KĀPITI UPDATE

7 August 2014

Paul Halliday and Alan Smith were called out to unblock the pipe which was clogged up with wet wipes, delightedly pushed down the kindy loo by small hands over many months.As they worked, the pair found themselves the object of curiosity and asked the children if they’d like a closer look.“They were very interested in what we were doing and asked all sorts of questions,” says Alan, Council’s Reticulation Technical Officer. “It was great, as we don’t normally interact with kids at work.”The children gained such a lot from the experience that kindy supervisor Phyllis Edwards decided to write a sequel to a story they’d written four years earlier called ‘The Big Plugger’ – featuring Paul fixing the very same drain pipe.“They were so friendly and patient answering all the kids’ questions,” Phyllis says. “It’s really important that the children learn to interact with the community and this was a great opportunity for them. They were so interested, I decided to extend the experience and write the second book with their input.”Paul and Alan were presented with copies of the book at a special morning tea at the kindy last week with Mayor Ross Church, teachers, children and some Parkwood Lodge residents looking on.“It was fantastic to be invited to the morning

tea and be presented with the book,” says Paul, Council’s Sewer/Stormwater Supervisor. “When you’re working on sewers under the ground, no-one really notices what you’ve done so it’s great to be appreciated and makes the job worthwhile!”In the words of ‘The Return of the Big Plugger’:

“The moral of the story we all need to know When the drain is stinky it needs a heave ho Paul and Alan are the men for the job They are the best at getting rid of all the fat blobs No more wet wipes will slip down our loo Keep an eye on this we will do.”

The folk at Castle Kids Kindy in Waikanae were so pleased with the Council staff who fixed their sewer pipe recently, they wrote a story about the experience.

First anniversary for Aquatic Centre

Upgrade for water treatment plant

It’s a year since our eye-catching Coastlands Aquatic Centre opened!The anniversary will be celebrated with an open day on Sunday 10 August, when all pools and the hydroslide can be used for just $1.Alison Law Aquatic Facilities Manager says the celebration will take the form of a ‘fun day’.“We’ll have all the inflatables up and have hired a dunk tank for the event. Decorations will be put up around the pool and competitions will run throughout the day. There’ll also be some spot prizes, including the chance to win a year’s free swimming and a $250 Coastlands’ voucher.”Ms Law says one year on, the pool is proving very popular with almost 220,000 people through since it opened.“The centre was established to cater for the whole community and that’s exactly what it’s doing. Everyone from babies and toddlers to some of our oldest residents are coming along. We’ve even had someone join our new AquaEase class who hadn’t been in a pool for 30 years.”Over the past year, the Aquatic Centre has also hosted elite swim events and has more than 400 people enrolled in SwimSchool classes each term.“Our staff try very hard to make everyone’s experience of the facility a good one and we’re very pleased to get a resounding thumbs up for our customer service in a recent survey,” Ms Law says.

The upgrade of the Waikanae water treatment plant is progressing well.The plant, built in 1977, is having its raw water pumps, chemical dosing equipment and electrical/control facilities replaced or upgraded to allow for greater use of automated controls and online monitoring. Improvements will also be made to the building itself to ensure 100% compliance with latest earthquake standards.In parallel, work is being carried out to construct the infrastructure needed for the River Recharge Scheme which will enable Waikanae River to be topped up with groundwater below the treatment plant in dry times. This will allow more water to be taken from the river and processed at the plant when needed, also ensuring bore water does not enter our water supply.Construction has been underway since February. In the coming months mechanical work on the bores in Te Moana/Smithfield roads and Huiawa Street in Waikanae will commence. The structure to enable bore water to be pumped into Waikanae River below the treatment plant will also be progressed.Work is likely to be completed by mid-2015.

Alan Smith at front with kindy supervisor Phyllis Edwards and kids. Paul Halliday at back with Mayor Ross Church to his right.

Checking out the water treatment plant recently are from L to R: Councillor Holborow, Councillor Elliot, Deputy Mayor Councillor Cardiff, Councillor Gurunathan, Councillor Gaylor, Group Manager Infrastructure Services Sean Mallon, Senior Water & Wastewater Engineer Haig Meyer, Water & Wastewater Treatment Plants Manager Dave Bassett and Councillor Ammundsen.

Like us on Facebook

Council now has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/kapiticoastdistrictcouncil We encourage Kāpiti residents to ‘like’ the page to get regular updates on issues going on in our district. Information on roads, sports and leisure facilities, libraries and events are regularly posted and we welcome feedback!Scan this QR code in your smart phone app to load our Facebook page.

