These were some of the topics discussed. See here for the full minutes.
Recognising achievements in our community. The meeting passed motions of congratulation to recognise the achievements of three members of our community:
- Newtown Architects and Association Members Anna Kemble Welch and Martin Hanley were awarded the Ath Cup at the New Zealand Institute of Architects Annual Awards on 3 May. This was in recognition of their special contribution to the urban fabric of Wellington: Newtown Festival, the Red Design southern suburbs cycleway project and their DEBRA NZ medical work were mentioned in the citation.
- Bernard O’Shaughnessy was recognised for his success in convincing WCC to trial extending the Newtown Library open hours to 4pm Saturdays. Congratulations Bernard!
Newtown parking: Ray Tuffin (WCC Community Liaison Advisor) has made a presentation on the parking issues in Newtown for Council officers. Ray can present this for interested residents at Kia Ora Newtown, 6 Constable St . Update – this presentation will be on Thursday 21st June at 6pm. All welcome!
Potential Sale of Capital & Coast District Health Board (CCDHB)property: A Public Notice was issued May 17thand 24th in the Dominion Post regarding the potential sale of 2 and 2A Coromandel St. CCDHB are interested in the views of residents. The land is currently occupied by the Ewart building, the vacant but historic Parkview building, and the Menzshed and Southside Kids Childcare Centre. If CCDHB do proceed to declare these properties surplus they are required to follow their treaty obligations before offering them for sale. Do let us know your views about this proposal! Email us at newtownwellington@gmail.com.
Emergency Response Plan: Workshops are planned for July on emergency planning and the operation of the Newtown Emergency Hub at Newtown School. Rhona shared the “Local ideas and solutions for challenges you may face” segment of the Newtown Emergency Hub Guide. This needs some work still.
Shannon Friday from Wellington Timebank spoke about the Timebank role in emergencies. The Timebank is a Community organisation that arranges the exchange of skills and talent for time, rather than money. This helps build community resilience. They have an online database of skilled people and their tools, however this isn’t likely to be very accessible in an emergency, so a challenge is to link people personally as well asdigitally. Lessons learnt from Lyttelton following their earthquake were that unofficial networks like that fostered through Timebank are important for helping clean-ups and restoring services. The Cell Phone network comes back relatively quickly for phone calls and texting which facilitates coordination; provided you know who can do what.
Heritage week: the week ending 28 October. Ray Tuffin is coordinating plans for Newtown, and our Association will be involved in events. An exhibition is suggested for the pop-up shop, and there are plans for a heritage walk. Volunteers and those with other suggestions please email us at newtownwellington@gmail.com.
Street Cleaning: WCC is funding a worker, Paul, to clean road gutters and clear drains daily on week days. Attendees reported that he is doing an excellent job, really makes a difference.
newtown.org.nz 