December 2018

Hello <<First Name>>!

And just like that December is here and another year passes us by. We haven't taken our foot off the gas just yet and have another chocka newsletter for you, as well as announcing our latest bus petition seeking to get bus service to St Johns Park - see below for more information. We wish you a relaxing Christmas break and look forward to what 2019 has in store for Meadowbank and St Johns. 

Community Centre Funding

Following on from the Meadowbank Community Centre user group meeting held in early October 2018, we sought to clarify how the decisions to fund the redevelopment came about. We wanted to better understand the history (and there is a long history!) behind previous redevelopment bids that didn't get off the ground and also to better understand the decision to work with Panuku (Auckland Council's development arm) and a private developer to ultimately fund the rebuild. Apparently the community raised funds for a community centre in the 1980s and the building is now approximately 75 years old. Carmel Clarridge of the Orakei Local Board has kindly put together some background information on these funding decisions. Click here to read what we found out from Carmel.

Bus Petition

Residents in the St Johns Park area are concerned that there is no longer a bus service due to the former #635 route being cancelled in July 2018. To remedy this MBSJRA are sponsoring a petition requesting Auckland Transport to to provide a bus service through St Johns Park to the Meadowbank Train Station and on to Mission Bay via Selwyn College and St Thomas' School. You can read more here and download a sheet and sign it to show your support. The next step is to take the petition door to door and we are seeking volunteers to assist with this. Please contact us if you could help by covering your street or even part of it. 

Preventing Local Wastewater Overflows

After a revolting discovery of raw sewerage being discharged into Purewa Creek last month, we had an update on the situation at our November monthly meeting from Councillor Desley Simpson. The overflow was caused by the pipes being blocked by fat poured down the sink and attracting flushed rubbish which then accumulated in a hard lump (a.k.a fatberg) which blocked the pipe and caused the wastewater to overflow into the creek. In response to this incident, later this year council will inspect properties in western Meadowbank to ensure their stormwater drainage is correctly installed to the stormwater network and not the wastewater network. An informative pamphlet has gone out with the latest water bills in the area to help educate what we can all do to prevent wastewater overflows. You can read the pamphlet here and please follow the guidance so we don't need to waste our ratepayer money on unnecessary wastewater work! This overflow has also highlighted pressure on infrastructure caused by housing intensification in our area. There is already some concern about whether the strained wastewater system connecting to the Purewa St Housing NZ developement will be able to cope with the increased connections. We will report back on what the council inspections in Meadowbank find.

What is Happening With the Shared Path?

With too many delays and construction of Stage 2 of the shared path (through Pourewa Valley) being apparently more geologically complicated than originally anticipated, the Orakei Local Board updated our November monthly meeting, giving us assurances that they believe that the project is now back on track with a new and well experienced project manager, solid timelines and monthly reporting to the local board. We are pleased to see some progress and better project management in place, but are extremely disappointed that despite over the past 4 years giving feedback, support and lobbying hard to secure funding for local links to the path, that we are unlikely to be able to see the path connected to Tamaki Drive before the end of 2021 at the earliest. We are hoping to have the new project manager at one of our monthly meetings in early 2019 to discuss the project further, and will be seeking regular project reports from the Orakei Local Board to ensure that we keep informed of what is happening. Thanks to those who submitted feedback on the construction elements for stage 2 and the replacement Orakei Boardwalk railings in October/early November. We are expecting an update on the outcome of consultation in the new year.

Getting Rid of the Rats

Despite the initial success of our pilot rat trapping programme, we have fallen behind with our follow ups and getting our systems in place. We are about to order more traps to cater for the interested expressed and will shortly have the full programme up and running. Our traps are loaned free to financial members and cost $10 for others in our area (which also covers our houshold annual sub until 31 March 2019. If you (or your neighbour) have a rodent problem or you want to make sure that you haven't, please contact us. And if you have already requested a trap, hold tight and we will be in touch shortly!
 

Support for Slower Speed Zones

Subsequent to our recent call for the Meadowbank town centre to trial a slower speed zone to improve safety, liveability and community focus, Auckland Transport has written an informative article about the importance of slower speeds in improving road safety for all users and to avoid the more than 800 deaths on Auckland's roads last year.

The article includes the comment "If you want the best for our region then one of the quickest and most effective ways to reduce the tragedies on our roads is to reduce speeds to make them 'survivable'. Survivable speeds are speeds at which a person walking or, on a cycle is likely to survive a direct impact crash. If you are directly hit by a vehicle travelling at 30km/h, the probability of death is around 10 per cent. If you are hit directly at 40km/h, the probability of death jumps to 32 per cent and if directly hit at 50km/h, the probability of death goes up to 80 per cent."

We continue to support a slower speed zone in our town centre for the many benefits it brings against the small inconvenience to road users. You can read the article here and see the interesting infographics, one copied below. 

Merry Christmas from the Orakei Local Board

Message from Carmel Clarridge on behalf of the OLB: "The Orakei Local Board wishes the Meadowbank St Johns community a safe, peaceful, and joyous Christmas. We hope you enjoy a wonderful holiday break with your loved ones, and we look forward to working together with you in 2018 to help deliver the outcomes in our neighbourhoods that you have told us are important. Pictured left to right: Rosalind Rundle, Kit Parkinson (Chair), Carmel Claridge (Deputy Chair), Colin Davis, Toni Millar, David Wong (absent Troy Churton)." The Residents Association look forward to continuing the productive relationship with the OLB in 2019 and look forward to their continuing regular informative updates at our monthly meetings. 
 

December Meeting Guest Speaker: John Raeburn

Our guest speaker at the December monthly meeting is John Raeburn. Among other accomplishments, he is passionate about the role that community plays in the world for the enhancement of health and wellbeing, and is a founding member of the Planetary Wellbeing Network. He sees planetary wellbeing as a people-first, empowering community approach that is the optimal, and perhaps only way to tackle the many social and environmental issues facing us in the 21st century. This topic is a bit different to those we have had at previous meetings but we are interested in anything that makes our community a better place to live. Read more on this topic here and we hope to see you at the meeting on Tuesday 12 December at 7:30pm at St Chads Church on St Johns Rd.

Can You Spare a Few Hours?

We’ve got a big vision for our residents association, but we need people to help us! In return you get to meet more locals, be the first to know what’s happening locally, gain experience to add to your resume/CV, and the satisfaction of having contributed to your community. Over the Christmas break please consider whether you could spare some time to help us in 2019. At this time we are specifically looking for:

* Help keeping our website up to date with content from newsletters and our social media pages.
* Helping collect signatures for our bus petition.
* Helping with our new rat trapping programme.
* Assistance with planning and running community events.

Contact us today if you'd like to talk about this further - no obligations at all.

Membership Prize Draw Winner

We ran a prize draw for all members who had paid their annual subs at our November meeting and the lucky winner was... Anne Dedding! Congratulations Anne, and we hope you can treat yourself to something nice with your $50 Countdown voucher kindly sponsored by Judith Everitt from Ray White. Thank you to everyone who has paid their annual subs of $10 as this greatly helps support running the residents association. Click here to join us today.

Abbots Way Carpark at Waiatarua Opens Saturday

Some might say a new carpark isn't very exciting but if you've struggled to park at Waiatarua Reserve in the last while or had to take your muddy dog (or child) home in the car you will be excited. The Waiatarua Reserve carpark development off Abbots Way is completed and ready for action with the new dog washing area, 49 new carparks, new landscaping and drinking fountains for both dogs and humans. Come along on Saturday 1 December from 10:30am to celebrate, starting with a community dog walk around the Reserve followed by a sausage sizzle and refreshments at the Mens Shed Auckland East. There are even spot prizes for the best behaved pooch - good luck! More information on the event here.

Dates For Your Diary

1 December - Abbots Way Carpark at Waiatarua Reserve opening celebration from 10:30am. Starts with a community dog walk around the reserve followed by a sausage sizzle and refreshments.
2 December - Ellerslie Santa Parade starts 11am from the corner of Cawley St and Main Highway.
2 December - Christmas Carols on the Green, 5:30pm to 7:30pm Vellenoweth Green, St Helliers.
12 December - John Raeburn speaking at our December monthly meeting on how worldwide wellbeing starts with community wellbeing.
12 February - Presentation on Waiatarua Reserve Enhancement Plan at our February monthly meeting.
21 February - Menz Shed open day on Abbots Way.

A word from our sponsors

© 2018 Meadowbank and St Johns Residents Association

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