| Meeting | Date | Time |
| Council Meeting | Thursday, 28 April | 1.00pm |
| Capital Projects and Tenders Committee | Tuesday, 3 May | 3.00pm |
| Extraordinary Meeting to adopt the draft Annual Plan 2022/2023 and draft Consultation Document | Thursday, 5 May | 3.00pm |
| Cycling and Walking Subcommittee | Thursday, 19 May | 3.00pm |
| Council Meeting | Thursday, 26 May | 1.00pm |
| Westland District Council Customer Services and Library | Closed
Friday 15 April – Monday 18 April |
| Hokitika Swimming Pool | Open
Friday 15 and Monday 18 April 9am – 6pm Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 April 10am – 6pm |
| I-SITE
|
Open
Friday 15 – Monday 18 April 10am – 2pm |
| Transfer stations
Open normal hours except for the following: |
|
| Hokitika Transfer Station
Closed Friday 15 and Monday 18 April |
|
| Kumara
Closed Sunday 17 April |
|
| Franz Josef Transfer Station
Closed Friday 15 April |
|
| Fox Glacier
Closed Monday 18 April |
Good news for library patrons, the library has returned to standard opening hours. You can now visit the library in Hokitika:
Monday – Friday, 9.30am to 5.30pm
Saturday 10.00am – 4.00pm.
Library staff are looking forward to seeing more of their patrons! Vaccine passes and scanning the Covid Tracer app are no longer required, but we ask that people continue to wear their masks and maintain social distancing where possible.
Justice of the Peace services have resumed and a JP is available every Thursday from 11am – 1pm.
You can visit a JP for free at the Westland District library if you need:
Before you visit a JP make sure you:
Visit the Royal Federation of NZ Justices’ Association website to review the visit checklist.
The Book Which Travels’ has arrived at Westland District Library and is waiting to be filled with your stories!
We invite you to write the story of how you ended up living on the Coast to be included in the book. Stories can be handwritten or typed and it doesn’t matter if you have lived here your entire life or if you just arrived a few days ago, we would love to hear your story. Pick up a copyright release from the library or download one from our website and return it to us along with your story by email library@westlib.co.nz or drop it into the library by the end of April.
This is a joint project between the three West Coast libraries, Grey, Westland and Buller. After the book has visited all three districts the stories will be published in an anthology for display at each library and available to borrow from our digital library collection.
They have plans and they’re keen to share them
Join Museum Director Kararaina Te Ira on Wednesday 13 April at 6.30pm to hear about current plans and progress on the gallery development project – Ngā Whakatūranga.
Register to join the webinar or email enquiries@hokitikamuseum.nz for the link. Staff hope to see you join us online.
Discussion about the future options for the Hokitika Wastewater Treatment Plant are well underway in the second quarter of 2022. Contractors Stantec met with the Hokitika Wastewater Treatment Plant Project Oversight subcommittee on Tuesday 5 April to update them on the next stages of the process, developing and reviewing the options to build the new wastewater treatment plant.
Creating a partnership with mana whenua was of utmost importance to Council when starting the project. “We want to acknowledge the connections to the land that our iwi partners have”, says Mayor Bruce Smith. “Their knowledge and understanding are absolutely necessary for Council to consider the cultural aspect and values to build a new wastewater treatment plant that is acceptable to Mana Whenua and our community and we need to build a strong partnership for that to happen.”
“We really value the valuable insight our Ngāti Waewae and Ngāti Maahaki provide to the Subcommittee,” comments Chief Executive Simon Bastion. “In-house the level of experience and expertise amongst our council operations and project teams is the strongest it has been for many years as we work towards planning and delivering on what will be the Council’s largest project in its history.”
At the completion of the project, Hokitika will have a fit-for-purpose wastewater treatment solution that has been developed in partnership with local iwi and is sensitive to the cultural and environmental concerns of the community.
View the presentation here.
Photo by Stantec
Good weather through February 2022 enabled the final chip-sealing of Cron Street in Franz Josef to be completed and the extension prepared for opening.
This is excellent news for the community with improved and safe access to the services of St John’s, the medical centre, Fire and Emergency and Civil Defence for vehicles and pedestrians. It also provides plenty of additional parking, along with the Tourism Infrastructure funded upgrade and extension of the visitor car park off the main road.
Yay, the Park has reopened to the Public!
NORMAL HOURS: (weather permitting for railway)
Saturdays – displays and railway – open 10am – 3pm
Wednesdays – displays only (railway not operating) open 10am – 3pm
On Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 April from 10am – 3pm join the WIHP volunteers to discover our displays, enjoy a sausage sizzle and ride the Mudfish Bush railway. A fun day for the family.
Join us on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 April to enjoy our displays and railway with visiting trains from Christchurch and Greymouth at the Park. Open from 10am – 3pm both days.
