February 2013 kumeucourier

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Electrical safety tips from Spark’n
With so many people out using their boats and camping this is the time to look at power usage. Are
you tired of watching your battery bank dwindle and having to recharge using noisy generators? The
solution is using less power hungry fittings, for example, LED light fittings. LEDs provide more light for
less energy consumption. They are easy to fit and require a great deal less maintenance. You will be
changing lamps far less often. Not only are they a great energy saver on holiday, but also in the home.
Traditional lamps are rated at about 2000 hours, where compact fluorescent lamps are 10,000 hours
and LED’s up to 35,000 hours. Fancy not changing a light bulb for 5-25 + years? LEDs save on power with low environmental
impact. Give us a call if you would like more energy-saving solutions. Call Tony on 021 772756 or 411 8526.
The right people with the right advice
With a fresh start to the New Year, you may be considering an addition to your property to cater for your family
and their growing needs. The best way to go about this is with the right planning advice, so that you have no
issues that could potentially result in a costly Resource Consent exercise. Any Resource Consent avoided is a
good one! The best free advice we can give you is to buy a ‘Property File’ from the Council so that you have all
the info on your property that the Council also have. This file of information is available printed or in digital form,
and includes the complete file information for any Building Consent or Resource Consent ever applied for on the
property with full plans and details for each. All this for a mere $48.00! Then at least you can see what they can
see, and have valuable info on hand like previous site plans, drainage pipeline locations, what is actually consented on the property
etc. We can then help from there to advise you on building coverage, impermeable surface area calculations, distance to
boundaries and height in relation to boundaries and so on. All this info will assist with planning your project so that it goes
through the Building Consent process without a hiccup and without triggering a requirement for Resource Consent in the process!
Priceless advice that is free of charge… we just call it part of our quote and design process. Come and talk to the girls at
KiwiSpanNZ, 329 Main Road Huapai 09 412 8455.
Seniornet opening up new doors and options
Regular newsletters, monthly seminars. Come and join us for courses, tutorials, workshops and loads of fun. Classes
for people with no computer experience keeping up with technology. Maximum of five students per class.TradeMe,
word, excel, Facebook, Skype, Google, email and much more. Each course comes with a full manual, which is yours to
keep! Courses in: introduction to computers, basic word processing, PC’s, Macbooks, iPads. In a fun and stress free
environment for people over 50 SeniorNet allows people to participate in the age in which we live in.
Contact: Jill Kouremetis Ph 810 7423, Ethel Yelavich Ph 412 8906, Jenny Barrowman Ph 412 7645, Ron Topping Ph
Newsdesk at Waitakere Rural Fire Force
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year’s break and are looking forward to 2013. The Waitakere
brigade went on a Christmas morning Santa run to hand out lollies to the Waitakere and Taupaki communities.
Even though the weather was a little wet at first we still got to see hundreds of children. Aucklanders wanting
to light an open-air fire in any rural area will need to obtain a permit from the Auckland Council. Principal Rural
Fire Officer for Auckland, Bryan Cartelle, says, “there is a restricted fire season introduced each year on 1
December. That restriction will remain in place until fire danger levels have decreased and it’s safe to allow
some areas to return to being open fire season”. Below is a link that allows you to apply for a fire permit on
line. There is no application fee and you need to allow 5 working days for the permit to be processed as it
requires a site visit
http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/licencesregulations/ruralfire/Pages/
Rekindle your love for tennis?
Did you enjoy the Aussie Open? - Did it rekindle your love of Tennis?
WAIMAUKU TENNIS CLUB “Your big little club in the West” Welcoming new members! Come and try out your skills.
Senior Club Days: Wednesday 9.00AM-12.00PM, Sunday 2.00PM-4.00PM, Lots of tennis, talk and tea. Your first three visits
are FREE! Causal play for key holding members. All Junior coaching is booked out for this season. Contact Jill Warren 4118037
Heightened fire danger?
As we all watch the news of the fires in Australia and New Zealand it is timely to think
closer to home. With an unusually dry start to the year the risk of vegetation fires in
increasing in Auckland. The Auckland Rural Fire District is currently in a restricted fire
season. This means that you must obtain a permit before burning in rural areas. A
permit can be obtained free of charge from Auckland Council, simply go to the Auckland
Council website, keyword Fire permit or phone 301 0101. A rural fire office will
visit the site and provide advice on how to safely burn. Key requirements include: A
means of extinguishment onsite, the fire must be attended at all times and it must be
a minimum of 10 metres from any building or boundary. Please think before lighting
any fires. If it is not urgent then consider delaying any plans for fires this summer.