Ashburton Courier: April 09, 2020

Page 12, Ashburton's The Courier, Thursday April 9, 2020
Local news at www.starnews.co.nz
Council staff redeployed to welfare jobs
Some Ashburton District Council
staff havebeen moved from their
regular jobs to help front­line health
workers in the fight against Covid­19.
Staff are helping with
administration and sanitisation at
Ashburton’s community­based
assessment centre, wherepeople are
referred for screening and testing for
the virus.
Council CEO HamishRiach said
other staff were involved in welfare
checks on over 70s and other
responses, like delivering
prescriptions and groceries.
He said staff had made ahuge
effort to work remotely and take on
other jobs to keep essential services
ticking over.
Senior council managers updated
councillors at an online meetingvia
Zoom last week.
Mayor Neil Brown praised all the
district’s essential workers and said
residents by and large had been
complying with lockdown directions
to stay home while the countrywas
under alertlevel 4.
He said localpolice were reporting
afew flouting the rules, but those
people would soon find thatwould be
met with atougher response.
“The economy now in our district
is reasonably stressed and we as
council need to help,and keep the
economy going, as allpeople do. We
need to get through it, we have to, to
survive.”
Deputy mayor Liz McMillan said
she had been sent messages about
people using council playgrounds,
despite these being shut during the
lockdown.
“Some people think itisOKtogo
out there and use these facilities.”
Mr Riach said council staff were
involved across the community,
doing agreat job helping different
groups of people.
Library staff had been ringing the
over 70s on theirmembership
database and asking if they were OK
or needed help. Welfare assistance
was also available through its civil
defence team on 0800 24 24 11.
Four staff were helping at the
community­based assessment centre,
which screened and tested people for
Covid­19. One staff member was
involvedinadmindutiesatthe
centre and the others helped sanitise
consulting rooms after each patient.
More staff would be needed to
assist at the centre as testing ramped
up, and with welfare duties as the
lockdown progressed.
Other council staff are helping
deliver essential items and
prescriptions to vulnerable people in
the community, and delivering Meals
on Wheels.
The economic developmentteam
has been in touch with 114 businesses
in the district by email or phone.
Mr Brownsaid it was important to
keep the district goingand council
was already looking at “shovelready”
projects that might qualify for
Government funding. Industry
leaders havebeen askedtoseek out
infrastructure projects that are ready
to start as soon as the construction
industry returns to normal and
smaller projects that benefit the
regions will be considered.
Group manager strategy and
compliance Jane Donaldson said
council staffwere still processing
buildingconsents and resource
consents received electronically,
though no site visits were being
conducted. Some staff had been
redeployed to other helpingjobs.
Cr JohnFalloon said he had never
seensomany people out walking.
Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown
Resilience will be tested
We have now entered our
third week of the lockdown.
It’s aworld away from
everything we once knew
and has presented many
challenges that each of us
continues to try and work
through.
As with any challenge we
face, our resilience is often
tested and we are pushed to
be adaptive, innovative and
resourceful.
This very approach has helped us
collaborate and create the Essential
Jobs initiative on the Ashburton App,
which Ihope will make areal difference
for residents left without work and
needing to find ajob.
The council has had to adjust in a
number of other ways too. We’ve had to
change the rubbish and recycling service
and our public facilities have closed.
We also had our very first remote
video council meeting last week which
was areal milestone in our council’s
history. Councillors and staff logged into
the remote meeting from their homes
rather than coming together at the
council chambers and Imust say, it went
very well.
We were still able to discuss matters
as we usually would, ask questions and
make decisions. The meeting was also
livestreamed on to the council Facebook
page and YouTube channel like any
normal meeting, so residents were able
to see what’s happening around the
‘‘virtual’’ council table.
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Mayor Neil Brown
This same arrangement
will be happening today
(April 9) as we log on for
another meeting, this time
to consider areport on what
we can do with our rates
going forward.
Tomorrow will be the
start of the Easter long
weekend and Iknow that for
many, this year’s activities
will not be what they might
have planned for afew
weeks ago.
