Further highlights/items from today's Council meeting:

Funding grants support community initiatives

Waitomo District Council (WDC) has provided funding support to the tune of more than $230,000 through its Community and Partnerships Fund Policy.

Twenty-three community groups and charitable trusts have benefited from the grants, with more than $28,000 being allocated through the Single-Year Community Assistance Grant, and more than $200,000 allocated through the Multi-Year Community Partnership Grant.

WDC also administered $40,000 worth of funds via the Creative Communities Scheme, the Sport New Zealand Rural Travel Fund and DC Tynan Trust.

Vibrant Safe Waitomo Action Plan 2022/2023

WDC has endorsed the Vibrant Safe Waitomo (VSW) Action Plan for the 2022/23 year.

Titled: E Whanake Ana, the action plan is taking a transitional approach this year to support and allow time for the development of a more collaborative model where larger more strategic focus areas are identified.

The VSW Coalition will meet over coming months to discuss and agree its strategic approach going forward and will invite other sector stakeholders to participate.

King Country Indoor Sports and Recreation Centre update

Headway is being made on construction of the King Country Indoor Sports and Recreation Centre, with the build phase only tracking one week behind due to delays in the supply date for some building materials, and the inclement weather particularly over the winter months.

The stadium is now fully enclosed with the exterior roof and wall cladding in place.

Other, non-critical parts of the programme are three weeks behind schedule but do not impact on the critical path. The contractor remains confident of making that time up with better progress on other construction items, now that the building has a weatherproof covering.

Target completion date for the construction phase remains mid-November with code compliance expected by late December.

Electrical cables to be relocated at Aerodrome

Elected members approved an unbudgeted expense of $186,000 to relocate overhead electrical cables at Te Kūiti Aerodrome. Due to growth and the need to provide additional hangar allotments at the aerodrome, the overhead cables will be moved to mitigate any health and safety risks.

A strategic assessment on the future of the aerodrome is also currently underway, which will outline future opportunities for the development of the aerodrome.