Once again the  Māpua & Districts Community Association held its May meeting via the ZOOM on-line forum . It was agreed that

1. MDCA would trial the future format of monthly meetings as a combination of the usual public meeting in the Hall plus the option for members, TDC representatives and invited guests to participate through ZOOM and that
2. The current practice of recording public presentations for screening on the MDCA Facebook page be continued..

The hope is that this will enable those who find it difficult to go out to attend evening meetings out (especially in winter) to still participate .

 

OPEN FORUM:

Gold Card Access to the Māpua Ferry  Wayne Chisnall –  –raised the issue of the Gold Card being available for people to use on the Māpua Ferry ( as those in Auckland do with the Waiheke Ferry) . He noted that the current ferry operator had faced “ flood , fire & pestilence” over the past years and that extra business from “ Winston’s people” could help support his business. Increased ferry patronage could also be a possible boost for Māpua businesses ,

TDC Ward Councillors agreed  to explore this issue

 

HOT TOPIC– “COMMUNITY WELL-BEING; ANNUAL CHECK-UP”

 

Elena Meredith; Vicky Stocker and John Sherlock  – updated the meeting using powerpoint presentation to update progress on the three main focus areas   of Community Wellbeing :

• Health services
• Transport
• connectedness [ community hub]

This presentation supported by the power-point slides  can be viewed on the MDCA Facebook page

by using the following link https://www.facebook.com/1695037690715068/videos/165986458184107

 

A     Health Services – Vicky noted the hurdles facing Māpua residents wishing to access services:

1. no transport available ;
2. three month waiting lists for referrals for home help respite care assessment ; and also for clinic appointments in Richmond

Online directory of Service & Community Groups in Māpua & Districts -Work is proceeding on drawing up a brief for developing this

 

B            Transport – Elena outlined the current transport projects and plans:

1. Community drivers – a team of 8 volunteer drivers have submitted applications for police vetting and met on May 27 to discuss possible formats for setting up and running this system
2. “ the coastal link” more comprehensive community transport service with regular circuit  to Motueka- Richmond via Māpua was discussed with suggestions made of contacting local tourism and vehicle rental companies will have under or un-used vehicles at this time which they may well be willing to lease or even sponsor a vehicle
3. challenges for children/young people –

• getting transport to school with the possibility of MOE changing the zone for local children to Motueka rather than Waimea
• the need for a as well needing transport system that could take and collect young people to and from sports and cultural events/practices with particular mention of the Youth Theatre /Playhouse

 

 

C            Community Hub

John Sherlock ( HCC) stated how pleased he was to be part of the shared community korero on this kaupapa and then noted the   fortuitous combination of  the; :

1. need for a local community facility/Hub for appointments/meetings; drop in and connecting and
2. availability of the “ Old Church” as an underutilised resource and the chance for the church to make this available to be shared as a community resource and
3. the potential vehicle of the Dale Vercoe Community Care Trust (DVCCT) whose Trust Deed’s second objective covers the broad provision of community support facilities. This could become the legal /financial entity to partner with and process

The need in the community for services for young people and families with children was  raised and  John agreed that  “ we need to find partners with a passion for that”

A discussion document on draft objectives for such a community hub has been circulated amongst community groups for feedback

Those present were asked to consider supporting the three projects with time /money :

“We’re all in this together…”

Marion noted her excitement at the possibility of so many groups working together to get these projects operating

 

RELATIONSHIPS – Projects

1     Interviewing long-term local residents – the brief suggests that they be interviewed on their experiences and views of life & development in the district with the interviews being recorded ( filmed?)

This project would need a sympathetic researcher with skills in running and recording interviews .

Funding would be needed for this project which will  be prioritized considering the age of many of the potential interview subjects –

those present were happy for Exec members to make the final decision as to who should be interviewed .

2     MDCA Historical Documents   – The brief suggests that this would take 100+ hours and needs a person familiar with processes of assessing-coding /scanning documents . Funding would need to be applied for – maybe RATA foundation

 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS

1. Dominion Flats : Helen Bibby noted that there had been a lot of community usage of the Dominion Flats Reserve during “ lockdown time” .She asked for “ as much community input as possible” for planting the seedlings people have been nurturing at home.

