ANNUAL REPORT 2011

Firstly we have to record the tremendous work that Ross Wightman (A previous Chairman for 7 years and then Deputy Chairman) has done during his leadership of our Association and for the community as a whole. Sadly Ross passed away last month after a short illness and his robust style and positive attitude will be greatly missed.

TCDC
New Mayor Glenn Leach and the new look Council have completed their first year in office and we believe they have made significant progress - their hallmark being less talk and more action. While we will never be in total agreement with every action, the level of communication and down to earth common sense is a great improvement. TCDC can be proud of their achievements to date and we look forward to further progress under their new CEO David Hammond.
Our local Community Board has also impressed with their clear thinking and communication with the local community and is well led by Keith Johnston.
However we have other concerns, in particular the intention to revise the rating structure for water and waste water which may increase Whangamata rates by $130 per year while reducing Thames rates by $235. We will continue to oppose this. Major Capital Expenditure on Water Schemes is also planned.
TCDC will be consulting with communities in the near future on the 10 Year Plan so we recommend you become familiar with this and make your voices heard through the submission process.

WAIKATO REGIONAL COUNCIL (WRC)
During the year your committee submitted in opposition to the WRC gifting $6m to help fund a Velodrome to be based in Cambridge. Not that we had an issue with the Velodrome itself but the perceived economic and other benefits accrue within a limited distance from Cambridge. There is no such benefit for Whangamata, yet we are to be rated the same as Cambridge residents to fund this. WRC voted to proceed with this gift.
The other issue we have with WRC is of course mangrove removal which is covered later.

UNITARY COUNCIL
There have been a number of suggestions that it is time to consider the benefits of a Unitary Council for the Thames Coromandel and Hauraki Districts. That is one elected body to manage the functions of the District Councils and the Regional Council. An example of this is the Auckland super city, but there are other examples of this model working successfully in NZ. We will follow this concept with interest

MANGROVES
Despite our optimism in our 2010 report there has been little progress in getting mangroves removed from our harbour. In contrast the BOP Regional Council has now removed 100 ha from Tauranga harbour with very little fuss and has noted significant improvement in the ecology of their harbour.
The process to date for us has been somewhat farcical with division within WRC evident as to the volume of mangroves to be removed, all of which has caused delays and considerable costs which will be borne by the ratepayer.
On 25th November 2011 the Hearings Commission approved the removal of 22 ha, with a number of specific conditions and numerous management plans. The WRC application was for 38 ha.
This represents approximately 20% of the total mangroves in the harbour and includes the 4.2 ha already cleared adjacent to the Moanaanuanu causeway.
In the meantime Forest and Bird has appealed this decision to the Environment Court requesting the consent be reduced to 6.9 ha (which also includes the 4.2 ha already cleared) which leaves just 1.72 ha of drain and channel clearance.
If this appeal is upheld Whangamata will be stuck with the current level of mangroves for the foreseeable future and ultimately the Otahu Estuary will be at risk.
Further to this, WRC has also now lodged an appeal requesting the original 38 ha applied for be approved.
Both the Whangamata Ratepayers Association and the HarbourCare Society will be appearing in support of this.
All parties are bound to go through a mediation process prior to proceeding to the Environment Court. How long all this will take is not known.
The original budget to obtain consent, remove and maintain the mangroves was $309k.
This is now clearly going to exceed $1m plus substantial Environment Court costs (if it goes to court).
We have advised WRC that these additional costs should not be borne solely by Whangamata Ratepayers

LOCAL ISSUES 
At the invitation of the Community Board we submitted a list of items that we considered needed attention. This included items such as street lighting, footpaths, kerb maintenance, stormwater outlet clean ups, beach debris etc.

WEBSITE AND COMMUNICATION
We plan for more information to be communicated via our website and encourage members to communicate back to the committee via the website.

YOUR COMMITTEE
During the last year your committee has met 11 times and has worked well together.
Sadly our current Chairman, Don Tate is not seeking re-election as Chairman this year due to illness. Don has done tremendous work on our behalf and his leadership will be missed.
If you feel you can make a contribution please consider putting your name forward for the management committee. There is some work involved but there is also some fun.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Our AGM will be held at 10.00am on Saturday 25th February at the Whangamata Memorial Hall (Old Hall).
We hope that you can join us for the meeting.

Brett Wilson
Acting Chairman