Greetings from LOCA and as you will see in this Newsletter are the minutes of our well attended January AGM and these cover most of the recent developments that are relevant to the residents and property owners of Okareka.
It was pleasing to have two new additions to the committee and a special welcome to Blair Gilbert and Katy Hodgson. We now have a committee of 15 which gives us improved representation of the community.
A feature of the meeting was an interim report from the Lakes Harbourmaster on boating activity and behaviour on the lake over summer.
Also an interesting update from the RDC Manager Corporate & Customer Services on proposed changes to our 2012/13 rates as a consequence of the 2011 property revaluations.
Residential rate increase for the new financial year will be held on average at the current rate of inflation (less than 3%) however as the new valuation for most lake area properties has held up better than those in urban Rotorua we can expect a greater increase.
Recent announcements from Govt have confirmed they plan changes to The Local Govt Act to redefine the role of District and Regional Councils.
This is welcome news and will ensure Councils will have to focus on their core business and reduce spending on social and cultural activities. The new purpose of Councils’ will be –
To provide good quality infrastructure, public services and regulatory services at the least possible cost to households and business.
One of the obvious areas for improvement in the Bay of Plenty will be the integration and streamlining of the activities and ratepayer funding of the BOPRC and RDC.
The MURAL on the walls of the sewerage pump station is nearing completion and comments to date have been very positive. The artist is a Rotorua local, Anthony Haines but he has limited time available because of his day job and the weather has not been kind recently.
There is no cost to the community for this project which has been arranged by the Keep Rotorua Beautiful litter committee with a grant from the Ministry of Justice “eradication of tagging/painting of mural fund”.
At long last we can now report some progress with the proposed walkway from Boyes Beach to the DOC campground.
The necessary approval from all the land owners involved has been received and the AEE check list required by DOC has been completed and sent to them for approval.
We will now be seeking funding and scheduling the work involved with a need to take into account the continuing high lake level.
The popularity of the DOC campground in Millar Road is continuing and there have been many compliments from campers on how attractive and clean is the facility. This is due almost entirely to the roster of community volunteers who have been on site twice a day to ensure toilets are clean, rubbish removed and been available to give any help to campers.
We will be meeting with DOC to review our involvement with the camp and we will need to take into account our involvement with the walkway due to proceed shortly.
The Beach facility for campervans has also been well patronised and recently there were 15 vehicles overnight.
It is very apparent that the campers at the two beaches on Road have resulted in a significant reduction in the number of boy racers etc that have plagued the area in past years.
Regular users of the Community Hall will be pleased to hear we have purchased 60 new stackable chairs with padded seats and backs. Council had originally supplied 90 chairs but over the years this had reduced to 34 and we can now make these chairs available to residents for their use for functions etc at minimal cost.
The recent announcement of a proposed upmarket retail shopping centre on the corner of TeNgae and Tarawera Roads is a positive development particularly for the residents of Lynmore, Okareka, Tarawera and the many users and visitors to the Redwoods recreational park.
Tony Bradley of TPB properties, a well known Rotorua company is the developer and two of the Bradley family own properties at Okareka. Included in the complex will be convenience retail stores, café, gymnasium, medical centre, pharmacy, family restaurant/bar and more than 200 car parks.The first stage of the project is expected to be completed early next year.
Please note the survey on Jet Skis and also the article on maintenance issues and upgrade required at the Lake Front on Acacia Road.
We welcome your comments on these issues and anything else you would like to bring to the attention of the LOCA committee.
Geoff Palmer
Chairman
LOCA
It was pleasing to have two new additions to the committee and a special welcome to Blair Gilbert and Katy Hodgson. We now have a committee of 15 which gives us improved representation of the community.
A feature of the meeting was an interim report from the Lakes Harbourmaster on boating activity and behaviour on the lake over summer.
Also an interesting update from the RDC Manager Corporate & Customer Services on proposed changes to our 2012/13 rates as a consequence of the 2011 property revaluations.
Residential rate increase for the new financial year will be held on average at the current rate of inflation (less than 3%) however as the new valuation for most lake area properties has held up better than those in urban Rotorua we can expect a greater increase.
Recent announcements from Govt have confirmed they plan changes to The Local Govt Act to redefine the role of District and Regional Councils.
This is welcome news and will ensure Councils will have to focus on their core business and reduce spending on social and cultural activities. The new purpose of Councils’ will be –
To provide good quality infrastructure, public services and regulatory services at the least possible cost to households and business.
One of the obvious areas for improvement in the Bay of Plenty will be the integration and streamlining of the activities and ratepayer funding of the BOPRC and RDC.
The MURAL on the walls of the sewerage pump station is nearing completion and comments to date have been very positive. The artist is a Rotorua local, Anthony Haines but he has limited time available because of his day job and the weather has not been kind recently.
There is no cost to the community for this project which has been arranged by the Keep Rotorua Beautiful litter committee with a grant from the Ministry of Justice “eradication of tagging/painting of mural fund”.
At long last we can now report some progress with the proposed walkway from Boyes Beach to the DOC campground.
The necessary approval from all the land owners involved has been received and the AEE check list required by DOC has been completed and sent to them for approval.
We will now be seeking funding and scheduling the work involved with a need to take into account the continuing high lake level.
The popularity of the DOC campground in Millar Road is continuing and there have been many compliments from campers on how attractive and clean is the facility. This is due almost entirely to the roster of community volunteers who have been on site twice a day to ensure toilets are clean, rubbish removed and been available to give any help to campers.
We will be meeting with DOC to review our involvement with the camp and we will need to take into account our involvement with the walkway due to proceed shortly.
The Beach facility for campervans has also been well patronised and recently there were 15 vehicles overnight.
It is very apparent that the campers at the two beaches on Road have resulted in a significant reduction in the number of boy racers etc that have plagued the area in past years.
Regular users of the Community Hall will be pleased to hear we have purchased 60 new stackable chairs with padded seats and backs. Council had originally supplied 90 chairs but over the years this had reduced to 34 and we can now make these chairs available to residents for their use for functions etc at minimal cost.
The recent announcement of a proposed upmarket retail shopping centre on the corner of TeNgae and Tarawera Roads is a positive development particularly for the residents of Lynmore, Okareka, Tarawera and the many users and visitors to the Redwoods recreational park.
Tony Bradley of TPB properties, a well known Rotorua company is the developer and two of the Bradley family own properties at Okareka. Included in the complex will be convenience retail stores, café, gymnasium, medical centre, pharmacy, family restaurant/bar and more than 200 car parks.The first stage of the project is expected to be completed early next year.
Please note the survey on Jet Skis and also the article on maintenance issues and upgrade required at the Lake Front on Acacia Road.
We welcome your comments on these issues and anything else you would like to bring to the attention of the LOCA committee.
Geoff Palmer
Chairman
LOCA
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