20 April 2023
Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Costs to Council of Cyclone Gabrielle
Enquiry
I am working on a wrap that lays out the costs of Cyclone Gabrielle on the community.
However, I would appreciate it if the council could provide an update in response to these questions:
- What were the total costs of Cyclone Gabrielle? Could you break these down according to transport, infrastructure and spaces?
What lessons has the council learned for the future?
Response
From DCE Infrastructure and Environment, Stavros Michael:
The extreme weather we experienced highlighted the importance of community preparedness to deal with these types of events.
Rotorua Lakes Council will continue to work with developers to ensure good planning and design of housing and commercial development that address foreseeable risks such as flooding and land stability and as part of our long-term infrastructure strategy, are continuing to upgrade three waters infrastructure and increase its capacity in line with climate change predictions.
It is important for people to understand that this does not guarantee there won’t be flooding or damage as a result of future events because we cannot predict the nature, intensity or extent of future weather events that could exceed the network’s design capacities.
That means preparedness and resilience at an individual, household and wider community level are key and we will continue to work with our community on emergency preparedness plans and will continue to work with council staff and partner agencies who undertake civil defence duties, to maintain our civil defence response capabilities.
See below, estimated costs resulting from Cyclone Gabrielle (there are no updates on the figures since previous enquiry):
Roading – emergency repairs and slip clearing approx. $500,000
Buildings – Energy Events Centre roof damaged, cost to repair unknown
Nursery – Majority of the Greenhouses damaged, cost to repair unknown
Trees – significant number of trees down on roadways, reserves, Titokorangi and Whakarewarewa approx. $150,000
Lakeside structures – damage to some jetties and walkways approx. $150,000
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Media: Local Focus (NZ Herald video journalism)
Topic: 2023/24 Annual Plan proposals
Enquiry
I am doing a video story on the effect of cutting the museum education program on local students and schools. I was wondering if anyone from the council would be willing to be interviewed to comment on the reasoning behind cutting this program.
Response
The museum education programme you refer to is one of a number of proposals that was supported by elected members, and outlined in the consultation document. The Draft Annual Plan is currently out for public consultation and it would be inappropriate for Council to comment on any of the proposals at this point-in-time. The finalised annual plan will be adopted at the end of June which is when we would have confirmation of which proposals have been accepted.