Minutes
Himatangi Beach Community Committee Meeting
26 April 2016, 7.30pm
Himatangi Beach Community Centre
Present: Phil Marsh (Chairperson), Catherine Brown (Secretary) Bruce Harford, Brian Pinker, Phyll Raxworthy
Yvonne Swears.
Apologies: Marty O'Fee
Also in attendance: Cr Jo Heslop, Cr Andrew Quarrie, Janine Hawthorne (MDC Community Advisor), George Annear
(HB Community Trust), Gary Stonely (Area Co-ordinator, Neighbourhood Support), Nook Yule (Chairman,
Neighbourhood Support), Denise Bush, Barry Jarvis, Richard Marshall, Tony Rutherford, Hugh Swears.
No. Item
Action (who)
1
Procedural Matters
1.1 Apologies
That the apologies be accepted:
Moved
Phil
Marsh/
Seconded
Catherine Brown
1.2 Corresponde Inward:
Moved
Phil
nce
Marsh/
 Email dated 26 April 2016 from Doug Tate (MDC Community Facilities
Seconded
Manager) updating the committee on signage and dune work.
Catherine Brown
 Email dated 26 April 2016 from Rob Boyd re 20 Hunia Terrace house fire.
 Email dated 22 April from Rachelle Johnston (MDC) re 20 Hunia Terrace
house fire.
Outward:
 Nil
That the inwards correspondence be received.
1.2 Confirmatio
That the minutes from the previous meeting held on 28 March 2016 be accepted
Moved
Brian
n of
as a true and correct record.
Pinker/
Previous
Seconded Bruce
Minutes
Harford
1.3 Matters
Flooding Issues:
Arising
A submission will be made to the Annual Plan consultation process requesting that
Bruce Harford
the Council consult fully with the community before any drainage works are started.
The following points were made:
 There are only two areas of concern – Te Kiri Street/Hunia Terrace corner,
and Himatangi Street/Rangitane Street corner.
 Is the $500,000 set aside for the investigation or for the works to be carried
out?
 A community consultation group needs to be set up to work with the
engineers on the problem.
2
2.1
Items for
decision or
information
General Business
Sewerage System Irrigation
The Chairperson requested that the Committee be advised on whether the sewerage
ponds have filled yet and whether the irrigation system is working yet.
GeneralManager
Infrastructure
Himatangi Water Supply
Residents were present at the meeting to request that something be done about the
deterioration in the quality of the water supplied to the Himatangi Beach ratepayers.
Residents are extremely concerned about the smell and residue contained in the
water, and are concerned about the effects on the health of people drinking it.
Janine Hawthorne (MDC Community Advisor) tabled a report dated 12 February
2016 providing detailed analysis of sampling carried out in January 2016.
The Council advises that the water is tested every week and that it meets the drinking
water standards. However the quality has deteriorated since the installation of the
irrigation schemes on the surrounding farms. These schemes are approved by
Horizons Regional Council, and the Manawatu District Council has objected to the
number of consents being issued. The problem is an increase of ammonia and silica
in the water, and the Council has started work on a new reservoir and aerator, which
is expected to be operating by August/September 2016.
Issues that need to be addressed are:
 Drinking water standards – are they too low?
Chairperson
No.
Item
Action (who)




Issuing of consents – invite an officer from Horizons Regional Council to
speak to the Committee on the issuing of consents.
What affect is the water contamination having on the sewerage scheme?
Council reporting to the Committee each month on the testing carried out.
Make a submission to the Annual Plan consultation process about the water
supply.
Asbestos Contamination from House Fire that occurred 29 February 2016.
Concerns have been raised about asbestos contamination and also the dangerous and
derelict condition the house is now in. A resident has raised the issue of the house
being both a hazard and an eyesore, with little being done by the owner to make it
safe or have it demolished, and would like the Council to intervene.
The Council advises that they have received confirmation that material containing
asbestos has been removed, and any further responsibility for the property lies with
the owner
Dune Work
Doug Tate (MDC Community Facilities Manager) advises that work on stabilisation of
a small section of the foredune will begin in May to be completed by 30 June 2016:
The key components of work are going to include:
 Himatangi Transport clearing the sand of the accessway again
 Some minor log-loading to prevent vehicle access to a couple of the accreting
areas
 Post and tape fencing to keep people off the planting areas
 A small area of sand fencing to build a foredune blowout up
 Planting (if we can source plants this late in the season) – we will look to do a
shared planting day – date TBC once we have sourced plants etc.
