Marlborough Recovery Update #20, Friday 10 February 2023

Welcome to the weekly Marlborough Recovery Update bringing youthe latest news on the recovery effort and the support available. Our next newsletter is published on 24 February 2023. To streamline our communication with you, we will, in the future, offer a subscription option, so the newsletter will be emailed directly to you. If you’d like to subscribe sign up below:

If you know someone without internet access who is unable to read this update, please ask them to phone Council on 03 520 7400 and provide their name and postal address. We will ensure a hard copy of the Marlborough Recovery Update is posted to them.

August weather event

The Marlborough recovery continues following the August 2022 weather event.

Thirty three properties in Marlborough have red stickers, 66 yellow and 24 have white due to the damage sustained, which was more extensive and widespread than the July 2021 weather event.

Insurance drop-in day

Property owners with ongoing insurance and EQCover claims are reminded about the drop-in day at Havelock Town Hall next week.

Running from 10.00 am until 4.00 pm on Wednesday 15 February, the day presents an opportunity to meet representatives face to face to ask specific questions and find out how your claim is progressing. While it’s a drop-in day, registrations are essential so insurance representatives can come prepared. Brendon Robertson, Building Control Group Manager at MDC, will be available to answer questions about placarding.

To register, email recovery@marlborough.govt.nz or text 027 213 0341.

Customer Service and recovery teams get together

Members from Council’s customer service and recovery teams met this week to learn about each other’s roles and how to share information and support each other.

They discussed the main type of customer enquiry received and talked about ongoing issues residents faced as they recover from the August 2022 storm.

The theme of the get together was to continue to help the community and ensure effective communication.

Role of recovery navigators

What do our recovery navigators do and how can they help you?

After an event such as last August’s floods which caused widespread damage and impacted hundreds, recovery navigators step in to help where they can. They provide help and advice, but the role is best summed up below:

“The role of social recovery is to identify needs and coordinate efforts and processes to influence the immediate, medium and long term holistic regeneration of a community following a disaster. It is important to make sure that the recovery is inclusive and empowering for all. Council will provide overall leadership and coordination for social recovery at the local level.”

‘Social Recovery 101; A Guide for Social Recovery’, Waimakariri District Council

To give you more of an overview, our team will explain, in their own words, their role.

A day in the life of a Recovery Navigator by Charlotte Wood

A typical working day for me starts at 8.00 am when I log into email and check voicemail with a cup of tea in hand. I respond to anything urgent straight away. I usually finish at 2.30 pm so often there is something for me to respond to from the previous day.

Every day is different and it’s very important we’re flexible to enable us to adapt to anything important that crops up during the day. Calls coming in from people impacted by the storms take priority and I allow as much time is needed for each conversation.

There are also internal tasks to do, such as contributing to the weekly Recovery Update newsletter, planning and coordinating future events and attending relevant meetings. I often liaise with other Council staff and local community organisations to source information or to make contact with an expert.

My favourite days are when I get out of the office to visit local communities and meet people face to face. It’s always my pleasure and privilege! If I haven’t already done so, I look forward to meeting you sometime in the future.

Before joining Council, I worked as Marlborough co-ordinator for two not-for-profit organisations, English Language Partners and Top of the South Neighbourhood Support.

I previously lived in Darfield and was principal of Windwhistle School. It’s a lovely, close-knit, rural community connected with Lake Coleridge, surrounding farms and high-country stations. I have also I lived on Waiheke Island where I taught at Te Huruhi Primary School.

The sense of connectedness between people in these somewhat isolated rural communities made these

both very special places to live and makes me understand why you people love the Sounds so much.

I love my navigator role and if you need support, please get in touch with me. I’m here to and offer practical assistance and while I’m not an expert, I can connect you with the people who are, in insurance or building consents for example.

Sounds community workshops well attended

Following on from last week’s community meetings, there was a good turnout at the final workshops held last Friday at Portage and Waitaria Bay and the online Zoom meeting on Wednesday. They were designed to gather information and ideas from Sounds residents, ratepayers and businesses about how to provide a safe and resilient transport system for the Sounds into the future.

A project team, made up of Council and engineering consultancy Stantec staff, asked attendees for their thoughts on how people could get in and out of the Sounds in the future. They also sought ideas and alternative options and feedback about where improvements or interventions may be able to solve the identified problems.

Attendees’ feedback will be collated and a series of options developed by Council and Stantec. Council will then have discussions with Waka Kotahi and come back to the community with a number of proposed options in April or May this year. A preferred option will then be identified.

