The next Board meeting is Wed 14 June at 1.30pm in the Town Hall Supper Room . The public forum will be near the start of the formal meeting, giving the usual opportunity to discuss issues. You might prefer to email/ phone the Community Board members: – Chris Rayner, Dennis Amoore, Kiri Binnersley, Lisa Thomson, Ross Wallis , Satnam Bains and Tony Oosten . Wednesday’s agenda , again lacks information on verbal reports , but it includes – Bus survey main proposal of 38-slide consultant’s Raglan bus report is to increase weekend buses from 2 a day. 12% say they’d use a local bus daily, but, based on “ Taupo + Thames ” use (though Raglan use 55% : Waikato 33% and lower car ownership), “ the results indicate very low frequency of use . . . Average bus vehicle cost = circa $50,000 per annum plus operating costs. . . Likely to generate less than $5,000 fare revenue per year. For a fixed route service costs are likely in excess of $100,000 per annum ”. Still not clear if $100,000 pa, $300,000, or what, is in LTP. ” A roughly hourly service between Whalebay and Raglan , are mentioned, but the maps only show bus options to Rangitahi , though for dial-a-ride “ WDC could provide stops at Manu Bay and Ngarunui Beach” and “Extend walking and cycling network, including to Whale Bay”, funding directly to community transport organisation or service provider.
” Problems of parking and congestion not costed and carbon not mentioned , nor that WDC/Waka Kotahi propose $69m for road upgrades, but $15m on active transport and nothing extra for buses (see below). So not surprising it concludes, ” The uptake is likely to be very low, as cost / travel time is unattractive compared to driving “.
Civil Defence “ The Board will organise a community meeting about Civil Defence in the coming months. . . plan on the basis that Raglan would be capable of standing on its own for three days . . . meeting with various community groups and individuals ”. Te Uku Recycling Centre “ only permanent solution would be to dis-establish and introduce a kerbside recycling collection in the area. This would be a . . . cost to ratepayers in the area. Cameras have been installed in the past, however, were destroyed within a week . There is no plan to reinstall. There is no contract in place regarding clearing litter from the surrounding area noting Council does not own this land ”. Xtreme Zero Waste met to discuss how to educate the public to cut 40% of organic waste in blue bags (see Infrastructure item below), Climate Response and Resilience Strategy, options for future services to rural areas, blue bag costs . Surf2surf walkway “ how we can retain the history of the existing path, possibly by cutting out key named blocks . . plan is to have two memorial seats with the names of everyone who contributed to the path and a story board ”. Cars Speeding on Main Road by BP “ Staff met with the traffic division of the police . . . They are required to focus on high risk routes which are all with a posted speed limit of 80km and over . . . Lower speed limit areas may be policed by the local departments however this is in addition to their usual duties . ”. Rubbish on State Highway 23 “ Waka Kotahi . . . contacted about this complaint. Awaiting response.
” Emergency works on Swann Access Road “ wash out and repair costs estimated cost $112,500.
” Hamilton Car Club rally on Ruapuke Rd “ was successfully supported by council ”. Road safety hui at Raglan Area School “ to discuss issues and possible solutions.
” Levels of Services Schedule sets out planned frequency of maintenance, eg lights, litter, mowing.
Connectivity Strategy consultation “ Completed. ”. Freedom Camping workshop held – no detail . 2024 Long Term Plan Building Blocks workshop held (see below). 3 Bow St “ Raglan Community Board Chairperson and Councillor catch up – discussed ”. Wi Neera Walkway Sets out case for additional budget, including “ Disruption to usage when water main is eventually upgraded ”. Soundsplash – “ Team Leader will provide an update out of meeting cycle to the Board . ” Greenslade Rd safety only working on maps. No mention of plans to make SH23 junction safe.
Playground – Greenslade Rd Reserve – “ Environmental consultants have provided the Ecological & Floodplain Assessment which is currently being reviewed. Once site constraints are known, location options for the playground can be explored.
” Long term planning/Blueprints “ community board members should have had an email from Jim Ebenhoh, Planning and Policy Manager, asking for comments on the existing blueprints . However, having reviewed Raglan’s Blueprint with Councilor Thomson this week I suggest this may be an opportunity for us to update the Raglan blueprint ”. Wharf “ mulch is in place with planting to take place shortly. . . balustrade is being installed . . . working towards final tidy up before opening with invites sent out for Friday 16th June – 7am. . .
Western Walkway . . . progressing through consenting with design being refined confirming stormwater layout . . . information boards under the Pohutukawa on eastern side and four small information boards on western side . . . Up to 8 information boards – examples that Niall has shared in previous emails . 4 smaller ones (one with an explanation of the kahawai lure) 3 others to be spaced out along the western walkway. 2 to 3 larger ones (depending on space) beside the footpath to the floating pontoon. . . . Simon Te Wheoro . . . Stainless steel balustrading . . . whakatauki and specific species from here cut out in the panels . . . opening of the whole wharf project . . . closer to Christmas . . . Wooden bench seating x3: the seat backing will be carved (front and back) with paua inlay.
Sculpture – paa kahawai/lure: constructed from marble/stainless steel, with wood and paua inlay on a wooden plinth ”. Manu Bay Breakwater – “ Tonkin Taylor has provided the options developed to Shaw at eCoast for assessment of effects. This will be complete in the first week of June . . . peer review by WSP. . . stakeholder meeting . . .late June ”. Water Supply Reticulation Upgrade “ 350 meters of new, upsized, and resilient pipelines have been successfully installed . . . daytime road closure of Gilmour Street was carried out smoothly, with careful communication to residents and road users. . . will continue . . . from the BP . . . to Long Street . . . to Cross St . . . a road detour will be implemented on Long Street, and conventional traffic management will be employed on Main Road.
” Raglan Naturally verbal report . Discretionary fund $7,916 remains. These council items are not on RCB’s agenda – Fluoride meeting 6.30pm Wed 14 Stewart St church hall Sewage Zoom 7pm Thu 22 Stormwater meeting 5.30pm Thu 29 Supper Room Policy 29/5 charging for the use of the ramp requires further consideration and exploration. We need to carefully evaluate the feasibility and fairness of imposing parking charges at the boat ramp. This would require more work and thought into the practical implementation of such a system. • During the discussion, staff pointed out that the LTP refers to boat ramp usage, not parking , and thus argued against the conflation of the two concepts. While it was not explicitly stated that charges would be imposed for usage versus parking, it is crucial to tread carefully and avoid any possible backlash from the boating community or even a judicial review. we do not currently have any land set aside for Natural burials but that Whatawhata and Taupiri have been identified as potential locations. Freedom Camping Bylaw A 2 nd Council workshop is booked for 7 June, and the bylaw is also before Policy & Regulatory Committee on 11 July for Approval to Consult . The review needs to be completed before October or the bylaw will be automatically revoked.
Reserves and Beaches Bylaw was quashed by the High Court in 2022 therefore, WDC does not have a current Bylaw. A workplan is currently being developed , as part of this work staff will be confirming what the issues are that need to be addressed through the bylaw.