The walkway to the south needs a lot of work, and it’s possible that we will need to
wait until the next financial year (i.e after 30 June) to get this sorted. This will
include altering the walkway route as it enters the beach, to make the gradient safe in
particular and to prevent the resulting blowout getting any bigger.
Neighbourhood Support
Gary Stonely and Nook Yule representing Manawatu District Neighbourhood Support
were present to speak on the importance of building strong, supportive and safe
neighbourhoods. The organisation is supported by the Police, Civil Defence
Manawatu-Wanganui and the Manawatu District Council. They are working in this
area to raise the profile of Neighbourhood Support, and to get everyone registered on
their data base. In the event of an emergency Neighbourhood Support would be
working closely with Civil Defence, Community Patrol, and all other community
organisations to ensure the safety of all residents. Himatangi Beach residents can
register their details and advise of specific needs and skills on
www.ManawatuNeighbourhood.org, or by filling out a form which will be made
available in the community.
Community Plan – Sub Committee reports:
Signage – The signage is on track to be completed by 30 June 2016 and will be
available for a community review before being installed.
Kaikokopu Stream Reserve – The sub-committee met with the MDC Parks and
Reserves Manager and the Recreation and Open Space contractor. Working bees will
be held on the last Saturday of each month from May to September to clear and
mulch the grass from the existing planted island beds, clear acacia and poplar, and
plant in the existing beds. (Full report attached)
Community Patrol /Beach Wardens – More patrollers have been recruited, and
donations have been received from non-resident property owners. The new vehicle
will be on patrol from May. (Full report attached).
Civil Defence – A briefing meeting will be held Tuesday 10 May 2016 for the
Community Committee and Community Patrol to discuss CD packs for volunteers,
Tsunami signage project, Exercise Tangaroa, and radio/communication procedures.
General Manager
Infrastructure
Chairperson
No.
Item
Action (who)
Recycling and Rubbish – working well.
Security Lighting and Cameras – The estimated cost to erect a wide angled camera to
record activity taking place at the Koputara Road/Hunia Terrace intersection is
$1500.
2.2
Community
Plan
3
Councillor’s
Report
Action Sheet
Meeting
Closed
Next
Meeting
Completed projects:
 Pedestrian access to the beach and dune contouring – entrance to beach
completed.
 Finish Community Centre enhancements -kitchen, internal and external painting
completed.
 Establish a Community Patrol and Beach Warden programme with close police
liaison – CPNZ affiliated group established December 2015.
 Establish a Kaikokopu Stream and reserve focus group -(sub-committee)
 Better rubbish/litter management - recycling centre redesigned and more bins
installed.
 Establish a funding strategy for implementing and completing projects – set up a
fund raising committee – The Himatangi Beach Community Trust was set up for
this purpose in 2004.
 Set up an effective communication strategy between MDC and the community –
the Community Advisor Janine Hawthorn attends every meeting of the Committee
and with the Community Facilities Manager Doug Tate has created extremely
effective and responsive communication with the community.
Council Matters
Update from Liaison Councillor Jo Heslop on current MDC activities
 The Annual Plan is now well underway and submissions close 29 April.
 Council elections will be held 8 October 2016.
 Community Committees will cease to formally exist until after the elections,
when the newly appointed liaison Councillor will call a public meeting to
elect a new committee. It is expected that all new Community Committees
will be in place by the end of February 2017.
 The Council has appointed a new Chief Executive. Richard Templar will take
over on 9 May 2016
The Council/Community Committees action sheet process is under review.
9.30pm
Monday 30 May 7.30pm HB Community Hall.
April 26, 2016
Himatangi Community Patrol Report
March has been a quiet month in Himatangi Beach village and surrounds. Well done to all concerned! We hope it continues
– makes life much more pleasant for us all.
The number of Community Patrollers is growing; the first of the new recruits is about to go out on Patrol this week with
one of our first intake and four more volunteers are about to undergo the necessary Police checks before commencing
basic training. This is very exciting. We get great support from the Police and for our own community to be enthusiastic
enough to join us is hugely satisfying.
We have received three very generous donations from three non-resident property owners. All donations will be going
towards having our new vehicle, which we take delivery of at the end of this month, signwritten and fully kitted out – and
fundraising is going to have to start in earnest in order to build a garage for the vehicle and storage for all the kit in a secure
place, central and accessible for all Patrollers by the start of next summer.
We have begun discussions with Manawatu District Council about what council land might be available for this project
because time is of the essence. The vehicle must be in a safe lock up and it isn’t appropriate for us to use a Patroller’s personal
garage space, coming and going as we do at all hours of the day and night. Luckily, the Palmerston North Surf Lifesaving
Club has given us space in their premises until they need it again in October. Thanks for that, PNSLSC! We really appreciate
it.
