October 1998


October 1998	CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL - YOUR PEOPLE - YOUR CITY


PAPER CHAINS	MANAGING WETLANDS	RETAILERS GO GREEN	CLIMBING THE TREE OF LIFE	BOTTLE LAKE	NEW POOLS, ON CUE	ACTION PACKED SPRING FESTIVAL	SOMETHING'S AFOOT

Who ya gonna call ?

Employment Services at the CDC

In 1995, after three years of building up his pest control business, Ross Trotter needed an extra pair of hands. So he contacted Employment Services, part of Canterbury Development Corporation (CDC), the economic development and employment arm of Christchurch City Council. Employment Services specialises in placing staff for local businesses. “As a small company, Southern Pest Control needed someone versatile, enthusiastic and able to learn the business quickly,” says Ross. “The CDC service saved us plenty of time and effort. If we’d advertised elsewhere, we would have been inundated with applicants with no guarantee that we could have selected the right person at the end. This way, the choice was narrowed right down before we saw any applicants. The fact that the service cost nothing was a real bonus.” Employment Services provides a free, professional, confidential service which helps local businesses fill part-time, casual and temporary positions, as well as full-time jobs. When Ross contacted Employment Services, its large employee database identified Jason Gowers, who was looking for work and had the qualities Southern Pest Control needed. “Jason has been working with us successfully ever since and has now graduated as a registered pest control technician. I think that shows we made the right choice — with the help of the service,” says Ross. Now, three years later, Jason and Ross have been joined by Luci Stephens, who was also taken on through Employment Services. Southern Pest Control specialises in commercial and domestic control of insects, rodents and other pests.

For further information on Employment Services or any of the CDC’s services, call 379 5575.

PICTURED RIGHT: Jason Gowers is getting the better of all manner of pests with Southern Pest Control, thanks to the CDC.

Centre under budget

The Christchurch Convention Centre has been completed more than $200,000 under budget.

• The total cost of the Kilmore St building was $16,564,888, compared with the approved budget of $16,765,000, resulting in a cost saving of $200,112.

• In addition, there was a saving on the land of $736. And provisional figures show the newly completed WestpacTrust Centre in Addington will also be under budget.

Christchurch is a city of times: sometimes, most times, anytime and every time. Sometimes we have summer in winter, or winter in summer. Most times our sports teams are the match of any in the country. Sometimes our orchestra plays like the Berlin Philharmonic and our Court Theatre could be on Shaftsbury Ave. Most times I can get to work without a traffic jam. Anytime I can get a good cappuccino or Chardonnay and every time we don’t take politics too seriously. Gil Simpson is the founder and CEO of Cardinal Group, a Christchurch-based international computer software company, the creators of JADE.

RIGHT: Gil Simpson is the founder and CEO of Cardinal Group, a Christchurch-based international computer software company, the creators of JADE.

Managing wetlands together

Partenership at work: Frees Creek, which runs through Rehua Marae, is being restored to a more natural form

Society’s attitudes towards wetlands have changed over the years from a “drain the swamp” mentality to one of restoring and enhancing our natural waterways. That was one of the key messages at the recent launch at the Town Hall of a new City Council team, Waterways and Wetlands. The team will enable the Council to better manage the city’s waterways in partnership with other organisations and private property owners. It is a huge job, and the Waterways and Wetlands budget within the Water Services Unit budget is $10 million a year. About 130 people attended the launch, which preceded the first of a series of forums involving elected member representatives from a community board, the City Council, Regional Council, government agencies, tangata whenua and land owners’ representatives. Examples of current partnership projects are:

• Farnley Reserve on the banks of the Heathcote River, behind the Centaurus Rd shops: This is a restoration project involving the Council and Soroptomists.

• Regents Park, off Styx Mill Rd: The Council and the subdivision developer are diverting an old timberlined box drain and creating a natural looking waterway.

• Rehua Marae, Springfield Rd: The Council and marae are restoring Frees Creek by replacing a box drain with a natural looking channel.

Doggie don'ts

• Council Bylaw: Everyone in charge of a dog that fouls is responsible for the immediate removal of the faeces.

	No matter how well your dog performed at the bottom of the garden before you left home, he’ll take the opportunity to embarrass you if he can!
	The easy way to clean up is to carry a plastic bag, pick up the you-know-what with the bag, tie the bag and put it in a rubbish bin. If it’s possible, empty the contents into a toilet.(Editor’s Tip: Two bags, one inside the other, is safest!)
	You can also buy pooper-scoopers, made especially for the job.

The Cristchurch City Council LATEs are:

TRADING WITH ENTERPRISE

What are LATEs?

LATEs are companies set up and owned by local authorities to perform activities on a fully commercial basis. Frequently, LATEs are established to manage infrastructural activities previously undertaken by the authority, such as electricity, airports and ports. Councils, as shareholders, don’t become involved in the day-to-day operations of these companies, which are the responsibility of company management and directors. The principal companies owned by Christchurch City Council are Southpower, Lyttelton Port Company, Christchurch International Airport and Christchurch Transport.

The recently extended Christchurch International Airport, a LATE.

What is the Christchurch City Council’s involvement?

The Council has established a wholly-owned company, Christchurch City Holdings Limited (“CCHL”), to hold the Council’s shares and oversee its investment in the LATEs. Each LATE is required to submit an annual Statement of Corporate Intent, in which it sets out its general strategic direction for the year. The Council has an opportunity to review this document and recommend changes. Additionally, CCHL actively monitors the LATEs during the year, and reports periodically to the Council on the LATEs’ activities and addresses issues on an ongoing basis. The LATEs operate in a competitive business environment and some information, being commercially sensitive, cannot be made public in the same way as other Council activities can be, because that could prejudice the companies’ operations to the ultimate disadvantage of ratepayers.

Do ratepayers/Christchurch citizens have a say?

Yes. Through the democratic process, people can influence the direction of the community’s trading enterprises in a number of ways. Each year, the Council’s annual plan process hears public submissions on all aspects of the Council’s operations, including its ownership of the trading enterprises. All interested parties are able to address the Council or make written submissions. Each enterprise submits a statement of corporate intent for Council approval. These are public documents discussed in open Council. Residents can express their opinions to Councillors, and attend Council meetings. Specific areas of concern can be addressed directly to the companies concerned. CCHL publishes an annual report, as do all four of its subsidiary companies. These are public documents, available from the Council or from the companies themselves.

What are the benefits to the city?

The Council has always taken the view that it is in the long term interests of the City to retain its ownership of the principal trading enterprises and the key infrastructure they represent. Not only has continuing Council ownership helped protect the interests of ratepayers and residents (for example, through requiring only a modest rate of return on Southpower’s network assets, thus reducing pressure on electricity prices), but it has also been financially beneficial. The LATE structure has enabled the trading enterprises to adopt a wholly commercial focus, which has resulted in major performance and financial gains over recent years. The recently announced capital repatriation of $150 million, and its application to reducing Council debt, are a major gain for ratepayers. In 1993 CCHL received dividends of $4.1m and in 1998 received $48.2m. However the 1998 result includes special one-off dividends of $24m.

What about negatives?

It is sometimes argued that a Council should not be involved in the ownership of commercial enterprises. Christchurch City Council has consistently taken the view that the benefits (outlined above) to the ratepayers and citizens more than adequately justify the continued retention of these investments. The 1998 Citizens Survey revealed that 78% were in favour of continued Council ownership and only 4% against.

Have your say on issues in this edition of Christchurch City Scene. Phone in on (03) 941 8596

Making paper go around

Newspaper makes up 60% of the recyclables collected from Christchurch homes (about 6000 tonnes a year). The Recovered Materials Foundation’s main concern is to keep it moving. The RMF cannot store more than 500 tonnes at a time. The newspaper is processed by Coleridge Paper Company and baled under contract to the RMF. Bales weigh about 800kg and Coleridge has one of the best baling plants in the country. Some paper goes into making egg cartons and apple trays. It is also used in insulation, but most is shipped to overseas markets, as there are no de-inking facilities in New Zealand to recycle it back to newsprint. About 15% of the paper recovered is not newsprint and has to be sorted and disposed of at a cost of $2000 a month. If you take care with what you put out — newsprint only — you will contribute to savings of around $25,000 a year. The RMF is developing a range of local markets/uses for newspaper and is building an onsite sorting plant so it can recover other types of paper in the future. Meanwhile, anyone who wants newspaper to use, for garden mulch or whatever, is welcome to contact the RMF directly on 374 2221.

Canterbury Development Corporation CEO Chris Pickrill with some of the newspaper he “liberated” from the RMF last week to use as mulch on his spring garden.

Big plans for Bottle Lake Park

Horse trekking is just one of the activities you can do in Bottle Lake Forest Park. Photo courtesty of “The Press”.

A draft management plan for one of our biggest parks, the 800 hectare Bottle Lake Forest Park, is based on a “multi-use” philosophy. It combines commercial forestry with even more recreational opportunities than the park offers now. The plan includes a visitors’ centre and arboretum (botanical garden devoted to trees), picnic areas, and more mountain bike tracks and horse trails. The Burwood landfill will be closed in 2002 and converted to a park, providing a unique vantage point from which to view the city, Port Hills, Southern Alps, the sea and surrounding forest park. The draft plan is available for public comment until November 23. You can get a copy from Council service centres, the park headquarters in Burwood and the Civic Offices in Tuam St. Copies can also be read at public libraries.

If you have any questions, please contact: Eric Banks or Chris Freeman, in the Council Parks Unit, phone 941 8688 or 941 8638 respectively.

Community Garden Becomes...

While their parents tend the community garden in Packe St,

children enjoy climbing the large walnut tree on the site.

...A tree of life

Three years ago residents of St Albans became anxious that two villas and a well established orchard in Packe St might be replaced with townhouses. While other properties had met the same fate, these sections contained some of the few large trees left in the area, which became the focus of concern. Resident Peggy Kelly and some neighbours decided to save the walnut and large pinus radiata trees. Christchurch City Council was not able to place a preservation order on the trees but Peggy and her neighbours were unperturbed. ‘‘After asking around the neighbourhood and the St Albans Residents’ Association, the best solution seemed to buy the properties as a park for the whole community,” Peggy says. “The council and the community board agreed and numbers 125 to 129 Packe St were purchased.’’ It was just the beginning for the Packe St community and what has become a very special park. ‘‘One suggestion was to keep the fruit and nut trees, but also grow other flowers and produce,’’ Peggy says. ‘‘We wanted a place for children to enjoy, somewhere they could pick a bunch of flowers to take home to mum or dad.’’ The Friends of Packe Street Park formed as an incorporated society to look after the properties as a community garden. The Council carries out larger maintenance, but most gardening work is done by the group, which holds a weekly working bee and has planted fruit and nut trees, including almonds, olives, hazelnuts, a fig, quinces, a greengage, lemons, grapefruit, feijoas, a thornless blackberry and four different grapevines. Vegetables have also proved a real hit. ‘‘Working on the garden through the year gives just as much pleasure as actually harvesting the fruit and vegetables,’’ Peggy says. ‘‘This is a pick-your-own and leave some for others garden.’’ Around 15 people spend most time working at the park, and many others lend a hand. The regular working bee is every Thursday afternoon, but anyone is welcome to put in time at the garden whenever they want.

Retailers go green

"The environment is something I’ve felt strongly about all my life," says Christchurch bookshop owner Lyn McCord-McBride, one of a number of central city business people in the council’s Green Retail pilot project. The more efficient use of resources and sending less waste to the landfill are the objectives of the scheme, which encourages retailers to sort and measure their waste, as well as look for opportunities to reduce, reuse or recycle. Lyn, of Absolutely Fabulous Bookshop, pays a commercial paper company to collect paper waste each week and this has reduced waste to the landfill by about three tonnes a year. Other businesses involved in the project are Ballantyne’s, Timberland, Coyote’s, Learning Curve, McEwing’s, Bivouac Outdoor, Kiwi Outdoors, Wild Places and The Body Shop.

For more information on Green Retail, contact Karyn Durham in the Waste Management Unit, phone 941 6426.

LEFT: “Green Retail” participant Lyn McCord-McBride sorts paper for recycling.

FOOTLOOSE

Some of Christchurch’s best-kept secrets will be revealed in a new walking guide to the city called “Walk Christchurch”. The authors, in the Council’s Leisure Unit, say even people who think they know the city well will find some surprises among the book’s 60 walks. Explore some wonderful spots, from idyllic rivers and bush reserves to gracious old homes. Each walk comes with a map and information on playgrounds, wheelchair access, history and the wildlife youll see. “Walk Christchurch” will be on sale this month at a recommended retail price of $24.95. Look for it in bookshops, Council service centres and Civic Offices.

Walking is fun! Kay Suddens and her son Jonathan stride out.

Square grooves

Midday Friday is a great time to be in Cathedral Square because you’ll see a free concert. It may be a band, dance, cultural group, comedy or theatre act. For details, see the Star’s Wednesday arts pages or the Press entertainment pages on Friday. And for more information, contact the Council events team on 941 8470.

Fences can be lifesavers

Swimming pools and spa pools are great fun — and big responsibilities. If you’re building a pool you have to have a building consent. If you already have a pool, you’re required by law to let the Council know and to have it fenced properly — even if you don’t live on the property. It may sound harsh but it may also save you the grief of having someone, particularly a small child, drown in your play area. Please contact Willis Heney in the Environmental Services Unit, ph 941 8732, for more information.

It's Showtime, folks

Showtime Canterbury is a festival to celebrate the region’s special qualities.

It runs from October 31 to November 15, and the fun centres around three long-standing events: the Canterbury Agricultural Show, DB Draught New Zealand Trotting Cup Carnival and the Canterbury Draught NewZealand Cup. The region’s best sports, arts, fashion, cuisine and entertainment are all on show as part of Showtime Canterbury. Sport is particularly well represented with three day eventing, a triathlon, a marathon, Shell Super Max Cricket, a long-distance cycle race and two golf tournaments being staged.

Two pools on cue

Christchurch can look forward to the completion of two aqua-leisure centres next April. The roofing of the Central City Aqua-leisure Centre, on the site of the old Centennial Pool complex (Armagh St), is well underway with the outer walls expected to be completed by the end of next month. The second aqua-leisure centre, at the Pioneer Leisure Centre (Lyttleton St), will have its walls completed this month, and the roof should be finished by the end of November. A new creche will be ready to open for the start of the fourth term on October 12. Both centres will include a fitness and a leisure pool, with features such as a raindrop unit, bubble pool, lazy river and swirl pool. The Pioneer Leisure Centre will also boast the first wave machine for Christchurch. This machine generates a wave which surges through the pool. The size and frequency of the waves can be adjusted. Out of the water, sauna and steam rooms will provide relaxation, Scandinavian-style, while gymnasiums will cater for serious and casual exercise alike.

RIGHT: Wet wet wet! One of the features of the new aqua leisure centres will be a raindrop unit, which “rains” warm water over swimmers — just for fun!

Unwind in spring
	Spring is here — what better time to start a new activity? The Council Leisure Unit can help you do it with ease, through a new programme called Active Christchurch. This city-wide programme offers a range of free or low cost physical activities for people who are new to exercise or getting started again.
The aim is to encourage people to be more active for their general health and well being. One of the main features will be weekly organised walks and bike rides — activities the whole family can enjoy while exploring the city. They will be held every Sunday at 10.30am, departing from various locations. For newcomers to exercise, First Step gives an easy introduction. The course includes tips on nutrition, back care, injury prevention and health benefits. For information on all Active Christchurch programmes, pick up a brochure from your local service centre, library, sports stadium, doctor’s surgery, or phone the info line on 941 6886.