11 May 2020

Media: NZ Contractor Magazine

Topic: Lakefront redevelopment

Enquiry

A writer for NZ Contractor magazine sought comment and information from Council regarding the Rotorua Lakefront Redevelopment project.

Questions are as follows:

• What is the length of the Boardwalk?
• Why are the various stages being completed by different contractors?

When will the complete project be completed?

The writer used information from Council's website and is conducting interviews with the project contractors HEB Construction and Waiotahi Contractors.

Response

The following information was provided:

What is the length of the Boardwalk?

Approx. 300m end to end with about 1/3 over water.

Why are the various stages being completed by different contractors?

From Rotorua Lakes Council's Operations Group Manager Jocelyn Mikaere:

Due to the staged nature of the works required to keep the lakefront reserve accessible to the public during construction, multiple project stages and contracts have been required.

Additionally resource constraints have also prevented a sole contractor from delivering the works by themselves and the nature of the work has varied from stage to stage, so different areas of work have required different skills sets.

It has been useful to spread the contract work around to ensure multiple parties benefit from the project.

This has also allowed better cost control throughout development of the project. If one stage has a cost overrun then future stages of the work can have their design adjusted to suit.

When will the complete project be completed?

Currently tracking to be complete by late 2022/early 2023. ________________________________________________________________________________________

Media: Rotorua Daily Post

Topic: Budget 2020

Enquiry

Reporter sought comment piece from Mayor Chadwick on the upcoming Budget announcement.

Response

View the commentary provided by the Mayor HERE ________________________________________________________________________________________

Media: NZME (Rotorua Daily Post and BOP Times)

Topic: Water levels

Enquiry

Can we please find out what region's water levels are looking like at the moment?

Obviously, people were asked to restrict their water use not too long ago and Northland and Auckland's supply right now is significantly low. We like to find out what Tauranga's, Western Bay's and Rotorua's statuses are. Can each council please provide answers for the questions below relating to their district?

• what level is Tauranga/Western Bay/Rotorua's water supply at?
• how close is Tauranga/Western Bay/Rotorua's water level to needing restrictions put in? (When would be the earliest the water restrictions would need to be put in place?)
• what concerns, if any, are there at the current water level situation and what needs to be done to alleviate these?
• if the water supply is low, why it this?

Response

Response from Eric Cawte, Manager - 3 Waters Services:

Rotorua is fortunate that most of our water sources are directly from springs that are replenished from underground aquifers, with very little seasonal variation.

Peak demand on these sources usually occurs in the hottest and driest periods of summer, and now that these have is passed, our pumping systems and sources are able to match current demands without issue.

Barring any major network faults, we don't anticipate considering the need for water restrictions for the foreseeable future.

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Media: NZME (Rotorua Daily Post and BOP Times)

Topic: Moving to Level 2

Enquiry

I am seeking Mayor Chadwick's comments once the Prime Minister makes her announcement today as to whether the country is moving to alert level 2 and depending on which way it goes.

Can you please email me a few words from Steve as to what the impact of the announcement means for the country and the Rotorua Lakes district in particular?

Response

From Mayor Steve Chadwick:

We need to get our economy moving again as soon as possible and more will now be able to re-open, albeit with restrictions, under level 2. That certainty will be a big boost to many and while the restrictions will be challenging for some, they are important to ensure we don't undo what we've achieved to date.

Level 2 allows for travel regionally again and Rotorua will be ready to make the most of that opportunity.

Locals are also being called on to support our local businesses and activities and I'm sure we will all be doing whatever we can to help keep our own people in work.

Importantly, I would urge everyone to be responsible, to stick to the restrictions in place, to keep their distance and to maintain good hygiene to reduce risk and keep us moving forward.