Ohope Community Board looks to improve communication with community

The Ohope Community Board is looking at ways to improve its engagement with the Ohope community, says Board Chairperson Chris Dohrman. 

Mr Dohrman said the Board wants to make more use of the local media, the council’s newsletter Byways and the Ohope Tide magazine to engage with the our community and encourage people to attend the public forum during the Board’s meetings.

“We are looking at holding community outreach days during the holiday periods so that we can include our non- resident ratepayers who have holiday homes in Ohope. It is important that the Board gets to know what the community issues are, so that we make take these to the Council for consideration”, said Mr Dohrman.

He said at the July meeting, the Board approved funding for the remarking of the two Ohope Tennis Club courts, and to support Te Runanga o Ngati Awa and the Ministry of Fisheries to extend the ban (rahui) on the taking of green lipped mussels from Ohiwa Harbour for a further two years.

The Board was also informed by a representative of the Bay Artificial Reef Charitable Trust of their proposal to form an artificial reef off Moutohora (Whale) Island. It noted with satisfaction that log deflectors had been installed across Maraetotara stream and it recommended to the Council that some remedial work be carried out on the dunes on the western side of the stream to stop soil erosion affecting the playground area.

Mr Dohrman said planning for the new ‘playground’ at the Waterways Subdivision was under way and the project should be completed before summer.

Turning, to service delivery issues, he said the Board had a presentation on the Level of Services and members will be working with council staff and consulting the community as part of the process to set levels of Service for incorporation in the Ten-year Plan (LTCCP).