Staff have identified the need for a new Solid Waste Bylaw , however due to staff vacancies , this work will need to be undertaken by a consultant. Te Reo Maaori Policy to be approved. Infrastructure 23/5 Responses to proposed closure of Ruapuke Road on June 18 – support 3, object 7. Waste Audit in November 2022 – The average bag weight in urban WDC was 6.33 kg . The average weight of contents of a 120L Tuakau wheelie bin was 12.94 kg . The average weight of a kerbside rubbish bag collected from a Raglan household was 6.56 kg . Organic was the largest single component, by weight, of Raglan rubbish bags, comprising 30.9% of the total. ‘ Nappies and sanitary’ was the 2nd largest, comprising 19.8% of the total, ‘ Plastics ’ represented 15.8% of the waste ‘ Plastic bags and film ’ comprised 56% of plastic waste, ‘ non-recyclable plastic ’ 26%, and ‘# 3, 4, 6 & 7 containers’ 4% . These materials are not accepted. 15% of plastic waste was ‘# 1, 2 and 5 containers’, which are accepted, ‘ Paper ’ 10.4%. The largest component of the paper was ‘ Recyclable paper ’, 60% of paper, including office paper, newspapers, magazines, junk mail, paper packaging, cardboard and envelopes. ‘ Non-recyclable paper ’ comprised 40% , including laminated paper, sandpaper, wallpaper, and food-contaminated paper some from takeaway food wrapping. Heavily food contaminated paper was classified as ‘non-recyclable paper’ but less contaminated paper was considered to be recyclable. ‘ Food waste ’ comprised 78% of the organic material. ‘Food waste’ included food preparation waste, left-over food waste, and substantial quantities of perished goods. ‘Green waste’, or garden matter, comprised 8% of the organic material, including tree and shrub pruning, leaves, weeds, and lawn clippings. ‘Organic other’ ( 14% of organic material) vacuum cleaner dust, animal faeces/litter, candles and human hair . Some may be compostable. 76% of Raglan households set out 1 rubbish bag , 15% 2 bags, and 7% 3 bags. 2% set out more than 3. Annual tonnage of kerbside waste Urban rubbish bags Rural rubbish bags Raglan rubbish bags Tuakau wheelie bins TOTAL Tonnes/annum 2,596 5,958 1,609 1,097 11,260 % of total 23% 53% 14% 10% 100% Whāingaroa Primary composition of Whāingaroa kerbside rubbish bags (Note: not a WDC service, it is a private service offered by XZW using pre-paid bags) Primary category Proportion of total Mean wt. per rubbish bag Mean weight per household Paper 10.4% 0.68 kg 0.85 kg Plastics 15.8% 1.04 kg 1.30 kg Organics 30.9% 2.03 kg 2.53 kg Ferrous metals 4.8% 0.31 kg 0.39 kg Non-ferrous metals 0.7% 0.04 kg 0.05 kg Glass 3.6% 0.24 kg 0.29 kg Textiles 7.8% 0.52 kg 0.64 kg Nappies and sanitary 19.8% 1.30 kg 1.62 kg Rubble 3.0% 0.20 kg 0.25 kg Timber 1.2% 0.08 kg 0.10 kg Rubber 0.5% 0.04 kg 0.04 kg Potentially hazardous 1.3% 0.09 kg 0.11 kg Total 100.0% 6.56 kg 8.18 kg In 2020 WK and WDC initiated a Northern Waikato Transport Connections Detailed Business Case with co-share funding. The output was a Strategic Case and an evidence base. Unfortunately, WK pulled its funding in 2022 due to re-prioritisation of its work programme. However, it was agreed by WDC and WK that rather pursuing an expensive and protracted business case, that a programme of works be developed instead. Whilst this was born out of the Northern Waikato process, it has been expanded to include the entire district. Whilst we have a good working relationship, it is important to note that WRC has not been able to deliver on the 2021-2031 LTP trial bus services. Staff are working with WRC to progress the following priority bus services: • Raglan internal • Tamahere and Matangi to Hamilton • Pookeno to Papakura. WRC is facing its own staffing challenges in the transport space with several vacancies of its own. The recent resignation of WRC’s Director for Regional Transport Connections , Mark Tamura, also means that WDC staff may have to re-establish a sound working relationship with whoever assumes that position. Whilst some of the initiatives for the district have existing funding committed in the 2021- 2031 LTP, further funding will be required in the 2024-2034 LTP. Based on the initiatives identified, the table below provides an overview of the funding status of these. Huntly to Hamilton bus service (Northern Connector) • Huntly internal • Raglan to Hamilton • Port Waikato to Pukekohe • North Waikato demand responsive • Pokeno to Pukekohe • Huntly to Pukekohe • Te Kauwhata to Hamilton • Hamilton to Papakura • (Not yet operational) Matangi to hamilton, • Tamahere to hamilton, • Raglan demand responsive service, Pōkeno to Papakura/Drury, Te Kowhai to Hamilton bus service, Raglan(internal) (imminent). 2021-2031 $1.5m pa, 2024-2034 $1.7m pa. WDC has a funding commitment of $1.937m in the 2021-2031 LTP for some of the projects above. The largest portion of the additional expenditure for the 2024-2034 LTP will relate to a potential contribution for Te Huia (estimated at $2.5m over 10 years) and a new railway station in northern Waikato (estimated at $10m). WRC looking at options of local driver hiring in Raglan and also making plan with community about the stops etc. Policy 23/5 public places bylaw Staff to investigate options around Mr Dennis Amoore’s submission regarding boat ramp charges in Raglan. Cafe seats – A point was raised regarding Bow St and Wainui Rd, Raglan, where the seats are on the opposite side of the footpath, causing a bottleneck when pedestrians cross the road. Sustainability and Wellbeing 17/5 ● Raglan accommodation (including Air BnB) was frequently booked out ● Taiao (Nature) in the Waikato District policy for approval ● There was a 3.8% reduction in Co 2 e for 21/22. The Climate Action and Sustainability Manager recommends that we aim to reduce our emissions by 17% in 2023-2024 (10 Cattle reduced on Wainui Reserve , Huntly gas boiler 14% will be removed, some of the fleet to hybrid and EV – 45% of the fleet are hybrid/plug in, and we have our first electric vehicle).