This community planting will be June 27 & 28

2. Access to Support Bruno noted possibilities in relation to current situation of unemployment in terms of accessing people to work on suggested projects .Contacting DOC & Tasman Environmental Trust will be followed up
3. Dedicated section on local environmental issues for MDCA Website page–  Bruno and Gillian  will work together to help set this up .The plan would be to include links to other relevant environmental groups .
4. Local Wild life Areas – Marion suggested to Gillian Pollock it would be good to have a local map showing the local coastal areas that are of significances in regard nesting birds and wildlife locations to inform the local community of these locations. David Short (TACA) to collaborate with this.
5. Lack of beautification work alongside Mamaku Drive had been raised as a concern at the recent Tasman Area Community Association (TACA) meeting along with  idea of the 2 Associations applying to government for this to be considered and funded as a “shovel ready” project.. The understanding would be that TACA “ would drive the project”. This received general support from the meeting

 

 

Be sure to attend/ join in our next monthly meeting:  Monday, 8 June  at 7 PM format to be confirmed on MDCA Facebook & Mailchimp mailout )

MDCA works closely with TDC to ensure our community functions in a way that suits the majority of our residents. To have a vote that counts, become a financial member of MDCA by simply paying a $10 membership fee to our NBS account 03-1354-0356471-00 with your name & phone number as a reference.

 Submitted by:  Elena Meredith

ZOOMING THROUGH PLANNING AND PROJECTS  

Like many other groups and organizations in these times of Covid19 lockdown, the Māpua & Districts Community Association held its April meeting via the ZOOM on-line forum . This worked very well and attracted a number of new attendees- maybe this style of meetings should become a regular feature for the winter months!

 

OPEN FORUM:

Spatial distancing – the increased usage of the Old Mill Walkway during the current lockdown has been  creating  difficulty in keeping the suggested 2 metre distance between people, particularly on the narrow section alongside the school from the beach to Aranui Road. A suggestion to ask the owners of the [wider]private roadway alongside the pathway, if they were willing for walkers and bikers to use this as an alternative route during this period, will be followed up . It was noted in passing that this highlights the issue for Parks and Reserves of how wide future pathways need to be to accommodate increasing numbers of cyclists .

Doggy Doos in Domain–Cr Anne Turley reported back from TDC on concerns raised about this as a health issue for public; sports players and contractors .TDC staff informed her that permanent signs would be erected this month reminding that there should be no dogs in the domain and that in other reserves dogs should be on leads.

 

HOT TOPIC– WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

TDC’s Project Manager, Rob O’Grady – presented a video covering the current main water-related projects. This video can be viewed on the MDCA Facebook page. Rob was then ‘available” via ZOOM for questions and comments from those in the meeting

1. Stafford Drive Water-main upgrade– noted progress on this and that construction had been closed down during the lockdown with a 30kph limit kept on sections of the road where the seal was broken. “After Easter” the section of water and waste water pipes in Aranui Road between the village and the school will be worked on .
2. Ruby Bay Storm-water– noted that this project was nearly complete and would this take two more weeks once staff were back at work
3. Water-treatment project –noted that the design was nearly complete . The plan is to go to tender and hopefully begin work in the second half of 2020
4. Water Reservoir in Pomona Road – a site survey for this was completed before the March lockdown and it will go to tender in October

 

TDC LONG-TERM PLAN  [LTP]–CONSULTATION PROCESS

Cr Christeen McKenzie reported on the status of this noting that :

• the process of consultation had begun before the impact of Covid-19 was understood
• it is now realised that “ the world will be different from before”
• early engagement will continue but the time-frame has been extended to June 12^th
• input is being sought on projects TDC should focus on for the next 10 years
• on-line rather than hard-copy feedback is being sought
• Individuals can make their own submissions and also send a copy to MDCA for a community

response –info@ourmapua.org.  Link to the LTP is on  the MDCA Facebook

• feedback will be collated by TDC staff and taken out to community workshop meetings

 

• TDC is seeking a rep from each community organization to be involved in these community workshops and to collate information

( please let MDCA Chair – Marion Satherley know if you are interested – contact:  info@ourmapua.org. Marion will check with Sandra Hartley re availability requirements for those representatives

 

TDC RATES 0% INCREASE

Councillors noted that the earlier decision on rates increase was being revisited with the proposal for it to be 0%.

[Note that since this meeting, this decision has been made and publically reported upon.]

Noted that this would result in a $2million drop in revenue impacting on expenditure in capital development and projects

Cr Christeen McKenzie noted that TDC was working on “ understanding how current decisions impact on the here and now and the future….in real terms we will have less to spend..”

 

COMMUNITY WELLBEING PROJECTS

1            Community transport – this project has been rather “on the back burner” with the current focus on “ staying home”. However, it was interesting that the call on MDCA’s Facebook page for volunteer drivers to support a local ordering and delivery service ( see below) resulted in  over 400 Facebook engagements and offers from over 30 to deliver orders in this area. The hope is that at least some of these drivers will still be available and willing ( in “life after Lockdown”) to be part of a wider community support driving team.

