Welcome to the weekly wrap-up of our latest Council project news, important dates and information about what's happening in our District - all now in one easy-to-read email, sent every Friday.

This week:

• Dune erosion management and restoration continues
• Roading and other works around the district
• Find out what happened in our Council meeting earlier this week
• Come along to our Community Board meetings
• Microchip Monday in Whitianga next week
• Events coming up
• Our Coromandel Economic Development update
• Whangamata UFB information sessions

If you missed last week's update, read it here.

Dune erosion management and restoration continues

• There was a huge turnout last week with 32 volunteers, weeding, prepping and planting almost 900 plants in Kuaotunu (pictured above).
• Planting of coprosma plants taken from the over-crowded garden beds in the town centre was done this week in conjunction with Forest and Bird at Taputapuatea Spit.

To find out more about the upcoming community dune planting days check out our Facebook events or see our website.

Dune erosion chat with our Coastal Scientist

Due to the recent storm events our dunes have eroded in Whangamata and Pauanui.

Our Coastal Scientist Jamie Boyle has some great points to share about our dunes:

• Over the last two months there’s been a lot of wind and swell events When they occur back to back, the sand reserves in the swash zone (where the waves break) get gradually removed.
• This means water levels and wave impacts can reach further up the beach, and subsequently erode the dunes. So we’re now seeing a lot of the active dune being removed.
• While it may seem like dune erosion is a negative thing, it’s actually maintaining its key function in providing a buffer for any landward ‘things’ (like reserves, road, properties etc).
• We plant these foredunes so they trap sand over the calmer periods and build out in anticipation of the large wave events we’ve seen lately. Think of them as providing ‘money in the bank’ as insurance against storms.
• Thankfully, it’s unusual for back-to-back storms occur that frequently so we expect the beaches to rebuild.
• There’s a good amount of sand in the Pauanui and Whangamata system for this to occur.
• We’ll keep an eye on the beach to see how the dunes behave. Normally we’re hesitant to replant straight after erosion events as the dune is still vulnerable to wave action. We’ll wait until the current erosion phase is over and then look to restore the accessways that are damaged. It’s better to let nature do its thing rather than attempt to rebuild/replant otherwise we may lose any work we have done.
• Signs are going up to advise people for their safety to please use an alternative access and keep off the dunes.
• Waikato Regional Council have some great resources on dune erosion available here.
• There was a huge turnout last week with 32 volunteers, weeding, prepping and planting almost 900 plants in Kuaotunu (pictured above).
• Planting of coprosma plants taken from the over-crowded garden beds in the town centre was done this week in conjunction with Forest and Bird at Taputapuatea Spit.

To find out more about the upcoming community dune planting days check out our Facebook events or see our website.

Trees for survival programme

Over the last fortnight Parawai School and Thames South School have planted a combined total of 350 young plants at two sites on our Council's reserves as part of the Trees for Survival Programme.

Trees for Survival is an environmental education programme which involves young people growing and planting native trees to restore natural habitats by helping landowners revegetate erosion prone land, improve stream flow and water quality and increase biodiversity.

The Trees for Survival programme creates community partnerships by engaging schools, their community, local businesses and Councils all working together to restore our natural heritage. Click here for more information.

Parawai School have continued their multi-year planting programme at Waikiekie Reserve at the end of Booms Ave, using seedlings raised by the school. Pictured above is a photo of teacher Alice Cook and some of her class of 25 Parawai School students having a well-earned morning tea after planting for two hours straight.

Thames South students are also part of the programme and planted their 175 seedlings at J.W. Hall Arboretum. The students were shown how to clear the ground, dig the holes, fertilise, plant and mulch each seedling.

Roading and other works around the district

• Te Karo Bay (Sailors Grave) - (Pictured above) The new public toilets are finished and should be open early next week with planting to follow. This project was made possible thanks largely to the Tourism Infrastructure Fund. To find out what other projects have benefitted from the TIF click here.
• Pauanui tree removal - Large pines are being removed on El Dorado, Golden Hills Drive foreshore and Gallagher Park for health and safety reasons.
• Tairua skate facility - Staff will be meeting with designers in late September to discuss the practicality of the new option at Pepe Reserve as requested by Council.
• Whangamata wharf refurbishment - Stage two site work started 27 July and are proceeding to schedule.
• Whangamata boardwalk - Staff met with Iwi today regarding the detailed design of stage one and the opportunity for cultural input.
• Whangamata wharf refurbishment - Work involves repairs to the concrete wharf structure to extend the overall life of the facility.
  Stage 1 (access bridge) repairs are complete.
  Stage 2 (wharf site works) should be finished early next week. There is no vehicle access while the work is taking place however pedestrian access is available with some restrictions. Vessels can be moored at the pontoon, but the wharf face itself will need to be kept clear. We also intend to refurbish the floating pontoon.
• Road works - Rangihau Road – We have engaged a contractor to complete slip repairs on three sites along Rangihau Road starting next week (Monday 10 August) and anticipate it will be completed by the end of August. These sites are located at approximately 2.3kms, 2.6kms and 4.0kms from the State Highway. Road access will be maintained throughout the duration of the project, however there may be some delays to carry out these works.
• You can view a summary of scheduled weekly roading activities in our district on our website - tcdc.govt.nz/roading.

