Power upgrade
Te Awamutu underground cables.
Te Awamutu’s ageing electricity infrastructure is to have its capacity increased to keep the network reliable. Waipā Networks will lay new 11kV underground cables along Racecourse Road between Mangapiko Street and Factory Road – the first new cables since 1966 when they served 5000 people compared to 13,500 today.
Bridge opens
The central pier, bridge beams and balustrades are made from Corten Steel which reduces long-term maintenance costs and has safety and environmental benefits. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
Traffic is now flowing over Hamilton’s new Te Ara Pekapeka Bridge. An opening was held earlier this month.
Voting open
Nine candidates are vying for six roles on Waipā Networks Trust. Incumbents Marcus Gower, Sarah Matthews, Dave McLean and Ray Milner are standing again while Philip Coles, Jarrod Godfrey, Pip Kempthorne, and Rollo Webb have put their hats in the ring. Long standing trustee Judy Bannon is not seeking re-election. Voting opened last week and close on October 1.
Church leaders’ call
Waipā religious leaders have backed a letter opposing the ACT party’s Treaty Principles Bill. News faith columnist Murray Smith, of Bridges Church, said it is an affiliate of a national church network (LinkNZ) that has commitment to the treaty “as it stands”. “Our view is that the Treaty does not need any ‘re-definition’, rather it needs but to be understood and implemented in terms of its original intention from the outset,” he said.
Hub plan: tell me more says Kane
Kane Titchener
Te Awamutu and Kihikihi Community Board deputy chair Kane Titchener is reserving comment on the Kihikihi Community Hub and Sports Hub project until he has received more information. Speaking at a workshop tacked onto the end of the August board meeting, Titchener told Waipa District Council staffer Gina Scott and consultant Craig Jones of Visitor Solutions that he wanted to know more about the project before commenting.
After the workshop he told The News he had not seen any detail yet. Visitor Solutions works for the tourism, events, sports and recreation, arts, and community development sectors, and specialises in helping organisations realise their goals. Scott told the board she and Jones had started engaging with stakeholders for a feasibility study.
Gina Scott
“This is the very first step,” she said. “There is no funding for anything other than this first stage of involvement,” she said. Jones said he participated in a series of discussions with stakeholders, including domain users, the Alpha Restoration Trust, Ratepayers and Residents Group, sports clubs.
Board members spoke in favour of the study, although many of them believed it related to the work of Bill Harris at the Alpha Restoration Group. Scott told them it was not about the Alpha Hotel, but taking into consideration all facilities. “Can they be used better?” she asked. “We’re looking at what is best for this community to achieve what it needs to achieve.” Jones added: “Nothing is pre-ordained. It’s about listening at the moment.
Notification needed
Quarry application
Public notification will be required for a giant 27ha quarry in a rural zone on the outskirts of Cambridge, Waipā District Council has advised interested parties. Fulton Hogan – the holding company for the proposed quarry’s operators RS Sand Ltd – wants to run the quarry 3.5kms east of central Cambridge and about one kilometre from new housing to the northeast of the town.
Fly away little one
Waikato bird lover Judy Fentress released the first of two ruru at The Sculpture Park in the Waitakaruru Arboretum last weekend. Fentress, who has reared hundreds of birds and is a firm supporter of native wildlife, has been rearing the two native owls for the past eight months and the second will be released on Sunday.
