MINUTES OF Kapiti Coast District Council
Waikanae Community Board Meeting
HELD AT THE Waikanae Community Centre,
Utauta Street, Waikanae
ON Tuesday, 4 February 2020 AT 7.00pm
PRESENT: Mr James Westbury, Ms Margaret Stevenson-Wright, Mr Geoffrey Churchman, Ms Jill Griggs
IN ATTENDANCE: Mr James Jefferson, Ms Tracey Waye, Mr Glen O’Connor, Dr Brandy Griffin, Ms Moko Morris, Mr Jason Holland
APOLOGIES: Cr Jocelyn Prvanov
LEAVE OF Nil
ABSENCE:
1 Welcome
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting, including members of the public and Councillors Halliday and Randall.
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Committee Resolution 2020/1 Moved: Mrs Jill Griggs Seconder: Ms Margaret Stevenson-Wright That the apology received from Cr Prvanov be accepted. |
The Community Board requested that their condolences be conveyed to Cr Prvanov who was unable to attend the meeting due to a family bereavement.
The apologies of Mayor Gurunathan were noted.
3 Declarations of Interest Relating to Items on the Agenda
Nil.
Gerald Rhys spoke on behalf of the Waikanae Beach Business Association requesting signage indicating the location of Waikanae Beach for south-bound travellers exiting the Expressway at Peka Peka. He then sought clarification regarding the siren that sounds at Waikanae Beach, asking its purpose (fire siren or tsunami warning?), who owns the siren, who controls it and whether it is fit for purpose.
The Chair noted Mr Rhys’ suggestions regarding signage and advised he would work with the Council to see what might be done. He confirmed tsunami warnings are not issued on the Kāpiti Coast due to concern that in the event of an earthquake, people will wait for a siren before evacuating. Rather, the message to be conveyed is that “if it’s long and strong, get gone” i.e. it is important that people recognise the natural warning signs and act quickly. He then noted that Ms Renee Corlett from Wellington Regional Emergency Management Office was in attendance at the meeting to speak to an agenda item, and suggested Ms Corlett may be able to provide further information when she speaks later in the meeting.
Kevin Ramshaw spoke on behalf the Mahara Gallery Trust Board on the following: (i) he checked that Board members had received the briefing papers circulated previously re the background of the gallery and the redevelopment project; (ii) he invited a member of the Community Board to join the Mahara Gallery’s fundraising committee; (iii) he checked that Board members had received the accountability report provided for the last grant made to the Mahara Gallery re Makariki activities; and (iv) he advised that he had made enquiries to a former member of the Reserve Bank Board who said in a report to the Ministry of Culture and Heritage that “the intangibles of these things are much greater than the tangibles”.
Mrs Griggs advised that she was happy to be on the Board but had not considered participating on the Fundraising Committee. Mr Ramshaw said she was welcome to choose how she would like to be involved. The Chair requested that the agreement be formalised.
Quentin Poole spoke about the Community Led Coastal Adaptation Programme update. He gave examples and said it appeared that Council staff are attempting to control everything and are not relying on the community to lead the way. He stated that Community Board members should scrutinise staff recommendations and said if they did not have the necessary expertise there was always someone in the community who could help.
The Chair responded that the Board was happy to work with the community where they can, noting there are things Community Board members can influence and control, and things they cannot.
(a) Public Speaking Time Responses
Responses to public speakers were provided at the time.
(b) Leave of Absence
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Committee Resolution 2020/2 Moved: Mr Geoffrey Churchman Seconder: Ms Margaret Stevenson-Wright That leave of absence is granted as follows: - Mr Geoffrey Churchman: 14 – 23 February 2020 inclusive - Ms Jill Griggs: 5 – 10 February 2020 and 5 – 10 March 2020 inclusive - Mr James Westbury: 18 – 21 February 2020 inclusive |
(c) Matters of an Urgent Nature (advice to be provided to the Chair prior to the commencement of the meeting)
Ni.
