Indicative general rates rise in line with Long Term Plan

Kaipara District Council is reviewing its Revenue and Financing Policy and will soon be consulting with residents and ratepayers on the proposed changes.

Council has approved a procurement plan to appoint a contractor for the Dargaville Town Hall Project. Keen contractors will soon be able to register Expressions of Interest.

From 1 July Molesworth Drive southbound traffic will be diverted around Moir Point Road/Seabreeze Road for approximately three weeks.

Rates for 2024/2025 rating year are on track to be confirmed one month later than usual at the end of July.

More than $3.2million of external funding will be redirected into Kaipara District’s waters infrastructure budget after Council deciding to redirect existing uncommitted Better Off and Transition Support funding.

Dargaville and Baylys Beach residents have responded to the call to preserve water under Level 3 water restrictions.

Residents in Dargaville and Baylys Beach are urged to reduce water use after use has risen slightly since Level 3 water restrictions came into force on 12 February.

Water restrictions have been introduced for Dargaville and surrounds, with residents across the entire Kaipara district being urged to use the precious resource wisely.

Replacement of Dargaville’s Northern Wairoa War Memorial Hall Annex after its demolished is to get a hurry-along with an Elected Member working group established to give the project more focus.

A motion moved by Kaipara District Council Mayor Jepson has paused the Ruawai Adaptive Pathways programme until the public has had their say through the next Long Term Plan consultation.

We have now finalised the design for Wood Street. A huge thanks to everyone who has been involved over the years and through the design trials to get to this permanent design.

Over the next two weekends, Kaipara District Council Elected Members and Council staff will be out and about attending markets around the district.

A number of infrastructure renewals and upgrades completed in recent years have strengthened water security in Kaipara.

A recent decision by Kaipara District Council has given Fagan Place community housing tenants assurance on a way forward for new warm, dry, modern and healthy homes. 

A Notice of Motion put forward by Deputy Mayor Jonathan Larsen to discontinue Kaipara District Council’s climate policy and cancel its emission accounting contract was approved at the September Council meeting.

Summer is on its way and it’s time to start preparing for a drought. Meteorologists are predicting a dry windy summer.

Sunny weather and an incoming tide provided the perfect backdrop to open the Mangawhai boardwalk to a large gathering last week.

The boardwalk is the second phase of the Mangawhai shared path project, connecting the village to the heads, and making it safer and easier to travel by foot, bike, or scooter along busy Molesworth Drive.

An update from Kaipara District Council and Northland Regional Council.

Progress has been tracking well on the second phase of the Mangawhai shared path, with the boardwalk section now stretching right across the water by the causeway.

Work to improve the resilience of Maungaturoto’s water network is almost complete.  

Kaipara District Council Elected Members have adopted the Annual Plan 2023-2024, with an average rates rise of 4.96 percent (excluding water charges).

What do you want to see on the water tank at Moir Street?

Construction of the permanent upgrade for Wood Street will take place next year, after Council has signalled prioritising emergency works over planned projects for the upcoming Annual Plan 2023/2024.

At the April Council meeting Kaipara District Council staff presented the latest financial statements for the draft Annual Plan 2023/2024, alongside a projected rates increase averaging 4.98 percent across the district.

Works to further improve Maungaturoto’s water network kick off next week.

Kaipara District Council is asking the community for feedback on proposed fees and charges for the 2023/2024 year.

A number of our staff have been diverted to emergency services relating to Cyclone Gabrielle. Council services will continue but some with limited capacity so please be patient. We will continue to keep you updated.

In the early hours of this morning Awakino River on the northern outskirts of Dargaville breached its banks. 

Salt services, a professional dive team, spent most of a day early last week pulling an old car wreck out of the water. The car had been submerged some years ago and was resting where work was starting on the wharf head.

Summer is here and so are all our visitors. It’s the busiest time of the year for the Taharoa Domain, and we need you to help us look after this beautiful gem.

The construction of Poutō wharf has really been trucking along recently, with another dozen piles driven in the ground last week.

A first-ever Arts, Culture and Heritage Strategy will provide a much-needed boost to the arts sector in Kaipara.

The second phase of the Mangawhai shared path cranks up construction next month, and includes a collaboratively designed boardwalk running alongside the causeway.

Kaipara District Council has confirmed sunflowers and squash for the second growing season of the Kaipara Water demonstration sites.

The Mangawhai Activity Zone (MAZ) Trust will soon start work on a new Flow Bowl and Street Skateboarding Plaza, following a grant from Kaipara District Council.

Two new community hubs move a step closer with Kaipara District Council opting to apply for the Three Waters Better Off Funding Package, provided by Central Government, to help fund them

A blessing event carried out with Te Uri o Hau iwi representatives earlier this week signalled the completion of the first phase of the Mangawhai shared path works.

The first part of a multi-phase project to manage Council’s water and wastewater asset network more efficiently and improve its resilience is complete.

Last week saw the first of the pre-cast concrete slabs for Mangawhai’s new wastewater balance tank carefully craned into place.

If you are passionate about Ruawai and its future, the newly created Ruawai Adaptive Pathways Community Panel is looking for members just like you!

Government sources estimate that between $120 and $185 billion dollars of investment in three waters (drinking water, waste water and storm water) infrastructure will be needed over the next 30 years to improve the quality of our drinking water and wastewater and stormwater management, across New Zealand.

Kaipara District Council Elected Members have unanimously adopted the Annual Plan 2022-2023, with an average general rates rise of 4.86 percent (excluding water charges, and allowing for 1 percent growth).

With the courtesy crossings for phase one now complete, the Mangawhai shared path team and contractors got the spades and mulch out and ticked off the planting, getting the final shrubs and trees in the ground last week.

Council staff brought the final draft of the Annual Plan to a briefing earlier this month, presenting recent financial statements alongside a rates increase averaging 4.86 percent.

A new balance tank for Mangawhai's wastewater treatment plant is one step closer to completion, with the first pre-cast concrete slabs poured for the tank structure.

Kaipara District Council has voted unanimously to adopt a ten year library strategy, paving the way forward for an equitable, modern library service.

We are aware some Maungaturoto residents have recently experienced events of low pressure or in some instances disrupted water supply to their properties.

Harvesting is underway across the Kaipara Water demonstration sites. 

At a recent Council meeting, staff gave an update on Gumdiggers Track and the work happening behind the scenes.

Recent Council approval to extend existing waste management contracts ensures service continuity for the district, while staff prepare for the first phase of the overhaul of waste services.

The council is upgrading wastewater systems and is asking people to flush responsibly.

Growth is the word of the day when it comes to the Kaipara Water demonstration sites. The summer months have seen the former grassed paddocks turn into a jungle of green activity on both sites.

The Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has released the $3.5M needed to protect existing stopbanks against flooding, along the western side of Wairoa River between Dargaville and Te Kopuru.

Work is progressing well on the raw watermain renewals in Maungaturoto.

Although recent rain has been welcomed by landowners, it is causing headaches for Kaipara District Council’s Raupo stopbank improvement project, in Ruawai.

Representatives of the Pahi community met with Council at the wharf last week to work out where a new toilet block could go.

A new balance tank and inlet works are to be installed at the Mangawhai wastewater treatment plant to expand the existing hydraulic capacity during the peak summer periods.

Visitors to the Kaipara Water demonstration sites will spot the beginnings of green growth starting to peek through the soil.

Work to install the Kaiwaka footbridges will start in early January and continue for around seven weeks. With it comes some great employment opportunities for local contractors.

Over the next few months, our team and contractors will replace approximately 3,000m of ageing raw watermain pipes.

Earlier this month an extreme rain event at Baylys Beach, followed by periods of further wet weather, saw signifcant damage inflicted on the beach access.

If you’re connected to Council’s treated water supply system, your most recent water invoice may have shown an increase in the cost for your first cubic meter of water.

Considerations from Kaipara District about the Three Waters Reforms.

It’s ‘steady as she goes’ for Kaipara District Council after Deloitte reported their 2021-2031 Long Term Plan (LTP) provides a ‘reasonable basis for accountability to the community’.

Kaipara District Council has welcomed Philip Jones as the independent chair of their Audit, Risk and Finance Committee.

Ngā mihi mō au korero whakahoki! 

Thank you for your feedback. We had a fantastic response to our recent survey asking for help to select one of the trial crops for Kaipara Water demo site two. The winner by community vote was kaanga ma.

The Council has awarded the contract to design and build the two Kaiwaka footbridges to Bridge It NZ.

Kaipara District Council voted to become a shareholder of Northland Inc. at their meeting on 26 May.

Kaipara District Council today endorsed a future-focused Long Term Plan (LTP) which aims to respond to a growing population while caring for the environment and keeping rates increases low. 

Nine infrastructure renewal projects are being rolled out across Kaipara District this year. 

Some of the works happening around the District. 

In the first few months of 2021 there’s been a trickle of new information which has led to a substantial update on the long-running story of the debt levels of Kaipara District Council’s Mangawhai Wastewater Scheme. 

Kaipara District Council has published a report about the outstanding historic debt and capacity of the Mangawhai Wastewater Scheme (MWWS). 

The Council will be consulting on a proposal to secure land for a future new library in Mangawhai as part of their long-term planning. Towards a Better Kaipara, the Council’s Long Term Plan 2021-2031 will determine where the Council focuses over the next 10 years. 

Kaipara District Council is consulting on their proposed plan for the next ten years and Elected Members will be on hand to talk about it and answer questions.

Kaipara District Council will soon be seeking feedback on their proposal to develop a revitalised Dargaville civic precinct as part of their Long Term Plan consultation.

Kaipara District Council has laid out its vision for the next decade of development in its Long Term Plan (LTP) and is asking the community if they agree.

Kaipara has a poor track record for recycling. In summer 2020, a snapshot audit of rubbish bags found 860kgs of 3196kg could have been recycled. That’s 27% of the rubbish we send to landfill.

If you're out and about around Lorne, Pirika, and Haimona Street, you may spot our team and contractors undertaking work on the Dargaville water mains. 

‘Water’ will be a word to watch in 2021, as far as Kaipara District Council is concerned. To start with,
low river flows mean water restrictions are in place for our largest reticulated town supply to Dargaville
and Baylys Beach.

We will soon be consulting on our Long Term Plan 2021 – 2031, which will guide where we focus over the next ten years. 

See the results from surveys and events we've undertaken recently as part of our Long Term Plan. 

Have you ever looked at a verge or berm around your area and wondered why it has a dip in its centre? That subtle depression is doing an incredibly important job – it’s called a swale and they're an essential part of our stormwater services.

Two proposed demonstration sites for the Kaipara Water project have been given the green light from Council, which will serve as real-life working examples of the best ways to irrigate high value horticultural crops.

Ruawai Water treatment plant played host to a number of local school kids as part of the EnviroSchools Water for Life
programme last week. The programme is a Northland Regional Council initiative. 

The beautiful stretch of weather we’ve been enjoying is great for the beach, but not for water supplies. Being wise with water at the beginning of the season can ease the pressures later on. Let’s streeeeeeech the supply as far as we can.

Kaipara District Council Elected Members opted in to the first part of a reform of the three waters system when they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the end of August.