Fibre Finally Coming to Kuaotunu West
Great news from Chorus that fibre is finally coming to Kūaotunu West as part of the remaining rural Broadband Rollout. The area is from Bluff Road to Seavill Park Rd.
Chorus has advised that the rollout of fibre will get to Gray Ave in early December 2024, so if you are interested in receiving fibre we suggest that you contact Chorus to register your interest using the link below as soon as possible.
Information on what’s involved in having fibre installed can be found here. It notes the sequence especially for those of you that share a right of way or have difficult access requirements.
Kevin Crawford of KRRA is happy to be a point of contact for the Kūaotunu West community with Chorus if you have any issues. You can contact him on 07 8660453.
Happy Kids Enjoying the New Football Nets
It was recently brought to KRRA’s attention that the football nets at the Domain needed replacing. The KRRA committee was pleased to fund this on behalf of the local kids of Kuaotunu.
Update from the Kuaotunu Library
As we go into our fifth year the library roll continues to grow.
Recently we have had the carpet cleaned, and the chairs reupholstered thanks to Kathy Faulkner's expertise. We have also purchased a large number of books, mostly recommended from the 2023 book lists or from local requests. These new books have proved popular, but a few have not been returned yet, so please do check to see if you have any at home that need returning.
As few DVDs are being taken out, and they take up a lot of space, we have decided to remove this section and to replace it with more shelving for books. Our thanks go to Bob de Leuuw who has generously said he will build these to match the shelves he previously added to the library.
As always we thank everyone who donates books. Please note that due to the limited amount of space we have in the library, we can currently only accept books published from 2007 onwards.
Please Make a Submission on TCDC’s Long Term Plan by 8 April
By now you will have all probably seen the details of TCDC’s Long Term Plan for 2024-2034. It sets out the proposed rates increases (an average of 16.3% for Mercury Bay) and the challenges facing the Council in setting the next 10 years works' programme (which is reviewed every 3 years).
This plan includes no new footpaths for our community, or any provision for the restoration of the link between Kuaotunu and Matarangi. There is the renewal of the toilets on Black Jack Reserve for $280k in 2027/2028; in KRRA’s view this money would be better spent on footpaths, more $ and much earlier.
The plan does however include some significant new expenditure, e.g. Thames HQ Council Building $8.9m, Whitianga Esplanade Waterfront Redevelopment $12.57m.
If you have a view on this, please make a submission (naturally KRRA will also be making a submission on behalf of the community - see our earlier submission here).
Note that the proposed change to the dog walking bylaw that TCDC proposed last year was withdrawn after many strong submissions from KRRA plus many local people. Your voice does count!
Farewell to Departing Committee Members
The KRRA Committee is sad to be losing three of our longest-standing committee members, this year including our current Chairman.
Brent Page has been Chairman for the last 7 years and will be leaving the district soon after some 35 years here. He quickly became the public face of the KRRA through his lively and humorous interactions with us all at public meetings over this time, and has skilfully guided us through often tricky interactions with TCDC, NZTA and WRC, and played a key role in enhancing a collaborative relationship with these key agencies to advance our community’s interests.
Kathy Speirs will also be leaving the area in a few weeks. In addition to her Treasurer role Kathy has provided the essential communications KRRA has needed over the last 7 years, being responsible for the production of our widely read and appreciated newsletters, website, and social media presence. These skills have been a large factor in our hugely increased membership and recognition in the community over recent years.
Carrie Parker has served on the committee in a number of roles over some 11 years, in two periods of 7 and 4 years, including a spell as Chairman for several years. Fortunately, she will not be lost to the community as she will continue to serve us all through her active involvement on the committees of the Rings Beach Wetland Group and the Kūaotunu Hall.
All three will be sadly missed by fellow committee members, our wider membership and community. We wish them well in the next stage of their new ventures and interests.
It’s That Time of Year Again…
After a successful public meeting on the 7th of January (you can read the minutes here), KRRA is holding (as usual) its Annual General Meeting on Easter Sunday, 3pm at the Kuaotunu Hall.
The departure of the three committee members mentioned above obviously leaves a huge void in the KRRA committee structure, so if you care strongly about our community and wish to continue to see progress being made, please do consider standing yourself or nominating someone for a position this year. Nominations are open now!
(Note that both you and the person being nominated must be current financial members of KRRA - click here for the KRRA membership application form).
A Call for Community Support from Kuaotunu Dune Care
The Kuaotunu Dune Care Group is pleased to announce the commencement of its dune restoration planning for 2024, in collaboration with TCDC.
The first planting is scheduled for Wednesday, 15th May at 9am, with the Kawhero Rock site being the initial focus. To ensure the longevity of our dunes, exotics will be sprayed out and replaced with 900 native species, Harakeke, Pohuehue, Five Fingers, and Wiwi, chosen for their resilience and ability to thrive in coastal conditions.
Looking ahead, two more significant planting days are planned for June. On the 19th, we will continue planting across from the village, building upon last year's efforts. Then on Matariki, 28th June, we will be at Grey Beach for another planting session.
We invite all community members to join us in this important endeavour. Together, we can make a difference in preserving our coastal dunes for generations to come.
If you would like to be hear more about our Operating Plan and Dune Maintenance Schedule for 2024 you are more than welcome to join us at our AGM being held on Sunday the 5th of May at 4pm in the Kuaotunu Hall.
Passing of the Newsletter Baton…
Kathy Speirs has been a dedicated creator of the Kuaotunu website and producer of our regular KRRA community updates. But the time has come for Kathy to move on, and the newsletter will now be managed by Courtney Linnecar of Happylocal Hub, Kuaotunu and Danni Bear of Bear and Trumpet Creative Studio, now also based at the Hub.
Courtney and Danni are excited to be carrying on Kathy's hard work of a newsletter that brings together informative KRRA updates along with upcoming local events and other items of interest to the Kuaotunu community. Courtney loves to share and encourage people to get involved with what's happening locally and Danni has a flair for making things look and function beautifully, so they are looking forward to this new role. If you'd like to contribute an item please feel free to email Courtney at courtney@happylocal.com.