Holidays away with friends and family
will not go ahead and we won’t be able
to come together to celebrate the
occasion in usual fashion.
This Easter may be achance to
reflect: our families, arenewed
connection to our neighbours and
friends via technology, and our
increased sense of community spirit and
care for those around us.
Although the Alert Level 4lockdown
has separated us physically, Ibelieve it
has helped bring us together, united in a
common cause. It is certainly good to
see so many of us, not only doing our
part to reduce the spread of the virus,
but also making areal effort to check in
on others .
Don’t forget, if you need welfare
assistance at this time, anew helpline
(0800 24 24 11) is now operating from
7am to 7pm each day to help you access
essentials such as food and medication.
Take care, everyone and let’s keep
looking out for each other.
The Ashburton Domain showing its autumn colours.
Domain views extended
The Ashburton District Council
has extended consultation on the
Ashburton Domain Development
Plan while the country remains in
alert level 4because of Covid­19.
Councillors met online via
Zoom last week and agreed a
close­off date for submissions
would be set once the district
moved back to alert level 1.
Strategy and policy manager
Toni Durham said council would
continue to receive submissions on
the long­term development plan
and it was possible the
consultation period would end up
being three months, rather than
three weeks. “It could lead to us
getting agreater level of interest
and range of feedback.”
More than 60 people have
already made submissions on the
plan, many against moving the
Ashburton Bowling Club, which as
operated from central greens and
aclubrooms for more than 100
years.
Other suggested domain
projects over the next 30 years
include moving the paddling pool
closer to the playground, building
heritage and botanical trails,
upgrading playground equipment,
creating anew central hub that
could accommodate acafé and a
new entrance from Walnut
Avenue.
Submissions were to have closed
on April 5but will now remain
open.
Councillor Stuart Wilson said
that many over 70s who wanted to
be part of the consultation process
were staying at home during the
lockdown to be safe. Some would
be part of the second stage of
consultation, involving hearings, if
the planned timetable continued.
“It is the right thing to do to
extend it so everyone gets to have
their say on the important matter
of the domain in the next 30
years,” Mayor Neil Brown said.
Councillors also paused the
consultation process on its speed
limit review and will consider
hearing and deliberation dates
once the district moves back to
alert level 1.
About 200 submissions were
received in the process with 18
people or groups indicating they
wanted to present to council in
person. Hearings and
deliberations were scheduled to
run last week.
Submitters on both projects will
be kept up to date on
developments.
Changes to kerbside rubbish
Don’t stressaboutnot beingable to
recycle duringlockdown, sayslongtime
waste campaignerSheryl
Stivens, but get back into the habit
when normal serviceresumes.
All kerbside recycling collected
by the Ashburton District Council
during lockdown is beingtreatedas
rubbish as council is unable to
transport recycling to sorting
centres.Peoplecan put recycling
and glass into both red and yellow
wheelie bins.
Mrs Stivens said Ashburton
district people had become great
recyclers overthe yearsand they
should not feel guilty about
breaking the habitshort­term while
the country triedtoeliminate
Covid­19.
She said people could look at
different waystore­useitemslike
cardboard, which could be laid on
gardens as aweed suppressant and
covered with grass clippings.
Someglass jarsand bottlescould
also be re­used.
‘‘This is just temporary. We want
to get backtohugging our
families.’’
Council said last weekthat glass
in green crates wouldnot be
collected, but people could put
glass in red or yellow wheelie bins
for collection. The green crates
would notbepicked up, asthishad
to be donebyhand.
Infrastructure services group
manager Neil McCann saidthe
lockdown had presented some
challenges to the way council
provided essential services, and
council was adapting as needed.
‘‘We wanttoensure thatwhile
people are stayingathomedoing
the right thing, that their rubbish
and recycling continues to be
pickedupand isn't sitting around
stockpiling on their properties.’’
Ashburton District MayorNeil
Brownsaid that should people wish
to hold on to their recycling until
services return to normal, they are
welcome to do so.