- By Adele White, chairperson Howick Local Board
Kia ora!
At this time, it seems Omicron has hit many families in our area.
It is good to hear of the support being given to others by local friends and neighbours.
I hope you are all well again soon.
Reallocation of funds
After having to cancel a number of community events, the Howick Local Board was pleased to be able to reallocate funds to these other projects – $3000 to the Howick Stream Improvement Programme for water connectivity sensors and a wai care kit; $3000 to the Howick Schools’ Waste Minimisation Programme for schools to become more sustainable and reduce their carbon footprint; $26,900 to Pest Free Howick for arborist restoration work at Te Naupata/Musick Point; $10,000 to Healthy Howick Placemaking and Connectedness for the Greater East Tamaki Business Association to administer a Covid-19 Response Recovery.
Tidy streets
Contractors are using the drier months to lay more mulch in our street gardens.
Having a decent layer of mulch not only suppresses weeds and provides nutrients to our plants, but with quite shallow beds in the road corridor, it provides a layer of water/moisture retention.
Recently fresh mulch has been laid along the Dannemora strip.
The hedging in the centre of the road along Te Irirangi Drive is always a challenge to maintain.
Keeping vegetation off the live lanes on the busiest road in the Howick Local Board area is a regular task that keeps our city moving.
A large silver dollar gum in Megan Avenue was badly damaged in the strong winds of the recent storm event. As a result, debris was cleared and remedial pruning of the remaining canopy was undertaken.
Three dead/declining cypress trees, which had become a danger to the road corridor in Pigeon Mountain Road, were removed.
Over two days, the trees were sectionally dismantled and rigged to the ground.
A small excavator was used to move the large logwood, followed by the stumps being ground down and the berm reinstated.
Upgrades at Lloyd Elsmore
Works have now been completed on the renewal of the Lloyd Elsmore Park baseball cages.
The old cages were in a terrible condition and were of no use to the players in providing shelter.
The physical works have commenced for the renewal of the netball components at Lloyd Elsmore Park.
The works include water blasting and grinding off the old lines and court surface, repairing seams and cracks to improve the courts’ condition, application of rebound materials associated with installing the coating and line-marking six netball courts.
Time to speak out
Consultation on Auckland Council’s Annual Budget 2022-2023 closes at 5 pm on March 28, 2022.
Share your feedback on the draft budget online at www.akhaveyoursay.nz/budget. We need your input!