A survey for the Marlborough Sounds Future Access Study has opened and already more than 500 have been completed. The survey is for Sounds residents, homeowners and businesses and designed to help inform future transport options in and out of the Sounds. People are encouraged to fill out the survey online, which closes at 5.00 pm on Wednesday 22 February.

Go to the online survey

Go to the Marlborough Sounds Future Access Study

If you cannot fill out the survey online, please call the Council on Ph: 03 520 7400 and you will be directed to someone who can help fill out the survey with you over the phone.

If you are not a Sounds property or business owner, you can still email your feedback to soundsfutureaccess@marlborough.govt.nz

Planting for soil stabilisation

Last year’s rains and floods have left many bare patches in the Sounds which residents may be thinking about re planting to increase soil stabilisation.

Marlborough Sounds ward councillor Ben Minehan, from Weed Solutions Ltd, suggests three fast-growing native species - mānuka, kānuka & pittosporums – which thrive in the Sounds environment and will choke out nasties like gorse and broom.

Summer is not the best time to plant but you can think ahead about for planting from mid to late March onwards.

Mānuka or kahikātoa (Leptospermum scoparium)

Mānuka’s sweet scented flowers provide a vital pollen source for native bees,

flies, moths, beetles and geckos. Ben says mānuka works well for planting large sites.

Seeds are easy to harvest and plants are fast growing with a good tap root. They establish quickly without needing any special care.

Mānuka is considered by many as an essential tool for revegetating bare slopes, creating excellent shelter for other slower-growing natives.

Mānuka is generally not eaten by sheep, cattle and goats and is tolerant of drought, excess water, wind, and frost when mature. Placing fertiliser tablets by the trees at planting will help especially with establishment on steep, exposed clay soil.

Always ensure young trees are watered in their root trainers and planted out with wet roots.

Kānuka (kunzea ericoides)

Kānuka is endemic to New Zealand, and although similar to manuka can be distinguished by its softer leaves as opposed to manuka’s prickly leaves. (mānuka mean, kānuka kind).

Pittosporum

Pittosporum are fast-growing evergreens, hardy in most situations and low maintenance. They thrive in most soils and produce masses of tiny flowers in spring and once flowering is complete,

seed pods follow. These are attractive to native birds who help with propagation.

There are three main varieties of Pittosporum grown in New Zealand:

Kohuhu - Pittosporum Tenuifolium

This is great for hedging, screens and shelter and can grow to 5m tall. It is fast growing and

will thrive in alpine and coastal environments and grow easily from seed and can be propagated from cuttings.

Lemonwood - pittosporum eugenoides

The largest of the three and can grow up to 12m tall. Very useful for fast-growing

shelters requiring height.

Karos - pittosporum ralphii

Can grow up to 6m tall and has larger leaves than kohuhu.

Thanks to Ben Minehan and The Bush Telegraph for the above article

Calendar

Insurance/EQCover Drop-In Day

Wednesday 15 February from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm at the Havelock Town Hall

Hato Hone St John courses

Waitaria Bay - 21 February 9.30 am to 3.00 pm

Portage - 22 February 8.30 am to 4.30 pm

Linkwater - 23 February 9.30 am to 3.00 pm

Courses are filling fast so register now. Numbers are restricted to 20 people for each course so if you’re interested, please contact Charlotte on email recovery@marlborough.govt.nz or phone 027 213 0341.

Marlborough Community Vehicle Trust

Sunday 26 February – last day for the MCVT car to be used. Contact Ian Cameron on ianc.cameron@xtra.co.nz or 03 574 2558.

Thanks to the MCVT and Ian Cameron for making this service available.

Roading update

Works being carried out on recovery roads this week include the clearing of culverts along Kenepuru Road, between Linkwater and Portage. Minor works are also being completed on retaining walls in three locations along Kenepuru Road and slip clearance is being undertaken on Te Mahia Road.

The construction of Noels Bridge on Northbank Road continues and a culvert installation has started on Queen Charlotte Drive, near Moenui Road.

Crew are starting to assemble equipment for the limestone rock revetment on Awatere Valley Road in preparation for these works to start next week.

Both construction closures on Kenepuru Road between Tara Bayand Nikau Cove have nowfinished.

Kenepuru Road and its side roads, including Moetapu Bay Road, remain restricted to residents and emergency services only. They are not suitable for visitors.

Information

To check the status of any local road in Marlborough visit Marlborough District Council’s CDEM Map and click on the road for more information.

To contact the Marlborough Roads Recovery Team email recovery@marlboroughroads.com or phone 0800 213 213 between 8.00 am - 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday.