Bus tour
A Waipā District Council bus tour to Huntly to visit Opportunity Shops there and get a free cup of coffee is funded by the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Disposal Levy which must be spent exclusively on projects that promote or achieve waste minimisation. The tour is in partnership with Waikato District Council which holds the same event and brings busloads of shoppers to Waipa.
Elm Vaccination
Arborist planner James Richardson with Elm trees in Te Awamutu.
Roll out of a vaccination for Elm trees in Waipā will help protect them against Dutch Elm Disease.
The fatal and fast spreading tree disease was discovered in the district in February. It is caused by a species of fungus and is almost always deadly. The vaccine will be administered in November on Council parks, reserves and street trees and will extend to privately owned protected trees.
Arborist planner James Richardson said the vaccination would not harm the trees. “We have only had three reported cases of the disease, but we want to be proactive in slowing the spread.” The vaccine is manufactured in the Netherlands. It is currently not available to the public. The vaccination programme is estimated to cost $25,000.
Dumping dilemma
Illegal dumping like this is often reported to council.
People dumping rubbish illegally has attracted more complaints to Waipā council than anything else. Of the 1725 customer service requests in the year ended June 30, 398 were for illegal rubbish, 206 for potholes, 200 for missing or damaged signs and 158 for streetlights not working.
Sixty six calls about leaf falls, 51 about rural trees and the same number for requests about construction activities resulted in 96 per cent of the complaints being responded to in under 10 days.
Illegal dumping like this is often reported to council.
Watching you
Three new number plate recognition cameras have been installed – near the Velodrome, on SH39 south of Ngāhinapōuri and Cambridge Rd near Matos Segedin Drive – as part of Waipā council’s closed circuit television monitoring. Two more – on SH3 at Ōhaupō and Victoria/Norfolk intersection will soon be installed.
Funding reduced
Waipā council completed 1.59km of footpath renewals during the 2023-2024 financial year which ended on June 30. For the three months started April 1 larger renewals were completed on Ōhaupō Rd, Robinson, Rutherford and Teasdale streets.
Life saving
A road safety education skills training course at which a participant practiced a safety manoeuvre probably saved his life when he was involved in a subsequent close call incident, says Waipā transport manager Bryan Hudson. Forty-four people took part in Waipā District Council’s May course.
Safety slashed
New Zealand Transport Agency has slashed Waipā council’s community road safety budget by 19 per cent, a $150,450 reduction over three years. The budget is now $125,850 and there will be a review and reprioritisation of activities.
Library use
A seismic assessment of Waipā council’s Cambridge service centre has revealed the first floor could be safely converted for library use. Loading of the space would have to be contained to office and reading type activities rather than book storage, the assessment showed. Plans for a new Cambridge library and community hub have been put on hold.