Council meeting highlights

Our Council met earlier this week and agreed to sign up to the central government’s proposed Three Waters Services Reform, which will initially provide $761 million of investment to local councils who opt into the wider nationwide reform package for water supply, wastewater and stormwater services.

In a bulging agenda for the meeting, our Council also:

• Endorsed a co-governance structure with Pare Hauraki to oversee the ongoing Shoreline Management Plans project;
• Approved a new vision, outcomes and values for the district to feed into the ongoing preparations for the 2021-2031 Long Term Plan;
• Opted to retain the current first past the post voting system for local elections instead of changing to single transferable vote;
• Decided to review the Freedom Camping Bylaw;
• Resolved to carry out a targeted consultation with organisations active in promoting social wellbeing in the district ahead of reviewing our Disability Strategy, Positive Ageing Strategy and Youth Strategy; and,
• Approved Phase 2 of our Council’s COVID-19 Economic Response Package.

Read the full meeting highlights here.

You can view the agenda and watch a recording of the meeting (in two parts) on our website tcdc.govt.nz/meetings.

Upcoming Community Board meetings

• Tairua-Pauanui Community Board meeting, Monday 10 August at 10am at the Pauanui Community Hub (23 Centreway)
• Whangamata Community Board meeting, Tuesday 11 August at 10am in the Board meeting room (620 Port Rd)
• Thames Community Board meeting, Wednesday 12 August at 9am in the Thames Council Chambers (515 Mackay St)
• Coromandel-Colville Community Board meeting, Tuesday18 August at 10am in the Board meeting room (355 Kapanga Rd)
• Mercury Bay Community Board meeting, Wednesday 19 August at 9am in the Board meeting room (6 Monk St)

Copies of agendas, reports and minutes are available on this page or at Council offices, two days before the meeting.

Members of the public and media are welcome to attend the public part of the meeting. If there is a report you wish to speak to, you may do so in the public forum of the meeting. See our website here for more information on how to register.

On Monday we had our first series of 'Microchip Monday' at the Coromandel Office with 10 dogs being microchipped by our compliance officers.

During the month of August, our Council is providing a low cost ‘Microchip Monday’ service for dog owners in our district.

Microchipping helps us to promptly identify dogs that are roaming or lost so we can reunite dogs with their owners rather than take them to the dog pound. We’ve noticed many dogs on our database haven’t been microchipped.

Drop-in to one of our Council Service Centres between 9am-12pm on the following Mondays to have your dog microchipped by one of our compliance officers for $25:

• Monday 10 August - 10 Monk Street, Whitianga
• Monday 17 August – 620 Port Road, Whangamata
• Monday 24 August – 515 Mackay Street, Thames

tcdc.govt.nz/microchipping

What's on in the Coromandel?

Click here to find out what's on in the Coromandel this week.

Next week, hundreds of high school students from across the Coromandel, Hauraki and Matamata-Piako will be attending the East Waikato Careers & Employers Expo in Thames to take steps towards their future employment.

A reminder that this event is free for local businesses and spaces are filling up quick so register your business now. The Expo has been subsidised by Thames-Coromandel, Matamata-Piako and Hauraki District Councils.

Economic Development Update

• Business sentiment survey - out now
• Coromandel real estate hits asking price highs
• Our Council's COVID-19 response package
• Free business advisor drop-in sessions return
• New website for the Waikato region
• Waikato Economic Radar
• East Waikato Careers and Employers Expo
• Destination Coromandel receives strategic funding
• Help for local tourism businesses
• Sports organisations offered support
• Business profile: local fishing charters
• Events calendar

Click here to read or sign-up to our Economic Development update.

Whangamata ultra-fast fibre (UFB) information session

Chorus are coming to Whangamata to share how they will be building fibre and answer any questions you may have.

Pop-in between 3pm-7pm to the Whangamata Club (404 Port Rd) on Wednesday 19 August.

For more information visit chorus.co.nz/fibre.

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