Return of the Big Plugger

KĀPITI UPDATE

Council recently received the Beca ‘Infrastructure Project of the Year Award’ for the Waikanae River Recharge Project at the Local Government NZ Conference in Nelson. This caps off an amazing six-month winning streak that has seen Council receive a string of national awards for innovation and achievement. Pictured at the awards night from L to R: Chief Executive Pat Dougherty, Andrew Watson from BECA and Mayor Ross Church.

7 August 2014

Waikanae Town Centre ideas take shape

Works on Kāpiti Road accommodate ExpresswayWork to upgrade the Kāpiti Road/Te Roto Drive/Milne Drive intersection has increased to meet the needs of the Expressway project. This has included undergrounding power cables on the northern side of Kāpiti Road, altering traffic lanes and adjusting the width of traffic islands to achieve a 2.3 metre-wide footpath for the southern side of the road (from Milne Drive towards Mitre 10 Mega).Other work to date has involved:➢ chip sealing and asphalting the

new traffic lanes on Kāpiti Road from Arko Place to Te Roto Drive

➢ completing the footpath on Arko Place

➢ restoring the service entrance for the Mad Butcher store

➢ constructing a vehicle entrance and making improvements to the car park by the shops on the section of Kāpiti Road just west of Te Roto Drive

➢ tidying up these work areas to ensure businesses can operate with minimal disruption.

Pavements will be sealed and completed before contractors move on to the next section of Kāpiti Road.Council is now producing a weekly update for businesses in the area. Anyone wanting to be emailed this bulletin can contact Clare Harbidge, Administration Support Officer for the Council’s Roading Team at clare.harbidge@kapiticoast.govt.nzSenior Roading Engineer John Perkins can also be contacted for further information on (04) 296 4700.The Kāpiti Road upgrade is due to be completed by late September or early October.

Come along to our open day: Saturday 16 August between 10am and 2pm at Waikanae Library.Ideas are starting to take shape for the transformation of Waikanae Town Centre and draft concept ideas will be available for comment at the open day. “The Expressway presents the ideal opportunity to re-design this town centre and create a new heart for the community,” Mayor Ross Church says. “It’s exciting to see ideas starting to take shape.”The draft concept ideas, based on community feedback from the last open day and a submissions process, include:• transforming Ngaio Road into a

main street• upgrading Mahara Place• turning Mahara Place into a shared

space for vehicles and pedestrians• a new green space and public

connection to an upgraded Mahara Gallery and Library complex

• a design for Waikanae Town Centre’s public space areas

• landscaping on Ngaio Road and the current State Highway 1 (SH1).

The options will also be available on Council’s website (www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/town-centres) after the open day and people can continue to give their feedback until 1 September.“Council can facilitate and do things within public spaces, however for the town centre transformation to be successful, we need the support of the wider community, business and investors to bring ideas to reality,” Mayor Church says. Another open day to look at final designs is planned for early next year, followed by formal consultation as part of the 2015 Long Term Plan process.The Waikanae Town Centre transformation is part of the wider Town Centres & Connectors Transformation project, which is also looking at the future shape of Paraparaumu Town Centre, Kāpiti Road and the parts of SH1 that run through the two towns.For more information on the project, go to www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/town-centres

Exhibition of local artistsDon’t miss ‘Kāpiti Artists A Capital Show’ featuring 41 local artists displaying their work as a group in one gallery for the first time.The exhibition runs at the Parliamentary Gallery (Bowen House, 70/84 Lambton Quay) from 12 August to 26 September, 10am to 3pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

The family stories of eight local soldiers who lost their lives in World War I (WWI) will feature at the ‘Soldiers’ Tales from the Trenches’ expo at Paraparaumu Library on 16/17 August (10am to 4pm, free entry). This expo of events and memories, a joint venture between Kāpiti Coast District Libraries and Kapiti Genealogy, commemorates the centenary of WWI.On the same theme, from 5 August

(ongoing) all our libraries will be showing WWI-themed display panels featuring facts, poems, songs, quotes and extracts that reflect on the experiences and effects of war.Also on 5 August, libraries and

community venues (cafés, RSAs and local shops) will be giving out poetry cards which feature WWI poets and soldiers offering insights into life, death, love and war.

Commemorating World War I at our libraries