CHIEF EXECUTIVE PAT DOUGHERTY RECOGNISED WITH CIVIL DEFENCE AWARD

Earlier this week, Kāpiti Coast District Council Chief Executive Pat Dougherty was recognised with a Silver Ministerial Award for Significant Contribution to Civil Defence at the Civil Defence Emergency Management Awards in Wellington.

Kāpiti Coast District Council Mayor K Gurunathan believes this award confirms what was already known about Mr Dougherty’s significant contributions in this area.

“We are very pleased to congratulate Pat on his award. This is about recognising and thanking someone who has had an outstanding influence on civil defence emergency management in our region over the past 12 years.”

“Early this year we received letters from other council chief executives, as well as the Chair of the CDEM group with their thanks for his service. Mr Dougherty is held in high regard for his determined leadership in this area and this has been a key factor in the transformation that’s taken place with CDEM across the Wellington region.”

"Given the recent big shake-ups of the region, this is the type of contribution that will save lives if the big one comes. You can't put a dollar value on such a contribution."

Mr Dougherty was unable to attend the ceremony, so will be presented with his award by Minister of Civil Defence Nathan Guy next week.

For more information:

http://www.civildefence.govt.nz/cdem-sector/cdem-awards/gold-and-silver-award-recipients/

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1706/S00215/civil-defence-2017-awards-announced.htm

NEXT STEPS FOR MACLEAN PARK REFRESH

Over 250 locals have had their say on what they want to see for the future long-term development of Maclean Park in Paraparaumu.

Based on community ideas and stories, the Kāpiti Coast District Council produced three different concepts for future development and asked the community to have their say via survey, email or conversation on what they liked, and what they didn’t think should make the cut.

Parks and Recreation Manager Alison Law is pleased with the response and says this will help shape the future of the park over the next 20 years.

“It’s great to see that so many people engaged with the concepts and put their thoughts and ideas forward. We want to work together to make a plan for this park’s future, and we can only do that if people speak up – thanks to those who did,” says Ms Law.

“Now we’re looking at the feedback and balancing the community’s wants and needs with what’s achievable long-term. From this we’ll pull together one proposed development plan to go into the overall Management Plan,” she says.

“In August we’ll come back to the community to carry out formal consultation on the Management Plan for Maclean Park.”

The Maclean Park development plan wasn’t identified in the FutureKāpiti Long Term Plan 2015-35 which means that budget will need to be allocated to any recommendations that come out of this review process.

More information can be found on the Kāpiti Coast District Council website.

http://www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/maclean-park-refresh

LOCAL AQUATIC CENTRE HAS PLENTY TO BE PROUD OF

The team at Coastlands Aquatic Centre in Paraparaumu has good reason to crow at the moment, with some fantastic feedback coming through in its 2017 customer satisfaction survey and a national accessibility outfit naming it New Zealand’s number one aquatic centre for accessible facilities.

Almost all of the respondents to the annual survey rated the centre either Excellent or Good across a range of services and quality indicators, including water temperature, cleanliness, friendliness and knowledge of staff, provision of equipment and activities, and availability of lane space.

“It’s great to see that most of our customers are happy with the facilities and services we provide,” said Kāpiti Coast District Council Recreation Services Manager Brent Harvey.

“As always, there are some things we could improve, and where we can we’ll make those a priority going forward.”

The results were further supported by the news that Oyster Accessible Travel NZ had named Coastlands Aquatic Centre the “top aquatic centre for inclusive facilities in New Zealand.”

On their website, Oyster said the centre had “good access to the majority, if not all, of the pools, hydrotherapy or hot spring temperatures and changing facilities that provide for all levels of disability.”

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