There could be money in wilding trees for the Waitaki District Council.
The council has just completed the first stage of clearing wilding Pinus contorta from Quailburn Rd, near Omarama and may be able to sell the logs. It has about 3500 tonnes of export logs from the work, which could fetch $10 a tonne - up to $35,000.
The cost of the work has been budgeted at $15,000, coming from the council's roading budget. The council has been under pressure for some years to tackle the spread of wilding trees in the Omarama Basin, particularly along Quailburn Rd, where there has been a major problem.
Roading asset manager Gary Woock said the work was done in conjunction with the Department of Conservation, using its expertise.
Some of the timber that could be used had been separated out and some of the rest mulched. Yesterday, the council's asset committee asked for an independent valuation of the timber.
• Billboard removed: A free advertising billboard on Thames St in central Oamaru, used weekly by community groups to advertise events, has been taken down because of major safety road work being carried out by Fulton Hogan for the New Zealand Transport Agency.
However, Mr Woock hopes the popular sign, on the north end of the central trees at Dee St can be replaced when the work is completed, if a site is available.
Advertising on the board stopped on October 13, and no bookings are being taken until the future of the sign is known. A second advertising sign at the junction in south Oamaru at the top of Severn St has also been removed, but will be reinstated.
• Holcim hearing: An Environment Court hearing on the Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd proposal to build a $300 million cement plant near Weston could start before the end of March next year.
A decision by a joint panel of the Otago Regional and Waitaki District Councils earlier this year granted resource consents to Holcim to build the plant, but they have been appealed to the court.
All the parties involved, including Holcim and the two councils, have to complete and exchange evidence and rebuttal evidence by February 27.
• Opera house progress: Work on the $9.7 million Opera House restoration and redevelopment in Oamaru was running "slightly behind schedule" as contractors moved into the final phase of the project, project manager Stephen Halliwell told the corporate services committee.
However, the Opera House will still be ready for the "shake down show" on November 1 - the Oamaru Operatic Society's production of Oklahoma - and the official opening in February next year.
