Ōmokoroa Community Board Meeting Minutes 

29 July 2025

 

   MINUTES OF Western Bay of Plenty District Council
Ōmokoroa Community Board Meeting No. OMC25-4
HELD IN THE Ōmokoroa Library and Service Centre, 28 Western Avenue, Ōmokoroa (Whakamarama Room) ON Tuesday, 29 July 2025 AT 7.00pm

 

1                 Present

Chairperson C Dever, Deputy A Hughes, Member P Presland, Member B Bell, Cr M Grainger and Cr D Thwaites.

2                In Attendance

P Osborne (Senior Governance Advisor) and J Rickard (Community and Strategic Relationships Manager).

Others in attendance

Mayor J Denyer

Councillor M Murray-Benge and Councillor T Coxhead

3                Apologies

Nil

4               Consideration of Late Items

Nil

5                Declarations of Interest

Nil

6                Public Excluded Items

Nil

7                Public Forum

7.1          Alan Lacey and Mark Ryan - Ōmokoroa Lions

Mr Lacey and Mr Ryan were in attendance to speak to their proposal which was provided as Tabled Item 1. The proposal was for the leasing of the land adjacent to the toy library, which they were hoping would house a Portacom that supported their Medical Equipment Programme. This was something the Lions Club had been running for some time, and they were seeking the Boards support for their proposal to Council.

Presenters responded to pātai as follows:

·                This was a service that the Lions Club had run for many years, noting it could not be managed efficiently from a private garage.

·                There was the hope that by getting a proper space there could be a roster of people that helped to manage it.

·                If there was no land available to put a trailer/storage on, there was a fear that this service would not be able to continue to be run efficiently.

·                They had not been to Council staff yet in relation to this proposal.

·                The Board suggested that there were a couple of other options around Prole Road that could also be considered.

·                Lions Club would reach out to the Ōmokoroa Settlers Hall to have conversations about what they thought might work, noting that it was a fairly recent proposal.

 

7.2         Corinne Payne - Ōmokoroa Settlers Hall

Ms Payne was in attendance on behalf of the Ōmokoroa Settlers Hall, noting the following points:

·                The Ōmokoroa Settlers Hall Committee acknowledged the funding that the Board awarded to the Committee, which allowed them to complete the large deck at the back of the Hall. It was noted that a further update in relation to this was provided through the feedback report in the agenda.

·                She acknowledged the Board representatives for coming along to meetings throughout the triennium to provide support and advice.

 

7.3         Rob Mitford-Burgess – Precious Family Reserve Toilet

Mr Mitford-Burgess was in attendance to speak to the issue relating to the Precious Family Reserve Toilet. He noted the following points:

·                376 people signed a petition that requested for the toilet at Precious Family Reserve to be relocated.

·                He felt that recent comments in relation to this issue at the Projects and Monitoring Committee were unfair.

·                He was of the impression that the Ōmokoroa Community Board Chairperson had not seen or provided feedback on the three options considered by the Projects and Monitoring Committee.

·                He believed there was misrepresentation that pursued and swayed the vote.

 

 

Staff made the following points of clarification:

·                This was a Council decision, not something the Community Board had delegation to resolve.

·                The initial concerns in relation to this were raised at a Community Board meeting, which resulted in staff being asked to undertake a piece of work to understand the feasibility of relocating the toilet. Executive staff considered the outcome of this piece of work and it was determined that it was not feasible to relocate the toilet.

·                The outcome of this decision was communicated back to the public forum speakers in detail, through the Community Board Chairperson.

·                Concerns were then raised by residents at a Council level, which led to staff bringing back a full decision report that contained information and correspondence to date.

·                The Projects and Monitoring Committee considered the decision report and resolved for the project to continue at the original location.

8                Minutes for Confirmation

8.1          Minutes of the Ōmokoroa Community Board Meeting held on 3 June 2025

Resolution  OMC25-4.1

Moved:                         Member P Presland

Seconded:         Member B Bell

1.        That the Minutes of the Ōmokoroa Community Board Meeting held on 3 June 2025 as circulated with the agenda be confirmed as a true and correct record.

2.       That the Chairperson’s electronic signature be inserted into the confirmed minutes.

Carried

9                Reports

9.1          Ōmokoroa Community Board - Workshop Notes - 24 June 2025

The Board noted the workshop notes from 24 June 2025.

 

9.2         Ōmokoroa Community Board - Chairperson's Report - July 2025

The Board considered a report dated 29 July 2025 from the Chairperson, who provided an overview of each of the main points of his report. Further discussion was had on the items listed below.

Resolution  OMC25-4.2

Moved:                         Chairperson C Dever

Seconded:         Cr D Thwaites

That the Chairperson’s report dated 29 July 2025 titled ‘Ōmokoroa Community Board – Chairperson’s Report – July 2025’ be received.

Carried

 

9.2.1       Tui Glen Walkway through Kaylene Place to Western Avenue

The Board noted that the walkway through to Tui Glen that joined onto Western Avenue did not have any crossing points at Kaylene Place that would allow ease of crossing for prams or cyclists.

The Board felt that it was important for staff to consider the need for this as part of the Tui Glen Bridge project, as it was changing the use of this area.

The Board requested a ‘Children Crossing’ sign to be installed where the walking/cycling track met Western Avenue, due to the increase number in school children using this pathway.

 

9.2.2      Video Surveillance - Hamurana Road

The Board expressed concerns from residents and the body-corporate in relation to ‘boy-racing’ reported in the lower part of Hamurana Road. The following points were noted:

·                It was noted that a resident and the owner of the Village Green had funded a surveillance camera that was installed on the roadside of the Artisan Bakery building.

·                There was a request for Council to fund a sign that would say there was a CCTV camera operating. It was hoped that between the camera and signage it might deter some of the behaviour.

·                The Board advised that the Community Patrol would keep an eye on this area as well.  

·                The Board requested for staff to engage with Gavin Brown to look into whether this would be something they could fund, and where a sign may be best placed.

 

9.2.3      Homeless - Ōmokoroa Domain Carpark

The Community and Strategic Relationships Manager advised that staff were engaged with these people, as well as providers, to connect the whānau with services that may be of help.

The Board was advised that in any case of this manner, Council could not make anyone engage with services that they did not want. It was also important to remember that once Council had engaged with people, they had an obligation regarding their health, safety and wellbeing.

 

9.3         Ōmokoroa Community Board - Councillor's Report - July 2025

The Board considered a report dated 29 July 2025 from Councillor Grainger. The report was taken as read.

Resolution  OMC25-4.3

Moved:                         Cr M Grainger

Seconded:         Chairperson C Dever

That Councillor Grainger’s report dated 29 July 2025 titled ‘Ōmokoroa Community Board – Councillor’s Report – July 2025’ be received.

Carried

 

9.4         Ōmokoroa Community-Led Development

The Board considered a report dated 29 July 2025 from the Community and Strategic Relationships Manager, who took the report as read.

The Board acknowledged Karen Hind and the Steering Group for the amount of work that they had put into collating the information and progressing this particular piece of work.

Resolution  OMC25-4.4

Moved:                         Member B Bell

Seconded:         Deputy A Hughes

1.               That the Community and Strategic Relationships Manager’s report dated 29 July 2025 titled ‘Ōmokoroa Community-Led Development’ be received.

2.             That the report relates to an issue that is considered to be of low significance in terms of Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy.

3.             That the Ōmokoroa Community Board recommends to Council that funding of $30,000 be committed from the Community Plan budget to support the work of the Ōmokoroa Community-Led Development Group for the next 12 months.

Carried

 

9.5         Ōmokoroa Community Board Grant Funding 2022-2025 - Outcomes/Feedback

The Board considered a report dated 29 July 2025 from the Senior Governance Advisor. The report was taken as read.

The Chairperson noted that it was important that when funding was granted, the Board received feedback from the relevant groups.

 

9.6         Ōmokoroa Community Board - Projects and Operations Report - July 2025

The Board considered a report dated 29 July 2025 from the Senior Governance Advisor. The report was taken as read.

Resolution  OMC25-4.5

Moved:                         Member B Bell

Seconded:         Cr M Grainger

That the Senior Governance Advisor’s report dated 29 July 2025 titled ‘Ōmokoroa Projects and Operations Report – July 2025’ be received.

Carried

 

9.7         Ōmokoroa Community Board - Financial Report - May 2025

The Board considered a report date 29 July 2025 from the Finance Business Partner. The report was taken as read.

Resolution  OMC25-4.6

Moved:                         Chairperson C Dever

Seconded:         Deputy A Hughes

That the Finance Business Partner’s report dated 29 July 2025 titled ‘Ōmokoroa Community Board - Financial Report – May 2025’, be received.

Carried

10              Information for Receipt

Nil

Closing remarks from the Chairperson

The Chairperson acknowledged that this was the final meeting of the triennium and noted the following points:

·                There would be a new structure to the Ōmokoroa-Kaimai Community Board in the next triennium, which would be both exciting and challenging.

·                He reminded everyone to encourage people to stand in the upcoming election, noting that nominations closed Friday 1 August at 12pm.  

·                He acknowledged the Board, Member Presland (predecessor), Councillors Grainger, Councillors Thwaites and staff for their work and support throughout the triennium.

 

The Meeting closed at 7.54pm.

 

In accordance with Standing Order 28.4, these minutes were confirmed as a true and correct record.

 

 

 

...................................................

Chairperson C Dever

CHAIRPERSON

 

 

A signature of a person

Description automatically generated

 

 

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Miriam Taris

INTERIM CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER