Hamilton's proposed annual plan before council

A new area for swimmers near the Hamilton Gardens could be on the cards for the city, as the council moves closer to finalising its budget for 2019.

Hamilton mayor Andrew King and city councillors were presented with the proposed budget for the 2019/20 Annual Plan at Tuesday's council meeting.

The annual plan sets out the budget and major projects for the next financial year (July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020).

In the plan, $150,000 has been put aside to provide provision for separation between swimmers and vessels on the river at the Hamilton Gardens.

Currently the Waikato River explorer transports people from the CBD to the gardens, but with the hot weather, an increase in swimmers at the jetty has created a safety hazard.

Also included in the proposed budget is $230,000 to be used to extend the CBD's safety officers to the suburbs, while also investing in a vehicle for the officers.

Roughly, $150,000 of funding will be used with NZTA to consider the impacts of growth on Greenwood St and Kahikatea Drive.

Mr King was concerned about the traffic build up at the intersection of Duke St and Greenwood St, and asked staff to work on finding a solution into relieving congestion.
The study will focus on the area bounded by Kahikatea Drive rail crossing to Killarney Rd and Tuhikaramea Rd.

At the meeting, councillors also voted to reintroduce development contribution remissions in 2021, while reinstating the CBD remissions in the CBD.

The annual plan has already drawn controversy, with councillor Garry Mallett pushing to close the Hamilton i-Site, while also stopping the CBD's two hour free parking trial.

Both motions were defeated, while Mr King's proposed CBD river park masterplan was pushed back by the majority of the councillors.

The budget will come back before council in April for final consideration.