Waipa Council meeting
Cambridge ward councillor Roger Gordon has asked for a “deep dive” into community engagement, and he will get it in March.
Roger Gordon
Gordon asked for the dive to be included in Waipā District Council’s Risk and Assurance Committee work programme for 2026.
“There’s no mention of the erosion of community trust that was identified as a critical issue that we all felt was very very important,” Gordon said after reviewing the committee’s work programme for 2026.
Gordon was referring to the community’s response to the council’s announcement almost two years ago of a river crossing via a blue blob which prompted the subsequent reset of the Cambridge Connections Transport Plan.
“We’ve got to reestablish that community trust and I think that that deep dive into community engagement would be appropriate as our first step on correcting or addressing that issue of community trust,” Gordon said.
Shane Walsh
Gordon had the support of Te Awamutu ward member Shane Walsh at December’s Risk and Assurance Committee meeting.
“I’d like to see a little bit more focus in that area of reputation risk,” Walsh said. “We know it’s an issue, and we know it needs to be resolved. It’s a low-cost manageable issue and we need to focus on it.”
Pirongia ward councillor Claire St Pierre wanted to know how the project would interact with those who were avoiding engagement.
Cambridge Connections project manager Katie Mayes said the council was making sure all sectors of the community was being engaged with.
Katie Mayes
“We’ll have a detailed comms and engagement approach,” she said.
The council had an internal “lessons learnt” approach in the communications and engagement component.
Council acting business support group manager Georgina Knapp suggested the committee discuss community engagement in a deep dive in March.
St Pierre was also concerned the council’s relationship with New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi was flagged as a risk to the project, prompting her to question Mayes on the relationship.
Clare St Pierre – 2025
“The relationship is very strong,” Mayes said.
“They are very comfortable with the overall approach that we are taking around the strategic transport planning. They are well aware of the sorts of asks that are likely to come out of the transport plan at the end.”
NZTA had offered a staff partnership to present information relating to freight and future transport.
“I think it’s a really positive relationship,” she said.
St Pierre asked whether the establishment of the multi council-controlled water organisation Waikato Waters Ltd could be considered to be on track by council.
Waipā is joining Hauraki, Matamata-Piako, Ōtorohanga, Taupō, South Waikato and Waitomo district council from July.
“We’ve heard recently that there are now delays with Waikato Waters,” she said. “Not at our end, but it’s their end.”
Asked, after the meeting, to elaborate, St Pierre said it related to information she had received from council staff.
A Waikato Water Ltd spokesperson said there were no delays to the company going live on July 1.
St Pierre was also worried about council finances.
“As we get into more difficult financial times, we might have a lot more non-payment of rates for instance or push back on water charges things like that,” she said.
She noted a financial report that showed a payment delay in four per cent of water charges.
“I think which actually equates to $900,000… it’s not small stuff even though it’s small percentages.”