We are continuing to patrol the beach and village during daylight hours. It’s good for us to be seen out and about and to be
able to talk to people about what we’re doing and why. We can report that our presence is supported by the majority we
meet, if smiles and waves are any indication. However, the night patrols are when different groups of people are out and
about and we are certain that our being out and about with them is making some of them think twice about their behaviour.
The following are the stats for March. As I said, it was quiet. Just how most of us like it. We have had a number of line calls
to make.
Just because someone is falling down drunk doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to call the Police. We will if they get
behind the wheel. We will if they don’t have someone with them, taking care of them, or if they pass out. We will if they look
like they’re going to hurt themselves, someone else or property.
Otherwise, we’re probably just going to keep an eye on them and make sure they stay safe.
March 2016
Vehicle Related
Property Related
Damaged Property
Disorder
People Related incidents
Special service
Police directed activities
Total Patrol hours
Patrol kilometres travelled
Administration hours
Training hours
Reported to MDC
Reported to police or 111
0
2
0
1
0
0
0
41
167.4
5
0
0
0
Thanks for a quiet March and here’s to a quiet April.
Cheers,
Rene van de Weert,
Coordinator
Himatangi Beach Community Patrol and Beach Wardens
027 222 2216
Kaikokopu Reserve& stream sub-committee Report April 26th 2016
A working bee was held over the weekend to attend the weeds and shorten the grass around the new plants, a survey was
taken of the plants and we estimate that we have had 75% success/survival rate over the summer months. Many many
thanks to all who came out with wheel barrows to cart mulch to these new plants, Derek’s diligence of getting water to
these plants at crucial times over the hot dry months, all contribute to this WIN WIN situation.
Derek Phyll Cathy George of the sub-committee met with Rachel MDC and Duncan from Recreation & Open Space
Contractors this morning, after this meeting we made contact with Aaron our plants guru from Horizons to bring him up
to date with plans. The purpose of todays meeting was to discus and set the 2016 winter planting plan and to identify
tasks to achieve this, to schedule working Bee dates and to confirm who would take responsibility of tasks.
Changes in team dynamics of previous and current MDC Parks maintenance teams have meant that we re-assess our
Reserve plans per our submission of 2015 MDC Long Term Plan. This is not a major change it will just take a little longer
to get to the top end of the Reserve, it does mean that we will have more help from O.A.C. to maintain the Reserve in good
condition.
THE 2016 WORK PLAN :- Is to hold a working bee on the last Saturday of each month from 28 MAY TO 24
SEPTEMBER, start time 10am to 12am. We will be working to clear/create a canopy on the top of the islands/hills as
recreation areas for families using the Reserve, from the Firestation end of the Reserve to the midway Carpark to the
overgrown area beside the stream, always an eyesore.
DUNCAN’S TEAM; OPEN SPACE CONTRACTORS will mow that area, bring in and drop off the mulch as close to the
planting areas as and when needed.
HIMATANGI BEACH WORKING BEE TEAMS CREATE CANOPY :- will cut out existing Acacia, rubble, dead
trees,unwanted logs and dispose of it, clear any overgrown grass and prepare selected areas for planting, spread mulch
where needed.
AARON HORIZONS PLANTS GURU will liaise with reserve sub committee about placement, plant type etc. tWe need to
take advantage of the small window of time for planting, to allows the plants maximum settling period before full summer
sets in.
RACHEL& DOUG MDC will support, liaise in any way that they can throughout the planned working period to help us to
achieve these goals
We aim to be ready to plant in by 25th June working bee.
WORKING BEE SCHEDULED DATES & TIME
1st SATURDAY 10AM 28TH MAY CREATE CANOPY
2nd SATURDAY 10am 25th JUNE PLANTING
3rd SATURDAY 10am 30th JULY CLEARING/PLANTING
4th SATURDAY 10am 27th AUGUST CLEARING,CANOPY
5th SATURDAY 10am 24th SEPTEMBER CARPARK/LONG GRASS
These tasks for each Working Bee will be re-assessed and confirmed after each day is complete these will be advertised in
the Himatangi News and on the Main Window of the Mailbox area.
Please bring your tools and gloves we will provide a cuppa at smoko.
As this is mid winter we can expect wet days should the day clear by lunchtime the working Bee will continue for two
hours. or call/text me 0212638015 home 3299731
Kiaora Phyll