a later time when there is sufficient public transport and vehicles of more than one occupancy, in peak hours (the stats i’ve seen show a very minute number of cars travelling with more that one occupant at peak times- there are also only 4 buses at peak hours down East Coast Road).
Raised median barriers on East Coast Road – these would prevent people from accessing or exiting their homes safely and reasonably. This was likely a design oversight when they had originally thought of using roundabouts and have sought clarification that they would in fact be flush medians.
Ancillary Roads – ‘The Glade’ on Glenvar Road is in a very poor state – it’s a very narrow and dangerous section of road. We’ve requested that an upgrade occurs at the same time that the wider works on Glenvar Road occur.
Dog park on its way
The Board have had a lot of feedback from the community wanting a dog park in the Bays. I’m pleased to say that Council staff are working up options for Deep Creek Reserve as a potential site (below the current sports park). Should it go ahead in that location, there will likely be varied options of development provided. Consultation will be important, but my gut feeling is that it would be most appropriate to keep it initially basic and allow for it to be built up and added to overtime should it be well-used.
Have your say – Local Board Plan
The Board is currently consulting on its strategic three-year plan. We are keen to meet and hear your views on the Local Board Plan which guides the Board’s activity, funding and investment. We’re holding a consultation session at the Murray’s Bay Birdman event, Saturday 14 March. If you’re unable to make this you can also give feedback at: https://akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/hibiscusandbaysplan
Graffiti
The Graffiti Vandalism Prevention Programme started in 2013 and since then there has been a noticeable reduction in the number of graffiti incidents removed and the number of requests for service recorded in the Local Board area. The reduction is attributed to a consistent approach to responding promptly to remove reported incidents of graffiti. As well as a rapid removal strategy, there’s also a proactive approach to eradication. An example of this proactive approach is the ongoing relationship with Vector to beautify their publicly visible assets, I’m sure you’ve seen some of the artwork around – some of which is done in partnership with local schools. The latest stats show that graffiti has decreased by 2.5% from July 2019 to December 2019 compared with 2018. The number of requests for service for graffiti eradication decreased by 63% which reflects the proactive approach of the contractors.
Browns Bay– some good work underway
A lot of good things are underway for Browns Bay town centre and I wanted to highlight a few of these.
Work is underway in renewing the skate park on the beachfront as well safety work on the Boardwalk.
A half basketball court should be underway soon in Freyberg Park (just waiting on another check-in with Local Board first before construction can begin). This has been on the plan for a while with the previous Board – there has been a lot of public consultation which is how it ended up with its location at Freyberg Park and also being a half, not a full court.
We’re investigating options for shade cover at Browns bay playground. This is well overdue.
There is a wonderful group of locals who are part of the ‘Beautify Browns Bay Group’. Volunteers do all sorts from rat trapping (and sometimes possum and stoat trapping) in and around the town centre, planting, weeding – you name it. They’ve also been developing ideas on how to make the town centre a better place to live and work. They’re an incredible bunch of passionate locals who are doing some fantastic day-to-day voluntary work. I’m looking forward to hearing more from them on their plans and ideas of how to make Browns Bay a unique and popular destination. They intend on presenting their ideas to the Browns Bay Business Association soon.
Browns Bay Gateways project – entryways (likely to be key intersections) into Browns Bay are being looked at to be redesigned from a safety aspect by AT but also by designers who are finding ways to potentially enhance the look and feel of the place. Gateways help to show people that they are entering into somewhere special and to guide them into town. Some great concepts are being drawn up – i’ll give you more information when I can about this exciting work.
February in a few pictures
It’s been a fun month mucking in volunteering at the Okura Forest Festival and Mairangi Bay beach clean-up, attending the Mairangi Bay Food and Wine Festival, enjoying the Toyvan Summer Fun series, and catching up with my old Browns Bay Rotary Club.
I’m jumping off Murray’s Bay wharf!
The countdown is on to this fun event that the Local Board provides funding for. I’ll be jumping off the wharf with my sister as one of the 13 entries in the competition. We’ve entered in the category for ‘best team’ as we are jumping (and fundraising) for North Harbour Community Patrol (NHCP).
NHCP work closely with the local Police and go on tasked missions every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. We patrol business districts, suburbs and houses/streets of interest, as well as patrolling liquor ban areas and identifying stolen vehicles. We are the ‘eyes and ears’ for Police.
NHCP relies entirely on grants and the generosity of the community. We really need the community’s support to secure a second patrol vehicle. Please consider donating – every little bit goes a long way!
