First step towards information centre
First step towards information centre
The much-debated new information centre for Cromwell is finally in the starting blocks.
CODC
'Nice to have' items off agenda as rate rise cut
'Nice to have' items off agenda as rate rise cut
The "nice to have" items were yesterday being cut from the Central Otago District Council's budget: applications for funding were declined and council staff were told to operate on less money in a bid to further reduce costs facing Central Otago ratepayers.
Suicide initiative
Suicide initiative
The Mates Men's Network, a charity group aimed at suicide prevention, is coming to Central Otago.
Temporary dam stops sewage flow
Temporary dam stops sewage flow
When the main pipeline of Alexandra's wastewater treatment plant was punctured, letting smelly sewage spill and run downhill towards a nearby river, contractors did what energy companies have been hoping to do for years - they built a dam.
CODC allocates $10,000 to wilding pine control
CODC allocates $10,000 to wilding pine control
Wilding pines could soon come under attack in Central Otago after the district council set aside $10,000 in its draft long-term plan to look into the issue.
Time to retire the squeaky wheels?
Time to retire the squeaky wheels?
Malcolm Macpherson questions the need for both ward-based elections and community boards.
'Rewarded' for festival turnaround
'Rewarded' for festival turnaround
The turnaround in the fortunes of the Alexandra Blossom Festival was noted by the Vincent Community Board this week and "rewarded" with a grant of $26,000 for this year's event.
Average rates rise of 5.7% slashed from 20%
Average rates rise of 5.7% slashed from 20%
Central Otago ratepayers are facing an average 5.7% rates increase for the coming year but that had been reduced from a potential 20%.
Submissions received on plan to buy property
Submissions received on plan to buy property
Fourteen submissions have been received on the Cromwell Community Board's plan to buy property to expand the town's historic precinct.
What price representation?
What price representation?
A new take on the proposition "what price democracy?" could be "what price representation?" That is the question confronting several territorial local authorities and which has come to a head in the Queenstown Lakes District, Central Otago District and the Clutha District councils.
Single-permit water take scheme agreed
Single-permit water take scheme agreed
The Central Otago District Council has agreed to give up its Patearoa water take consent and join a single-permit scheme for the Sowburn with other Maniototo water users in what has been called the future of water rights in Otago.
Luxury spa opposed by neighbours
Luxury spa opposed by neighbours
A health spa resort complex could be built at Queensberry, between Wanaka and Cromwell, providing the Central Otago District Council grants resource consent.
Water plan to change
Water plan to change
After much debate, the Maniototo Community Board passed a resolution to change the way ratepayers on town water supplies in the ward will pay for their water, with only three of the five members in favour.
Grappling with councils' costs
Grappling with councils' costs
The Government's proposed local government reforms will come as a welcome and overdue breath of fresh air to many who have long protested its excesses.
Fornightly waste collections adopted
Fornightly waste collections adopted
Rubbish collections in Central Otago are set to be changed from weekly to fortnightly from July next year after the Central Otago District Council adopted its Waste Minimisation and Management Plan yesterday.
Volumetric model urged
Volumetric model urged
Charging residents on town supplies for the volume of water used rather than giving them an allocation was preferred by the Central Otago District Council yesterday and recommended to the four community boards as a model to set water rates.
Volumetric charges proposed
Volumetric charges proposed
The Central Otago District Council may change the way excess water use will be charged, to make water metering fairer and clear up confusion.
Vincent ward rates set to rise
Vincent ward rates set to rise
Ratepayers in the Vincent ward face a possible 6.9% increase in the ward component of their rates in order to make future rises "more palatable".
Consent depends on sale of land
Consent depends on sale of land
A Roxburgh couple with plans to alter and improve their Naseby property, the historic Masonic Halland shops, found they could not get a building consent because part of the section was owned by the Central Otago District Council.
Heavy rain brings relief, surface flooding
Heavy rain brings relief, surface flooding
Widespread rain across Otago yesterday brought relief to those relying on plant and grass growth, but also caused rivers to rise quickly, and some surface flooding.