 

Did you know that NCC and TDC are currently surveying residents about future public transport needs and systems.  They note that …”.  Your input will be invaluable in helping to identify the best way to deliver public transport for our community, so we have put together a survey to help you provide feedback.  The survey, for both Nelson and Tasman residents, can be found on the Shape Nelson website, it closes on 9 May and will only take a few minutes to complete:

https://shape.nelson.govt.nz/nelsons-public-transport “

 

2        Community Hub – two meetings have now been held for community groups and individuals interested in exploring the possible development of such a facility (possibly based in the “ old Church”). Three draft objectives were developed for a discussion document to be circulated for input from community groups .

These are to  :

1. Create & co-ordinate a community facility to act as a community wellbeing and support hub for residents of Māpua and Districts –
2. Cater for the provision of social, health ,community initiatives to facilitate community wellbeing and wholeness
3. Provide a caring ,supportive and enriching environment for people in our community

This discussion document can be found on the MDCA Facebook page if you are interested in more detail or being involved in developing the dream!

 

3     Community delivery service – Māpua Top Up Box Delivery service

Resulting from a triangular combination of input from:

1. MDCA- organizing drivers ( more than 30 offers) and assisting with the launch -600 engagements on the MDCA Facebook post !!
2. Māpua Four Square – Damon Kroupa agreeing to support and enable the service by permitting packing outside normal trading hours
3. Debbie Lavery ( & team) setting up the ordering/packing and packing system and now servicing the 30 current customers . Debbie notes that …”we have spread the orders over 3 days (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday) and that it has been great to assist many people in the community ….” For further information:

• see the flier for this service further on in this issue or
• contact Debbie 0275403403 ; mapuatopupbox@gmail.com

 

 

 

MAY MEETING HOT TOPIC SPEAKER

At the 11 May  MDCA meeting, the focus will be on these community wellbeing projects – updating progress to date and exploring future possibilities. Presenters will be members of the MDCA Community Wellbeing Subcommittee – have your say on how Māpua could be a more integrated and connected community for us all to live in

 

 

Be sure to attend/ join in our next monthly meeting:  Monday, 11 May  at 7 PM,- probably on the ZOOM Forum or perhaps in  Bill Marris Room, Māpua Hall. ( TBC on MDCA Facebook & Mailchimp mailout )

MDCA works closely with TDC to ensure our community functions in a way that suits the majority of our residents. To have a vote that counts, become a financial member of MDCA by simply paying a $10 membership fee to our NBS account 03-1354-0356471-00 with your name & phone number as a reference.

 

Submitted by:  Elena Meredith

 

RESERVES ; RESOURCING ; ROADING & RECREATION

RESERVES

A           TDC Review of Parks & Reserves  was  The “ Hot Topic” at the Māpua & Districts Community Association’s (MDCA) March 2020 meeting. The full presentation by Richard Hollier [TDC Parks & Reserves] was videoed so can be viewed on MDCA’s Facebook page.

The present  Ward Management Plan for TDC – owned Reserves in the Moutere/Waimea Ward was developed  in 2000 when there were 83 Reserves – there are now 153 in the Ward! The consultation process ((which closed March 31) sought residents’ ideas on how all the reserves might be classified & managed . The classifications are :

• recreational-the most common
• esplanade for coastal areas and
• scenic reserves for those with bush & high ecological value

Submissions will now become the basis of a TDC draft reserves management plan which will go out for consultation Sept/Oct 2020 . At the end of 2020 a hearing on the final plan ( incorporating feedback  on the draft) will go to a Hearing where the councillors will make decisions .The new plan will be adopted early 2021.

Richard was questioned as to what process checks how (& if) the current reserves meet the identified  principles under which they were classified – it appears that there is no current TDC process for this to occur. Richard noted that the TDC Long Term Plan [LTP] is the vehicle for considering new reserves.

Richard and Marion ( MDCA Chairperson) urged residents to engage with the consultation process of the draft plan in Sept/October 2020- reserves are an essential ingredient and special feature of our region

 

B            Dominion Flats Environmental Project – a recent local conference on planting natives included a visit to Dominion Flats as a positive example of this initiative  . Autumn is the major planting time ( extra help needed please!!)

 

RESOURCING

A           TDC Ward Councillors Anne Turley & Dean McNamara spoke of their focus on & concerns for the year ahead

 

1            Anne – Waimea Dam noted and expanded on her concern at the huge cost increase in estimated costs for completion of this  noting that “ratepayers are solely responsible for any changes in cost over $3million – “many are unable to afford   face the bill.” Anne has requested the Mayor& CEO to address the issue by hiring an independent consultant to research and estimate the costs for dam completion. She noted that the LTP involves long-term projects and costs asking “how can we determine this when we don’t know the costs for the dam? ” so  she will “ continue to vote to keep the cap down”

This resulted in a lengthy conversation resulting in the MDCA deciding to invite Mike Scott ( CEO Waimea Water Ltd) to speak at a future meeting on the specifics of the Waimea Dam development and costs.