● 30 applied for the role of Climate Action and Sustainability Coordinator , and 3 are being interviewed ● We are working on how climate change/action is understood and included in the LTP . Long Term Plan Building Blocks workshop 15/5 “ likely that rates would increase in a lower-than expected growth scenario.” The assumptions we would specifically like to workshop with Council are: 1. Economic conditions – how we will respond to the assumption of economic downturn when prioritising work programmes. 2. Availability of staff and contractors – whether we assume that we will be able to fill vacancies and/or get contractors in a timely manner or not, and what this will mean for budgeting. 3. Climate change – how we will respond to the growing impacts of climate change and the extent of Council’s involvement (with people, money and other resources) in mitigation (especially emissions reduction ), adaptation, response, recovery, community resilience development. 3 Waters – The Auckland and Northland entity is largely unchanged from the previous Three Waters plan, meaning they are likely to be ready to transition sooner. If we are unable to continue to contract our water services to Watercare or merge with “Entity A”, the implications of bringing this back in house are very significant and therefore our first option would be to find a new contractor. . . Debt capacity will be insufficient to fund major wastewater treatment plant upgrades planned in the first four years of the plan We have insurance . . . to fund the 40% that would be needed in the event of a natural disaster . We also have a disaster recovery reserve and a contingency fund to deal with unforeseen events, however due to Cyclone Gabrielle these are currently depleted and will take a while to build up again. Choice of options 1 or 2 on pages 28 to 37 – prefer low cost option, except for swimming pools, community halls, open spaces assets, recycling, water, stormwater & sewage for new development, cleaner stormwater, healthy water supply Raglan library 2028 $3m, community centre 2022 $½m, single lane bridge 2031 $10m, Rangitahi south new roads 2031 $13m, sewage works 2027 $28m, water pipes 2030 $6m, 2041 $8m.
For transport $69m is proposed for road upgrades , but only $15m for active transport – improve public transport 35* road safety 10 walking & cycling 22* Huntly SH1 ramps 11 footpaths 10 Rangitahi south new roads 13 Market St, Pokeno underpass 5 Raglan single lane bridge 10 Total active & public transport 15 road safety Buckland Rd 11 road safety SH22 8 * not recommended road safety Tahuna Rd 6 Total road upgrades 69 Reserve Management Plan Hearings Panel 14/6 WDC propose more than usual changes to plan, though still minor.
Issues missing from the RCB agenda are CCTV, WEL EV Charger, Coastal Plan, Manu Bay planting, Rugby Club Lights, Rangitahi swimming pool, Papahua fence, 5G telecom tower, Harbour Strategy, soccer field flooding, Coastal Reserves meeting, Animal Control late responses, World Rally Championship, unsealed roading, parking, cycle counts, Bayview Rd safety, Canada Geese, Papahua estuary planting, Cliff St, Park Dr/Long St crossing, town square, Town Hall Committee, coastal erosion, Energy Project, WRAP, Town Hall Warrant of Fitness, Calvert Rd parking, Te Mata Recycling, Hills Rd water tower, volunteer worker safety, Puriri Park, Eco Village. Should WED be taking up these or other issues? https://raglanradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/TownHallwaves.jpg