A council “Media Advisory” issued today reads in part:

…anyone that’s been watching the rivers [will] be aware the flows have been dropping.

The Waikanae river is flowing at around 1070 litres per sec today and with no
significant rain expected for over a week we have switched our Waikanae
Water Treatment Plant into river recharge mode.

This means that as the water level drops in the river over the coming days
the plant is ready to start river recharge automatically.

So should we need more water than is available from the river, the ground
water bores will start and top the river up.

This means we can continue to use river water for supply to our Waikanae,
Paraparaumu  and Raumati communities while maintaining the required 750 l/s
base flow in the river.

A colorised photo showing that at the time there was no development north of the Pauatahanui inlet and those travelling by road to Kapiti had to follow it to get onto the Paekakariki Hill Road.

The road bridge was built in 1936 as part of the 1940 Centennial Highway project and at the same time a new double-track railway bridge was built on the west side of this one.

An item on the agenda of today’s council meeting is this pdf from the staff recommending this (extract above).

Although the council wanted to keep this intended eviction secret at its meeting of last 6 December, details of it were made public by Mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton and former Mayor Iride McCloy.

Obviously, council bosses know that trying to keep their callous behaviour secret is pointless, although oddly the council wants the minutes of the secret session of 6 December kept secret, despite everyone knowing what it was about — perhaps a certain councilor is embarrassed about the fact the decision was unanimous?

So how much is this house worth, and how good an investment has it been?

From QV records, apparently it was built in 1990 and was bought by the council on 30 November 2011 for $340,000; its RV from 1 August 2017 is $485,000.  Presumably its value has risen since then.  That was a 43% capital gain over 68 months, which isn’t too shabby, The amount of the ‘market rental’ isn’t given but it’s likely to have at least covered holding costs.  Item 8 in the pdf notes that the house needs “some refurbishment.”

Update

According to a post on the Kapiti Coast FB page:

“Behind closed doors

In a surprise move at Council this morning a public paper on allowing a large family to temporary stay in their Council home in central Paraparaumu was withdrawn by the Mayor without any explanation.

The great and the good of the community including St Vincent de Paul, the Housing Task Force, Grey Power and Community Board members trundled along to speak in support of the paper. Unbeknown to them Councillors in another secret briefing earlier had decided to withdraw the paper. Did we see smirks on the faces of some around the table knowing that the speakers were wasting their time?

The lesson: do not believe any candidate who promises openness and transparency. It won’t happen.  Councillors spent more time discussing who was going to the Local Government Conference and a Director’s conference in Auckland than they did on the housing issue. Let’s fixit. Time for a change.”

(Karl Webber pic)

Find out about nutrition and arthritis and then join specific clinics on gout arthritis and osteoarthritis. with arthritis educator Robyn Tuohy, Health Professional

Wednesday, 13 February 2019
10 – 11:30 am: Arthritis & nutrition (for all types of arthritis)
1 – 2 pm: Osteoarthritis
2:30 – 3:30 pm: Gout arthritis

Waikanae Support Hub at 13A Mahara Place

Arthritis New Zealand 0800 663 463 or e-mail robyn.tuohy@arthritis.org.nz 

No charge but koha (donation) welcome.

An intended electric vehicle charging station in Raumati Village comes at an unacceptable price say Raumati-Paraparaumu Community Board members Guy Burns and Bernie Randall.

“We have no objection to fast Electric Vehicle charging, but we do not support ratepayers subsidising a privately owned company by giving them Council land to use at no cost. ChargeNet NZ has been gifted two of the best carparks adjacent Margaret and Raumati Roads. These carparks are better used for elderly drivers accessing the local Raumati Beach shops. We wonder if any consultation occurred with local businesses at Raumati Beach, regarding the charging station location?

“Also of concern, ChargeNet NZ has been granted $40,000 of ratepayers money to help this company establish charging stations in the Kapiti area. ChargeNet NZ is a private business whose goal is to make a profit.” Info on the KCDC website.

“When the matter was discussed at the Raumati Paraparaumu Community Board meeting last October, we voted against the proposal to gift two prime KCDC carparks at Raumati Beach to ChargeNet NZ.

“Council should stick to the provision of core services, and should not subsidise private businesses.”