ECB Leisure Centre
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
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”.
COUNCILLOR CHRIS DARBY, CHAIR OF THE PLANNING COMMITTEE (VIA HTTP://WWW.OURAUCKLAND.NZ)
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.
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