Park Contact Information
Email: wihpark@gmail.com
Phone: 027 629 1935
Website: http://www.rustyrelics.co.nz
Address: 9 Brian Waugh Lane, Hokitika 7810
If you have demolished a building and do not plan to rebuild it promptly, let QV know so that they can adjust their rating value to reflect the impact of the demolition. Once QV lets Council know about the change, we will adjust your rates to reflect their lower rating value from the following 1 July. Rates legislation does not allow us to adjust your rates any earlier, irrespective of when the demolition actually occurs.
Please contact QV by phone on 0800 800 169, or by email hokitika@qv.co.nz for properties in the Westland District.
Photo by Gene Gallin on Unsplash
Your opportunity to stand for local council, or vote for whom you want to represent you and your community is approaching fast. Election Day is on Saturday, 8 October and nominations for Council open on Friday, 15 July.
We have plenty of information on our website to help you understand how you can participate in the local elections.
Jason Webster | West Coast Riding for the Disabled (WCRDA)
The core purpose of NZ Riding for the Disabled (NZRDA) is to provide interaction with horses to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for people experiencing disability, or who have specific challenges or needs. NZ Riding for the Disabled aims to enable and support people with a disability to achieve good lives including meaningful participation in, and contribution to, important life activities and roles in their community.
West Coast RDA recently received funding from the Westland Mayors Taskforce for Jobs (MTFJ) enabling them to employ two of their long term volunteers. One of these individuals is Jason Webster. Jason has Down Syndrome and rides with at RDA every Tuesday, and then returns on Wednesday and Thursday to work. Jason has proven himself as an all-rounder bagging up manure (never-ending job), de-nailing timber, cleaning and filling water containers, bringing ponies in from the paddock, unloading hay and acting as a hammer-hand when building work is underway. In addition to offering some wage support the Westland MTFJ have supplied Jason with protective work gear and will help with costs towards the maintenance of his bicycle which serves as his primary mode of transport to and from work.
Jason arrives at RDA on his bike, which gives him wonderful independence, complete with all the gear he needs for the day. He also uses the bike to move water containers and hay around. Jason says: “I just love RDA so much. I love the horses and the riding and helping out. I like being part of the team and I feel that I belong. RDA makes me happy.”
The Mayors Taskforce for Jobs is a Local Government fund focused on supporting youth 16 – 24 year olds in to employment, people with a disability returning to or entering the workforce. They also support small businesses find employees for hard-to-fill positions. If you are interested in learning more about the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs in Westland visit the website or contact the team directly mtfj@westlanddc.govt.nz.
Text and photo by Jane Neale – WCRDA
Shape the future of Local Government
Get Vocal in Your Local has been developed by the Review into the Future for Local Government.
The Minister of Local Government, the Hon Nanaia Mahuta, has established the Review to look at how Aotearoa’s system of local democracy needs to evolve over the next 30 years. This is to improve the wellbeing of New Zealand communities and the environment, and actively embody the Treaty partnership.
Get Vocal in Your Local is an interactive tool that asks young Kiwis to think about the future of Aotearoa, and what might be different in 2050. It’s targeted at 18 to 24-year olds and high school aged rangatahi, but it will also appeal to anyone who feels connected to a place in Aotearoa and wants to have a say in the decisions that affect it.
The tool asks some of the big questions we’re exploring, such as the ways decisions that affect local communities should be made, and whether the voting age should be lowered. We’ve made it easy to send us a personalised submission on your thoughts – and it only takes 5 minutes to complete!
Data collected by the tool will help shape our recommendations to the Minister of Local Government. Our draft report will be released in October 2022 and a final report is due in June 2023, after a period of public consultation.
Once you’ve had your say, please share Get Vocal in Your Local with the young people in your lives, your friends, your whānau and your wider community.
Get behind #GetVocalInYourLocal, because your local needs your voice.
Click here to join the conversation.
Even if you have had the COVID-19 vaccine, you still need to get the flu vaccine, and vice versa. Having one doesn’t protect you against the other disease, you need both vaccines. It’s important to get immunised against flu as it could make you very sick.
Just like the COVID-19 vaccine, the flu vaccine will not completely stop you getting flu, but it reduces your chances of getting it and should stop you getting really sick and help you avoid hospitalisation.
Get immunised to stop the spread of influenza around your community. Even if you don’t feel sick, you could still be infected with influenza and pass it on to others. If you are sick, staying away from others, regular handwashing or use of hand sanitisers and covering your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing also help reduce the spread of influenza.
Flu vaccinations are free for people at higher risk. This includes pregnant people, people aged 65 and over, Maori and Pacific people aged 55+, people under 65 with certain medical conditions and children aged 4 and under with serious respiratory illness. They are available from your general practice team and most pharmacies. Please call your general practice team, local pharmacy or healthcare provider first to check availability and book an appointment, as some may have reduced staffing due to the Omicron outbreak.
There doesn’t need to be a gap after your COVID-19 booster or after you have recovered from COVID-19, you can get your flu vaccination any time – just as long as you are feeling well on the day of your flu vaccination.
You can get more information about the vaccine on the following webpages:
You can also call Healthline for advice on 0800 611 116 anytime or visit www.healthline.govt.nz
Text by West Coast DHB
