Council signs off plan for public consultation

Thames-Coromandel District Council is the first to have its draft 2009-2019 Ten Year Plan signed off by the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) and has been told it has set a very high benchmark for other councils to follow.

The Ten Year Plan (or Long Term Council Community Plan) is a requirement under the Local Government Act 2002 and must be audited by the OAG. The TCDC draft plan was the first of more than 80 to be considered by the OAG over coming months.

Mayor Philippa Barriball told this month's Council meeting that the Auditor-General Kevin Brady praised the TCDC draft plan when addressing a national council meeting of the Local Government Association in Wellington earlier this week.

She said it was one of the proudest moments in her local government career to hear the Auditor-General tell her peers that the TCDC draft plan had set the bar very high for other Councils to reach.

She added that the outcome was the result of a huge amount of work, not only by staff and elected members, but also by Audit New Zealand who had worked alongside the TCDC team to ensure compliance with what were major changes from previous years.

Her comments were endorsed at the Council meeting by Audit New Zealand's Auckland Director, John Scott, who said TCDC would no doubt be approached by other councils seeking advice.

Councillors signed the draft plan off for public consultation at this week's meeting. The formal consultation period will be between January 19 and February 18 and the final plan will be adopted at the end of June.

There will be a number of open days around the District for interested people to discuss any issues with both staff and elected members, and an overview summary of the key issues will be mailed to all ratepayers. A more detailed summary would also be sent to those who have submitted to previous Council plans as well as other interested parties.

Those wanting to make a submission on the draft Ten Year Plan will be able to view the full documents on line from the beginning of the new year, or hard copies at any Council area office or library. Or copies can be requested by phoning Customer Services on 07 868 0200.

Average TCDC rate increase of 6.98% proposed for 2009/10

The average Thames-Coromandel District ratepayer will have to find an additional 6.98% next year if the proposed draft 2009-2019 Ten Year Plan is adopted in June.

The key reasons for the increase in 2009/10 include costs associated with capital works completed by the Council in recent years (including the Eastern Seaboard Wastewater plants) and increases in the general costs of operating the Council.

The Plan also signals a proposed capital works programme of some $352 million over the next 10 years. Major capital works projects include:

Development of a new multi-sports complex in Whitianga and new sports ground developments in Tairua.

Upgrading of the Whitianga Town centre.

Upgrading of the Coromandel wastewater plant.

Upgrading of the Thames, Thames Valley, Tairua and Pauanui water supplies.

Parks and Reserves beautification projects.

New cemetery for Whitianga/Mercury Bay.

Back scanning of the Council's property records.

Mercury Bay boat ramp upgrade.

The capital expenditure forecast will see the Council's total debt levels, both internal and external, increase from $109 million to a maximum of $147 million over the next 10 years. While the projected borrowing levels are still within the limits proposed through its Liability Management Policy, the Council is conscious that the decision to live within these limits has required that more than $100 million worth of projects be removed from the capital works programme included in this Ten Year Plan.

Councillors signed the draft plan off for public consultation at this month's Council meeting. The formal consultation period will be between January 19 and February 18 and the final plan will be adopted at the end of June.

There will be a number of open days around the District for interested people to discuss any issues with both staff and elected members, and an overview summary of the key issues will be mailed to all ratepayers. A more detailed summary would also be sent to those who have submitted to previous Council plans as well as other interested parties.

Those wanting to make a submission on the draft Ten Year Plan will be able to view the full documents on line from the beginning of the new year, or hard copies at any Council area office or library. Or copies can be requested in print or CD form by phoning Customer Services on 07 868 0200.

TCDC adopts new governance policies

Thames-Coromandel District Council has adopted a new set of governance policies to help it more clearly differentiate between the roles of elected members and Council staff.

The new policies are modeled on the approach developed by John Carver and accepted internationally as "best practice".

Adoption of the policies follows two workshops at which councilors and staff considered the policies from a local perspective.

Street flag policy gets Council nod

Erection of street banners and flags across the Coromandel is now covered by a consistent District-wide policy after much debate at the December Thames-Coromandel District Council meeting.

Under the new policy the erection of street flags can only be done by a Council-approved contractor but the only requirement to qualify is the provision of an acceptable health and safety plan. Approved contractors will be required to submit a traffic management plan for each installation and have public liability insurance.

There are restrictions on what street flags can promote and their content and design will need to be approved by Council.

