15 February 2023
Media; NZME (Rotorua Daily Post and BOP Times)
Topic: Damage at Sala Street cemetery
Enquiry
Have council recieved any reports of damaged gravestones at Sala St Cemetery this morning or possibly last night?
We understand some graves have been damaged by a vehicle.
Response
From Rob Pitkethley, Manager – Active and Engaged Communities:
We received reports of damage to a small area of memorial plaques in Sala Street Cemetery on Monday morning, and Police were able to apprehend someone at the scene.
The Sexton has assessed the damage and is working on reinstating the plaques that have been impacted.
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Media; NZME (Rotorua Daily Post and BOP Times)
Topic: Communication of lake algal blooms
Enquiry
I am writing a story from the Rotorua Lakes Community Board meeting yesterday where members were talking about how there was bad communication of the algal bloom info over the summer period and have asked for key agencies to get together to organise a more co-ordinated approach over holiday shut-down periods.
They said they were getting calls from lots confused about whether they could swim or not over the busy period.
Concerns were there was a delayed update between Dec 22 and Jan 6 in info, whether the warnings were partial or whole lake, different information on different websites and issues of warning signs being taken.
It was explained in the meeting warnings were decided on by a health professional from Toi Te Ora, and the Rotorua Lakes Council communicated it.
The regional council uploaded its data to LAWA, which automatically categorized safety of swimming spots based on the results.
May I ask for comment/response on the above?
Is there a need for a more co-ordinated approach?
Would it join a key agency meeting to enable this?
If you can please provide a response by 2.30pm, thanks.
Response
From Rob Pitkethley, Manager – Active and Engaged Communities:
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s (BOPRC) role is to undertake water quality testing to make sure it’s safe to swim at sites across the Rotorua lakes.
Sites are given an alert level status based on the laboratory analysis, and these results help Toi Te Ora decide whether a health warning should be put in place.
Following the warning, Rotorua Lakes Council environmental health officers put up signage at main lake entry points and aim to have these signs up within 24 hours of the warning.
We urge the public to be cautious for signs of algal blooms if using lakes (discoloured water, unusual smell or you can see green or brown particles) even if safety signage is not present. It’s best to avoid contact with the blooms and check out if it’s safe to swim by reviewing information on the Toi Te Ora Public Health website at www.toiteora.govt.nz/health-warnings.
During the period (22 December 2022 – 6 January 2023), signage was delayed and we acknowledge this may have caused confusion to the public. We will continue to work with our partner agencies (Toi Te Ora and BOPRC) to improve the communication and notification process.
Please note there is a temporary DO NOT SWIM alert in place for all of the Bay of Plenty region for 2-3 days after heavy rain as many swim spots in these areas will have a high risk of contamination. No signage will be erected as this is general advice for all waterways.
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Media; NZME (Rotorua Daily Post and BOP Times)
Topic: Census 2023
Enquiry
I'm writing up a wee story about how there are several Stats NZ events coming up this month ahead of census day to get those in emergency housing participating. There has been a push for better numbers getting involved given the poor quality issues of the last census.
With the census informing lots of things including pop growth, housing, funding, and things like the deprivation index I was wondering if the mayor would like to comment on if the census was important to participate in and why? Particularly for this group in the community?
Any other comment?
Response
From Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell:
Participating in the 2023 Census helps provide a clearer picture of what our Rotorua families and communities need.
Ensuring that we have the best up to date information is key so that we can plan well for now and the future.
For organisations like Councils the information collected can help us understand the current situation of community so we can make better decisions that deliver positive social and economic outcomes.