Our Council: e-newsletter

At it's last meeting for the year on 14 December, Council agreed to the appointment of Scott Martin as a responsible camping enforcement officer. He is charged with enforcing our Freedom Camping Bylaw in the Catlins, and is part of a joint effort with the Department of Conservation and Southland District Council. He's been employed through to June 2018 and Council has contributed $15,000 to this enforcement project, which will try to make an impact during the busy summer months.  Scott (a Papatowai local) will be patrolling the highways armed with pamphlets and educational resources to help encourage people to camp responsibly. After a few years of local volunteers helping enforce our bylaw, a more dedicated resource will greatly assist in getting the message out about responsible camping in the Catlins. Scott will also be handing out surveys to people to find out more about the types of visitors who come to the area.

Council formally adopted the Milton Reserves Management Plan 2017. This plan establishes how the parks and reserves in the Milton area will be managed and developed during the next 10 years. The final plan will be available on our website in the near future.

Council received the Resident Survey 2017 report. The survey was conducted during November and canvassed the opinion of 300 residents. Some of the high scores included a 100% satisfaction level with our libraries, 96% for service/information centres, 84% for the helpfulness and advice of staff, 92% for the wheelie bin service and 86% of those surveyed were satisfied with the overall performance of Council. Scores at the lower end included a 53% satisfaction level with the maintenance of unsealed roads, 64% for footpaths and 64% for public toilets. Overall the scores were on a similar par to the 2016 results. The full report is available on our website.

Councillors approved a recommendation from the Corporate Services Committee that Simon Cullen be appointed to the Sport NZ Rural Travel Assessment Fund as a community representative. The fund is designed to help subsidise travel for junior teams participating in local sporting competitions.

A big thanks to all those that took part in the Balclutha Santa Parade this year. A report to Council noted it was very successful with approximately 500 people taking part, and another 500 or so watching from the side lines. The parade was led off by 20 young people who had taken part in the Circus Workshops held earlier this year and funded by the Council.