Tuesday, 9 February 2016, 7:30pm
Present: committee members: Iain MacLean, Kate Dreaver, Dagmar Pesendorfer, Paul FitzGerald, Pauline Morse, June Penhey, Brian Sullivan, Jonathan Harker; Bronwyn Kropp (PCC), Jenny Brash (GWRC).
Apologies: Nick Vincent (PKBRA), Tim Sheppard (PCC).
Approval of previous minutes: Moved Pauline, seconded Kate.
Matters arising from previous minutes
Muri Road Safety: Questionnaires will be mailed out on 10 February.
Retaining wall: public access sign erected, handrail will be replaced with a round steel rail. There is still some debate about the gate; a gate looks like private property, whilst no gate is unsafe for the descent. Brian proposed that we ask for a safety barrier, all agreed.
Financial Report
Balance: $2,960.73
PCC grant money hasn’t arrived yet.
Action: Bronwyn to follow up the grant.
Correspondence
PCC: meeting documents received.
PCC update
SH1 roadside garden: Parks Manager Olivia Dovey suggests converting garden into a rockery that requires less maintenance. Instead, we recommend that we establish a natural looking physical barrier of large rocks and the like, that meets NZTA barrier requirements to not need a traffic management plan. Another option is a plain bit of mown grass.
Action: Bronwyn to investigate barrier requirements and options for us.
Community garden: Jonathan to proceed on the basis that even if we don’t yet have an agreement by late autumn, we can start with tree planting and watershed under re-vegetation, as long as we have agreement from PCC.
Action: Jonathan to organise the community garden planting meeting.
Footpath from shops to Wairaka Road: status as of December 2015 minutes.
Action: Bronwyn to investigate for us.
Footpath access under SH1: if all goes well construction should start in April/May 2016.
Muri Road lighting and speed issues: consultation letters will be sent out tomorrow (10 February). Much of the discussion was around street lighting rather than pedestrian safety or traffic calming measures.
Pukerua Bay School pedestrian safety: to be submitted in the annual plan consultation in April for PCC to consider. The existing mobility park is too narrow and will be widened and re-marked in order to meet requirements.
Regional council update
In annual planning, and rail contract negotiation. Tomorrow (10 February) there’s a Volvo hybrid diesel-electric double-decker bus being demonstrated in Wellington CBD.
Paua poaching
Poachers have been observed poaching paua on the beach. We need to improve the signs. Existing ones are either not explicit, obscured by grass or too low and hidden by parked cars. The fishing restriction in place is hand-held line fishing only. Sign needs to say, report illegal fishing to the 0800 number. We need to put it about on social and community media (Facebook, Neighbourly etc.) Brian to suggest rewording in “Plain English” (i.e. similar to the People First legislation work).
Action: Pauline, Jenny and Bronwyn to contact Chris Dando at Kapi-mana and contact MPI fisheries about policing and signs.
Other Business
Kate suggests that PCC considers doing as Horowhenua Council has decided to do, and not consult on its Annual Plan in the year following the Long Term Plan (LTP) agreement and put the money into the Village Plan budget. There are virtually no changes to the Annual Plan in the first year of the LTP and the money used for consultation could be better spent within the community.
Parking at the beach is chaotic in the weekend, Pauline has emailed PCC for a warden.
Meeting finished: 9.10 pm
Next meeting: Tuesday 9 March 2016