Community Board farewells councillor, discusses union and contaminated land
The resignation of councillor Noel Riley due to ill health was one of the important matters facing the Golden Bay Community Board at its July meeting.
“Councillor Riley has made a huge contribution to local government over many years,” said board chair Carolyn McLellan. “It is with sadness that we accept his resignation.”
The board resolved to write to Cr Riley and thank him. “He wanted to slip away without any fuss,” said Mrs McLellan. “We’ll be recognising his contribution in some appropriate way.”
Mayor Richard Kempthorne told The GB Weekly: “it was with regret the council has accepted Noel’s resignation. Throughout his nearly three terms at the council decision-making table he has provided a very clear Golden Bay perspective representing the aspirations and views of the area’s residents and ratepayers, while also considering the needs of the wider Tasman District. Despite the recent challenges Noel has been dealing with, his focus has never been far away from the decision-making process, and his presence and input have been valuable in the key decisions affecting the Bay. It would also be remiss not to acknowledge the role Kath, Noel’s wife, has played providing priceless support and insight.”
The process for the election of a replacement to fill the vacant Golden Bay councillor seat will begin this week as determined by the Local Electoral Act 2001. There will be a by-election, probably in early to mid-October.
Waste-water treatment station.
Paul Sangster used a 107-year-old map of the Takaka River to try and convince the board that the resiting of the waste-water treatment station was a bad idea.
“I don’t want to take the risk that my water in Waitapu Road could be contaminated by sewerage water pumped into the ground,” said Mr Sangster, who also treated the board to some local history, partly anecdotal and partly based on commonly accepted written texts, aimed at refuting the position iwi have taken on the siting of the new station.
“We already own the land where the existing pond is, and the extra land we bought would be snapped up by a neighbour. If there is going to be any seepage it’s better to put it into a big river rather than a little stream. That’s why they shouldn’t be moving the pits to the site adjacent to Waitapu Road.”
Mrs McLellan aid the issue was by no means all over yet. “Until we get the results of the recent test we won’t know about seepage and the direction of the water movement. The board is on the working group and so are some residents.”
Cr Martine Bouillir said there would be a public open day so everyone can come and ask questions.
Proposed union of Tasman and Nelson
The board will be submitting on this issue. There was some discussion about discrepancies that people had apparently found in some of the Local Government Commission documents describing our council’s financial position.
Board members were also pleased to be able to respond positively to the seemingly urgent suggestion that Tasman’s two community boards be granted the full set of LGC-described delegations as soon as possible. The recommendation was contained in a report to TDC’s July meeting by CEO Paul Wylie. In order to ensure that the matter is on the agenda for the council’s August meeting, the board must send its considered response to the council a fortnight before the council’s meeting. That meeting is set for 11 August and the board’s own next meeting is 9 August.
“This is a very proactive community and everyone wants to be involved in the planning, especially,” said Mrs McLellan. “Community boards should have a huge say in how the plans are made and be involved in the workshops that contribute to the planning process. Council think they’ll give us the halls to look after but there’s nothing in particular to be gained for us in that.”
Council’s building manager Jim Frater, attending the meeting in place of community services manager Lloyd Kennedy, said: “The Motueka board wants different things from you. It’s a matter of what fits - with both the council and the boards being reasonable.”
Mrs McLellan reminded the public of the important meeting on the issue of the proposed union.
“It’s at the Takaka Primary School hall next Monday [18 July] at 7pm. The list of speakers is Aldo Miccio, Richard Kempthorne, Cr Gail Collingwood, Cr Judene Edgar and Philip Woollaston.”
Old sheep dips on contaminated sites register
TDC scientist Ms Jenny Easton gave a presentation on the site contamination register. Her appearance at the board meeting was prompted by last month’s request by Joan Butts for some explanation of the workings of the register. Mrs Butts wanted the information on the register to be freely available to the public. Ms Easton explained that the register was a work in progress,and she is still collecting information provided by landowners, an important source of information on potentially contaminated sites.
“It would seem unfair to penalise people who have volunteered information, and landowners could be put off if they thought the information they provide us was going to be made public in a bulk release.”
“The information is issued on a site by site basis, in response to requests, and I am careful to explain the potential or actual contamination in context.”
Joan Butts said, “Council needs to educate the people at the front desks in all their service centres about the fact that information is available on a property-specific basis from Jenny. We also need a better way of gathering information about our community.”
If people want information they are free to contact Jenny Easton on 03 543 8413 or via email on jenny.easton@tasman.govt.nz. So long as the information can be gathered and communicated quite quickly there is no charge for this. Detailed information about properties that are on the site contamination register is available through a Land Information Memorandum.
Ms Easton explained that her current focus is the location of old sheep-dips.
“We know there were 140 sheep farms in Golden Bay in 1965. Everybody had to dip their sheep in those days. Some farms had more than one site for convenience, so there could be more than 140 old sheep-dips out there with arsenic and organochlorine pesticides residues in the nearby soil. There are potential risks to people and stock from arsenic because it is a metal and it just doesn’t go away. The concentrations around the old dip sites can be potentially very hazardous I want to get more information onto the site contamination register because, if we know where the sites are, we can provide land-users with the information they need. We have a new set of sheep dip fact sheets for farmers with advice on how to farm around the dips.
“A subdivision for housing is a change to a more sensitive kind of land use and we can use the information on the Register to manage the potential risks from old pesticides and other contaminants.”
Ms Easton is now offering free soil testing around the old dip sites to encourage people who know about them to come forward.
“Then they will know how far the arsenic extends from the dip and using the information from the sheep dip fact sheets they will be able to decide what to do – it’s over to them.”
The board gave Ms Easton the names of some local people who would be able to provide detailed historical information about previous land use.
Bulk of Bay closed to commercial fishing this season
The community board had asked its previous chair Joe Bell to represent it at the Challenger Scallop Company’s pre-season meeting. Mr Bell provided a report that explained that there are very low numbers of scallops throughout the Challenger area.
“The bulk of the Bay will be closed to commercial fishing this season. There is a small patch off the end of Farewell Spit, but it’s hard to fish because of the sea conditions there. It will be a short and restricted season. The enhancement scheme is really struggling. They are quite concerned about the future viability of the industry.”
Mr Bell also tabled some historical data compiled by resident Alan Vaughan, showing how important the scallop fishery used to be and how much it has declined.
“In the 1973-4 season there were 274 vessels involved,” he said.
The Ministry is apparently undertaking a study of the effects of fishing methods on the benthos (the community of organisms that live on or near the seabed) of Golden Bay.
“This strengthens the case for a marine management plan for the Bay. They have one in Fiordland and in the Marlborough Sounds and it’s been suggested here before.”
Citing the fact that scallops are capable of “huge recruitment when the conditions are right,” Mr Bell asked that the value of the recreational fishery be taken into account.
“It’s one of the reasons people come to Golden Bay.”
The board resolved to write to all the relevant bodies to assist in any way possible the development of a Golden Bay Marine Management Plan.
Neil Wilson