Street banners are not permitted without specific Council approval and engineering reports will be required to ensure they can cope with high wind conditions.

Otama Campground decision endorsed

Campers will be able to continue to enjoy wilderness camping experiences at Otama Bay as a result of a planning decision endorsed at this month's Thames-Coromandel District Council meeting.

The Council endorsed the recommendations of independent commissioner Alan Dormer, in defining the boundaries of the camping ground on planning maps.

Mr Dormer recommended that conventional camping activities should be restricted to the land generally south of Black Jack Road, while permitting Accessory Recreation Activities over the rest of the site.

The decision, once notified, will enter an appeal period.

New Tairua St John building moves a step closer

Thames-Coromandel District Council is pushing ahead with a reclassification of part of Cory Park Domain in Tairua to allow a new St John Ambulance Station to be built.

Chief Executive Steve Ruru has been given delegated authority to handle the matter.

The proposed new building will enable Tairua St John to increase its level of service to the community by providing space to house a second ambulance and provide training facilities for cadets and youth members.

The training facilities will be available for other community meetings as well.

Community outcomes benchmark report goes online

Want to know how the Coromandel community is faring when it comes to achieving its preferred outcomes?

The first Community Outcomes Benchmark Report was tabled at the December Thames-Coromandel District Council meeting and has just gone live on the Thames-Coromandel District Council website at www.tcdc.govt.nz.

Seven Community Outcome areas were adopted in February 2006 after widespread consultation and drive the Council's strategic planning processes.

The 2009 Community Outcomes Monitoring Report will be the first formal reporting required, but the current benchmarking report does give a lead as to how the community outcomes are being achieved at present.

Hauraki Rail Trail gets TCDC support in principle

Thames-Coromandel District Council has offered support in principle for the proposed Hauraki Rail Trail after receiving a presentation on it from one of the rail trail trustees.

Chris Cooper told the December Council meeting that the Trust has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Conservation and Hauraki District Council to facilitate work on stage one of the trail from Paeroa to Karangahake Gorge.

It hoped to eventually have a rail trail that extended from Thames to Te Aroha with a spur line from Paeroa to Waihi.

Pauanui water storage given much needed boost before peak period

Thames-Coromandel District Council has signed off on an extra $208,841 required to pay for much needed additional water storage and pumping capacity for Pauanui.

A new 2000m3 reservoir has been constructed on a site that will be able to accommodate three such storage tanks and work is nearing completion on a new pump station.

The new reservoir was originally to cost $1.47 million, but overran its budget by $128,000, while the new pump station almost doubled in cost from $99,159 to $180,000, due to unforeseen issues.

Coromandel sports field has funding reinstated

Funding to complete Coromandel's sports field upgrade has been reinstated by the Thames-Coromandel District Council.

The December Council meeting was told that the work was unable to be completed in the previous financial year because of bad weather and the funding required to finish the job had not been carried over.

The Council resolved to provide the $191,329 to complete the job from the Coromandel Land Subdivision Reserve Account. The total cost of the project is $274,420.

Buffalo Beach seawall costs approved

Working on the principle that preventative maintenance is preferable to having to fix a total collapse has prompted the Thames-Coromandel District Council to allocate $124,000 to fix the eroded seawall on the former state highway at Buffalo Beach.

After subsidy the cost to ratepayers will be $70,680.

The December Council meeting was told that the former state highway through Whitianga was to be handed over to Council to allow it to progress the main street upgrade and manage roading activities without needing to continuously go back to the New Zealand Transport Agency for approvals.

It had been agreed that the former Transit New Zealand would bring the road up to standard before handover but while this work was being carried out, the July storm caused Buffalo Beach to drop by a metre, increasing the cost of the seawall by up to $500,000.

As Transit had only $200,000 in its budget to fund the work it required a contribution from the Council to complete the exercise.

Had Council not agreed to contribute Transit had indicated it would hand back the highway in its existing state, leaving TCDC to pick up the total cost of the repairs.

Zoom Zone business case gets $80,000 funding

Thames' proposed Zoom Zone multi-sports complex promoters will get $80,000 from the Thames-Coromandel District Council to fund a next stage business case that will include concept drawings.

The matter was added as a late item to this month's Council meeting agenda at the request of the Thames councillors.

The funding will come from the Thames Urban Purpose Reserve