Anne also noted that she is:  Deputy Chair of the Tasman Transport Committee ( will lobby for the bypass); the TDC rep on the Māpua Waterfront Working Group and is increasingly concerned at the growing problem of homelessness in the area largely due to the lack of affordable houses available or being built

2            Dean-same ambitions & goals for this term as last time- fiscal responsibility

He is interested in:

• how to keep rates down while staying under the debt cap
• seeing the Māpua Boat Ramp “ settled one way or the other”

When asked about “the standard of living in the area “he replied that “ other councillors have a social focus and are concerned about this; my role is fiscal responsibility – to remind us of the  cost-: can we afford it?”

B            AED located in Ruby Bay

Celebrated the fact that the recent neighbourhood leaflet drop and MDCA Facebook focus have meant that on give-a-little we have finally reached the total amount required to purchase the AED- not all $   are in the Bank yet

 

ROADING

A            Footpath Māpua to Mamakū Drives –this is on the TDC works programme for this financial year which will especially please local school students and their families for providing a safer route to catch the school bus

B            Sealed driveway Aranui Road past Domain to Bowling Club – also planned for this year

C            Cycle-way on Stafford Drive– Rob O’Grady ( TDC) noted no budget for this but will discuss placement of the white line ( when pipe instalment complete) to provide a wider off-road space for cyclists

D           Public seating– for walkers between Ruby Bay and Māpua Village the ideal spacing between  these is 750 metres . Steve Elkington (TDC) suggested a letter from TDC to adjacent residents seeking their approval for placing a seat outside their property. Māpua Hall  Committee has agreed to a seat outside the facility

 

RECREATION & WELLBEING

A            Māpua Waterfront Working Group – noted the need for the community to consider the nature of Ngaio Reserve ( could be classified alcohol free) and make submissions to Reserves Management. This could address the issue of licensing encroachment/s over holiday period . TDC has indicated that future applications for liquor licences will include clear & enforceable dimensions .

Still awaiting archaeological assessment of the area before the reserve can be developed.

Seating – brief for this nearly ready to send to Motueka High School

B            Māpua Reserve Playground – Glen Thomas ( TDC) is nearly ready to send the order for most of the equipment . Re-alignment of the Great Taste Trail will provide increased space for the playground and decreased costs ( less lawn-mowing )

The playground’s rubber underlay will have a simple relevant Māori design- the suggestion was made for a plaque explaining the meaning of this

C             Playground Exercise Stations– the idea of having these available somewhere in Māpua will be investigated further by MDCA

D           Community Hub– the possibility of the “old Church” building on Aranui Road being set up under a Trust and local management group as a Community Hub, was the focus of a meeting of interested individuals and groups early in March. There was positive interest in moving forward on this project noting that to access funding we would need a clear vision and legal structure to attract the funding. It was also noted that those at the meeting were “all of a similar[older] age group” and that it was essential in such a project to be inclusive and meet the needs of families and young people. The next meeting on this will be April 6^th – all are welcome to attend, Please contact Vicky Stocker gvstocker@gmail.com if you are interested – we need your involvement and support to turn this exciting possibility into an amazing reality

E            Communication systems ( problems with your landline? )

Some  residents have approached MDCA complaining of their unreliable  landlines. Much of the feedback is anecdotal so we need to gauge the experience of residents before approaching the providers (Spark and Chorus).

It seems that some residents are experiencing difficulty in receiving calls on their landlines. Callers advise that they cannot connect being greeted with messages such as “Line Disconnected”. Outgoing calls are usually not a problem. The problem seems to have occurred since Chorus installed the UFB fibre.

Please let us know if you are experiencing problems with your landlines. It would help if you recorded your experiences in a consistent format:

1. Name (optional)
2. Address (Street as a minimum)
3. Phone number
4. Provider
5. Problem(s) being experienced

Email us at info@ourmapua.org – the more specific information we can provide, the more likely there is to be a helpful response

 

APRIL MEETING HOT TOPIC SPEAKER

At the 6 April MDCA meeting, the topics will be TDC focus on :

• Water including the Waste Water Upgrade ;
• Roading and
• the Long Term Plan –

TDC presenters will be :            Richard Kirby; Jamie McPherson and Sandra Hartley

 

Note change of date for our April meeting  ( 6 not 13) as the usual second Monday is  Easter Monday

 

Be sure to attend our next monthly meeting:  Monday, 6 April  at 7 PM, Bill Marris Room, Mapua Hall.

MDCA works closely with TDC to ensure our community functions in a way that suits the majority of our residents. To have a vote that counts, become a financial member of MDCA by simply paying a $10 membership fee to our NBS account 03-1354-0356471-00 with your name & phone number as a reference.

 

Submitted by:  Elena Meredith