South Taranaki District Council considers submissions on long-term plan

Funding for stage two of Aotea Utanganui, Museum of South Taranaki development was supported in principle. Photo / File

South Taranaki district councillors approved an additional $105,400 of funding at its long-term plan 2018-28 deliberations meeting on May 24.

Council chief executive Waid Crockett said the council received 140 submissions, including 17 community funding requests, as part of the long-term plan's public consultation process.

"Based on our last long-term plan, we budgeted $157,600 for community funding support, however this time the total requested was over $620,000," said Crockett.

"Given this, councillors had to make some hard decisions about where funding went, which they did, and the end result was that an extra $105,400 would be incorporated into our long-term plan budget."

A request from the South Taranaki District Museum Trust for a one-off grant of $285,000 to go towards stage 2 expansion of Aotea Utanganui, which was supported in principle, was held over so a more detailed report could be considered.

The council's rural halls fund was also increased from $20,000 to $40,000 per annum in response to submissions from rural hall committees who are facing increasing insurance costs and $30,000 was included to support the maintenance of walkways throughout the district.

Council proposals for its waste management and minimisation plan, inclusion of an additional $500,000 for district walkways and cycleways and amalgamation of the Inaha and Waimate West rural water supplies were also approved after receiving strong public support.

The general waste fee (per tonne) at transfer stations will increase by $4, going from $168 to $172, which was a reduction from the council's initial proposal of $183.

Decisions made at the deliberation meeting will become effective when the council formally adopts its 2018-28 long-term plan on June 24.

Community funding requests approved: Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust $60,000, Hawera Cinema Trust $40,000, Taranaki Arts Festival Trust $35,000, Egmont A and P Association $20,000, STAGE Inc (Lysaght Watt Gallery) $15,000, Everybody's Theatre $10,000, South Taranaki Neighbourhood Support Group $10,000, Paepae in the Park $7500, Taranaki Garden Trust $6000 and Taranaki Enviroschools $5000.