Council approves $3.21 million of projects

The Central Otago District Council has approved $3.21 million worth of proposed projects as part of an application to Central Government for funding.

At the Council meeting at Alexandra yesterday (Wednesday 24 August 2022) a list of projects was considered, which would go into Tranche 1 of Better Off funding, which will be available from 1 October as part of the Three Waters Reform programme.

The first tranche will become available once the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has approved the submitted programme. This is expected to be in September/October.

The projects approved and given priority included Iwi/Māori engagement to meet Tranche 2 requirements ($50,000), Community Wellbeing Framework and Indicator Dataset ($90,000), Progressing of the records digitisation of rateable property files plus online access ($251,500), Cromwell Pool sand filter and therapeutic pool liner ($400,000), Alexandra Pool 25m pool and learn to swim pool liners, ($220,000), Alexandra Community Centre earthquake strengthening and stage upgrades ($584,500), Clyde Hall kitchen and accessible bathroom, fire system upgrade and double glazing ($182,500), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) installed at libraries district-wide ($361,000), Council-owned buildings seismic assessments and other compliance reports ($320,000), the Roxburgh Pool fencing project ($108,000), the Cromwell Bike Park Toilets project ($235,000) and the Alexandra Library Renovation project ($611,500).

These projects are expected to be delivered within the next 18 months.

The projects that have been approved have either been included in the 2021 Long-term Plan (LTP), increased in scope which needs additional funding, are accelerated projects in later years of the LTP, or are required to address current issues that will otherwise require ratepayer funding. If the application is approved, it will mean ratepayers will not incur the burden of those costs.

The Council also approved a list of contingency projects to be put forward for approval, if there are any delays in delivering the initial list of projects, or if costs come in below estimates. The contingency list includes projects relating to emergency electrical generators ($120,000), war memorials ($30,000), replacing existing flags district wide ($15,000), video staff recruitment ($20,000), park furniture for Māniatoto and Teviot Valley ($45,000), shade sails ($100,000), Cromwell cemetery upgrade ($100,000) and Starlink Communications ($30,000), and new kerbside bins ($750,000),

Council has been allocated $9.63m for Tranche 2 of the funding which is expected to be available from 1 July 2024. Projects for Tranche 2 will be identified and considered alongside development of the 2024 LTP.

Projects can be seen on the Council agenda by going to: http://centralotago.infocouncil.biz/