15 September 2023
Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: Council community safety hub
Enquiry
I am just writing something small on the community hub update and had a few questions.
When will the space be ready and set up?
I see the listing [above] for this site was for $25,000 plus GST - is this what the council is paying? If no, what are the details of the lease?
What were the other options and what did they cost?
What were the full names and titles of the two women at the presentation [during the 13 September community and District Development Committee meeting] and With JP Gaston?
Response
We provided the following information:
From Rotorua Lakes Council Group Manager Community and District Development Jean-Paul Gaston:
Fit out will begin in October 2023 and we expect the community hub to be operational by mid-November 2023.
The listing on the internet was over a year old and had not been updated. We entered into negotiations with the landlord and opted for a two year lease with a fixed rental of $26 500 per annum including rates and insurance.
There were limited alternative options in terms of the space, visibility and availability required for the community hub. Rentals of the other premises considered were higher and ranged from $30-35k per annum.
We provided the names and titles of the two staff who presented on community safety alongside Mr Gaston: Mihikore Owen, Director Community Safety; and Julie-May Ellingson, Director Economic Development
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Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: Littering
Enquiry
*NOTE: This is another follow-up to enquiry re littering in Rotorua:
one more bit for response please, if desired, [Tracey] McLeod said the bin at Pererika St by the playground was overflowing. The bag of rubbish she had put in a request for service [31 August] to be collected has not been.
Reporter clarified, at our request, that the overflowing bin and request for collection of bag of rubbish were two separate matters:
She said the green rubbish bin was "always" overflowing.
And the request was for a bag of rubbish near the Tongan Community Centre. As I said in my initial email it was what she could not fit in the trolley.
Response
From Group Manager Infrastructure and Environmental solutions, Stavros Michael:
We’ve checked and found there was an issue with how these requests were processed. Both have now been resolved.