(d) Community Board Members’ Activities
The Chair advised that Community Board members would provide activity reports for inclusion in the next meeting minutes.
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Mr O’Connor spoke to the report and answered questions from Board members. He stated that the Council as a signage authority has certain obligations through bylaws, the District Plan and other codes of practice. He also noted the report provided guidelines rather than specific comment on specific items. While Mr O’Connor was in attendance at the meeting, and with the Chair’s permission, Mr Jefferson asked Mr O’Connor for an update on the item in the Matters Under Action register named “Parking in Waikanae”. Mr O’Connor confirmed the Access and Safety Study was progressing, and a discussion with the Board was scheduled for next week.
The Chair asked whether Mr Rhys’ suggestions re signage for Waikanae Beach could be taken into consideration, and Mr O’Connor confirmed the request would be looked at and considered on its merits.
A member of the public asked about having “Welcome to Waikanae” signs installed for people who exit the Expressway (from both north and south) at Te Moana Road. Mr O’Connor suggested a request be made via the Community Board and that the request would be considered on its merits. |
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6.2 THE 2009 BEACH BYLAW REVIEW PROJECT Dr Brandy Griffin showed a Powerpoint presentation which summarised the report provided, and took questions from Board members. She explained the public consultation that had already taken place and asked Board members to suggest what sort of consultation they would like to see in Waikanae. Board members suggested the Waikanae Market, the Waikanae Beach Market and the Easter Market would be the best areas to reach the greatest number of individuals to participate in the survey and/or to provide ongoing information about the project. Board members were also keen to participate in a workshop and information pop-ups, and invited Dr Griffin to coordinate a time and date for those to happen. |
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That the Waikanae Community Board note this progress update on the 2009 Beach Bylaw Review Project. CARRIED |
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1 Beach Bylaw Review |
6.3 COMMUNITY-LED COASTAL ADAPTATION PROGRAMME UPDATE
Ms Moko Morris attended the meeting on behalf of Ms Lyndsey Craig, Coastal Manager, and provided information about the Takutai Kāpiti Climate Change and Our Coast Summit.
The summit will be held on Sunday 8 March at Ngā Purapura in Ōtaki. The morning session will involve a number of speakers and the afternoon session will provide the opportunity for public engagement. Organisers will be discussing climate change, building climate change literacy, and looking at issues going forward.
The summit is free to attend although those wishing to attend the morning session will need to register as seating is limited. To register and for further information visit the website www.takutaikapiti.nz
6.4 WREMO INTRODUCTION AND ROLE
Mr Jefferson introduced Ms Renee Corlett, Emergency Management Advisor (Community Resilience) for the Wellington Regional Emergency Management Office.
Ms Corlett provided background information on herself and her role, and invited Waikanae Community Board members to participate in a future brainstorming session discussing how to improve resilience in the community.
In relation to the question about sirens at Waikanae Beach, Ms Corlett agreed to find out who owns them, who maintains them and what their purpose is. She also advised that nationally there is a drive to remove tsunami warnings as it can take up to 20 minutes for a tsunami warning to be issued, whereas a tsunami can arrive much more quickly than that. It is considered that having sirens creates complacency and the preference is for people to be prepared to evacuate without needing to be told.
Ms Corlett acknowledged the input she has already had with Waikanae Beach residents working on a tsunami evacuation plan and advised she was happy to speak with Board members and members of the public at any time.
The Chair noted that the Board had previously been involved in developing community resilience plans and asked Ms Corlett when these plans would be reviewed/updated. Ms Corlett advised the plans are reviewed as part of the earthquake drills which are held every 18 months and invited Board members to continue to be involved. The Chair noted there were new members on the Board and they needed to understand their roles and responsibilities.
Ms Margaret Stevenson-Wright agreed to be the liaison between WREMO and the Community Board.
Mr Jefferson endorsed Ms Corlett’s work and reiterated how keen she is to engage with the community.
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The Board considered the draft minutes of the meeting dated 19 November 2019. The Chair advised that an amendment had been put through by Cr Prvanov requesting that the minutes reflect the awards that Maha Fier has received this year. Mr Churchman requested that the minutes include that he is sympathetic to the issues raised by the Waikanae Beach Residents Society, and noted that the beach zone pays a disproportionately high share of rates to Council and receives a disproportionately low share of capital expenditure. |
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Committee Resolution 2020/3 Moved: Mrs Jill Griggs Seconder: Ms Margaret Stevenson-Wright That with the amendments noted above, the Waikanae Community Board approves the minutes of the Waikanae Community Board dated 19 November 2019 as a true and accurate record. |
The Board considered the Matters Under Action register and noted the following:
Future Waikanae Beach Vision and Action Plan
The Chair noted an update had been provided earlier in the meeting by Mr Holland. The next part of the discussion is how to implement the actions identified in the Waikanae Beach futures document, into the annual plan process. Mr Jefferson advised that annual plan workshops would commence next week and a conversation is already under way to talk about the aspirations of all the Community Boards and how to get those into the annual plan and/or long term plan processes.
Town Centres
The Chair noted that a report on the Waikanae Library was to have come to tonight’s meeting but was removed from the agenda at the Chief Executive’s request. Mr Jefferson advised that although the Waikanae Library report had been removed from the agenda, the workshop dates proposed in that report are to remain, and this would likely be the starting point for the discussion of the above action item.
Waikanae Police Base
Board members requested that Sen Sgt Chanel Chapman be invited to attend the next Board meeting to provide statistics and trends. Mr Jefferson commented that until a new Police Commissioner is announced, he doubted that the decision about the police base would be addressed.
Signage Audit
It was agreed this matter could be removed from the Matters Under Action register.
Board members requested that the suggestions received from members of the public at tonight’s meeting regarding signage be forwarded to the appropriate Council officer. Those suggestions were for the installation of directional signs on the Expressway which replicate those on the old State Highway 1, directing travellers to both the Waikanae Township and the Waikanae Beach.
Mr Jefferson confirmed the request would be forwarded to Mr O’Connor, Access and Transport Manager.
Assistance with applications to Transpower’s community grant
The Chair requested that Ms Alison Law, Parks and Recreation Manager, attend the next Board meeting to give a presentation on the Park team’s long term financial investment in Waikanae, and also to advise how the Board might work alongside Transpower to enable shared bids towards the Transpower funding. In particular, the potential to use that funding to invest in a destination park for Waikanae.
Board members requested the link to Transpower’s website which was circulated in the previous triennium be re-circulated. The Board Secretary agreed to do so.
Parking in Waikanae
The Chair noted that a report will be presented to the Board on 17 March 2020.
Waikanae Library Project
This item has already been discussed.
State Highway 1 revocation
The Board requested the above two items be combined with the Town Centres item already in the MUA register.
Ms Stevenson-Wright provided the meeting with an update regarding the mural which was spoken about at the last Board meeting. She and Mr Churchman had met with Janet Bayly from Mahara Gallery; Kate Hartman, one of the proposed artists; and Ruth Robertson-Taylor. They have seen and support the final concept drawings for the mural. The group now needs a formal statement of support from the Board, in order to progress their conversations with donors, supporters etc.
The Chair advised the public that the Board recently had an informal meeting where they had discussed the proposed murals.
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Committee Resolution 2020/4 Moved: Mr Geoffrey Churchman Seconder: Mrs Jill Griggs That the Waikanae Community Board support the Waikanae mural as presented to the Waikanae Community Board at its meeting of 19 November 2019. |
9 Confirmation of Public Excluded Minutes
Nil
The Waikanae Community Board meeting closed at 8.19pm.
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CHAIRPERSON