Six community representatives were voted onto ORC's new Lower Taieri Flood Protection and Drainage Scheme Liaison Group last night at the group’s AGM at Henley Community Centre.

ORC General Manager Science and Resilience, Tom Dyer, says “This is a great opportunity for those who live in this area to help shape Taieri’s flood and drainage schemes and be the ‘eyes and ears’ of the scheme community.”

ORC is re-establishing several liaison groups for Otago flood protection and drainage schemes, starting with the Lower Taieri.

Nominations were open for three weeks before the meeting, with 10 people from the scheme area being nominated. There were five nominations to represent East Taieri and five nominations to represent West Taieri on the group.

An overview of the Liaison Group including its purpose and draft Terms of Reference was shared at the beginning of the AGM followed by the opportunity for each nominee to speak for up to two minutes before voting began.

Nominees were elected based on highest number of votes by those present at the meeting with nominees who had submitted apologies prior to the AGM (Julie Struthers and Cody Cowley) to be included in the voting process.

Those in attendance at the AGM were on the edge of their seats at one point with two nominees, William Kirkland and Jimmy Miles, receiving an equal number of votes for one position and the outcome decided by a coin toss.

The below nominees were voted to represent scheme members on the new Liaison Group:

East Taieri

Julie Struthers (apology)

Simon Parks

William Kirkland

West Taieri

David Wilson

Colin Scurr

Matt Kerr

The purpose of the Lower Taieri Flood Protection and Drainage Scheme Liaison Group will be to act as an informal committee who will work alongside Otago Regional Council.

“In addition to the six community representatives that have been voted in, Dunedin Airport’s General Manager Infrastructure and Operations Nick Rodger and Mosgiel Taieri Community Board Chair Andrew Simms will also sit on the group,” Mr Dyer says.

The results of last night’s AGM will be taken to the February Council meeting where the group will be formalised and a Councillor elected to sit on the group.

Representatives of the Lower Taieri Flood Protection and Drainage Scheme Liaison Group

The role of the group will be to:

• Provide feedback to the ORC on levels of service and proposed scheme operational and capital programmes
• Provide feedback on the development of infrastructure strategy, asset management plans and rating/funding proposals; and
• Enable effective communication between scheme stakeholders

The Lower Taieri Flood Protection Scheme helps reduce the flood risk on the Taieri Plain, including the townships of Mosgiel, Outram and Henley.

There are also East and West Taieri Drainage Schemes that help provide effective and reliable drainage for rural land in East and West Taieri.

Re-establishment of these groups follows a council decision as part of the Long-Term Plan process earlier this year.

Initially, three liaison groups will be established for the Lower Taieri, Lower Clutha and Tokomairiro schemes — Lower Clutha and Tokomairiro to follow next in 2025/26.

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