Community Services Bulletin April 2021 - Gore District Council
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Community
Services Bulletin
April
2021
1. REPORT FROM THE COMMUNICATIONS/MARKETING MANAGER (Sonia Gerken)
Purpose
This report provides an overview of communications activities and community
engagement since February.
Streets Alive
This project has consumed a significant amount of time, particularly since the rollout of
initiatives began in early March. The project had a dedicated communications
professional with oversight from the Communications Manager until late February.
However, this person had to withdraw from the project for personal reasons, which has
resulted in most communications support being provided internally.
The project has been fortunate to have excellent graphic design support as maps and
artwork often have to be turned around quickly.
Since February there have been:
• 497 comments on the Let’s Talk project page forum
• 331 responses to the survey on our Let’s Talk project page
• Seven press releases
• Two double-page and one single-page advertorials in The Ensign
• 10 community pop up sessions
• 14 Facebook posts
• Over 50 responses to public comments on social media, plus many more on Let’s
Talk and private messages
• 16 maps, a 12-page booklet, business cards and various other collateral
In early April, a survey was launched to gauge public awareness of Streets Alive and first
impressions of the initiatives. A second survey will be carried out in June to determine if
community sentiment about the initiatives has changed as people become used to them.
Survey reports will be presented to councillors.
Other projects underway or in the planning include:
• Gore Library relocation to allow for the James Cumming Wing redevelopment
• 10-Year-Plan consultation document
• Gore District Plan review
Digital statistics
Let’s Talk Kōrero Mai
This platform continues to grow in popularity, with 603 people now subscribed. By
subscribing, people can keep up to date with any community engagement projects, and
we can send newsletters to the database. The Engagement HQ platform is a powerful tool for community engagement, but it is resource hungry as with all digital channels. Facebook Not surprisingly, our Facebook engagement statistics for March/April have been exceptional. For example, the week of 4 April to 10 April, our engagement was 11,300. This is more than double our southern colleagues. Antenno At the time of writing, we had 1,699 downloads of our app. Numbers are steadily increasing each month and it wouldn’t be unrealistic to hope we top 2,000 in the coming months.
2. REPORT FROM THE EVENT COORDINATOR (Mishel Kaaplan)
Purpose
This report provides an overview of community event activities for February and
March 2021.
Events
On the Fly Mataura River Festival was held on Saturday 20 February. The event was
scaled up from 2019 and included two celebrity components, which helped to drive a
bigger crowd and a higher profile to the event. Masterchef winner Brett McGregor
did a fantastic cooking demo with locally caught brown trout, and salmon donated
from Kings Fish Market, Invercargill. Queenstown-based internationally recognised
guide and writer Chris Dore attended and provided a very popular casting group demo
and giveaways.
Large well-known businesses were represented with Killwell, Manic Tackle and
Hurleys donating prizes valued at over $700 each. Our local B&B Sport and Shooters
World got behind the event and kindly donated 20 kid’s spinning rods and tackle boxes
between them. The main prize of the event, a night’s accommodation at Hukarere
Station and a day’s guiding on the Pomahaka River with Mike Dennis, was won by a
local resident. Promotions were created with the Thomas Green and Howl at the
Moon to generate interest in the event, with both restaurants creating, marketing and
selling their own ‘On the Fly’ fish dishes. The Southland Fishing Club and the Gore
Angling Club demonstrated fly tying. Environment Southland and Southland/Otago
Fish and Game ran fantastic interactive kids activities and local iwi provided
information on the mātaitai.
The day was a big success with lots of ideas and interest for 2022. The date for next
year has been set already. The plan is to generate national growth via promotions
with NZMCA and Air NZ as a destination event. In 2023, the focus will shift again to
both national and international audiences.
The Council’s first foray into Recreation Aoteroa Parks Week in March was extremely
successful. Parks Week was all about encouraging people to utilise their local parks. A
very small team of Council staff donated their time to help deliver an Enchanted Parks
Quest to the Gore community.
The amazing art department at Gore High School and the fantastic team at IDEA
Services created over 30 fairy and goblin doors, which we placed each day, under the
cover of darkness, around 11 parks within the Gore District. Two clues to the locations
of these doors were released daily over the nine days of Parks Week.
Families embraced the event with over 500 followers participating via the Facebook
event. Each time a family found the door they took a selfie and uploaded it to the site
using #goreparksweek #enchantedparksquest. After parks week, a montage of the
photos was displayed in the library foyer for all to enjoy.
The marketing of this event was non-traditional and highly successful. IDEA Services created a human-size door and this was deposited into the Main Street on the Friday before going live. Two staff members dressed up as a fairy and a goblin and visited all kindergartens in the area as well as all retail outlets in Main and Irk streets. This resulted in many taking photos and posting on their own social media. Overnight the event page’s following grew from 250 followers to over 500. Gore Rocks also came on board to support the event. Through their own Facebook page, they aligned an enchanted themed painted rock hunt in the same parks we utilised over the nine days. Between the Gore Rocks page and the Gore District Council’s Enchanted Parks Quest event, we certainly showcased many of the District’s parks and got the community out and about exploring them. Future events At the time of writing this report, planning is underway for Freeze Ya Bits Off Busking and the Hokonui Culture Feast. Work has also begun on the 2022 Gore District Community Awards. A large component of the funding for 2021 has been secured through the new Regional Events Fund, released a couple of months ago. As a community event, Freeze Ya Bits Off Busking would not traditionally qualify for this funding source. However, as it now sits under the umbrella of destination event Tussock Country, we were able to apply and were successful in receiving support. Freeze Ya Bits Off Busking has been successfully trademarked at the end of 2020 and is now undergoing a rebranding to bring it up another level. The marketing strategy this year will create a different vibe to the event. The intent over the next two years is to widen its scope and increase its profile on a national and international level.
3. REPORT FROM AQUATIC SERVICES MANAGER (Martin Mackereth)
Admissions to the Gore Multisports complex
Facility user numbers and information 2020/2021
Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Total
Pool days open 31 31 30 30 30 29 29 28 31 269
POOL Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Specta tors 1240 500 780 1240 1200 1160 1160 1120 1240 9640
Pa trona ge 4008 1661 1489 3589 2884 2979 4929 2852 2640 27031
Vi s i ts 1004 832 708 864 1009 759 717 812 1016 7721
Sub-Total 6252 2993 2977 5693 5093 4898 6806 4784 4896 0 0 0 44392
Bookings Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Adul ts 11 1 7 1 3 2 25
Student 2 6 30 3 4 45
Chi l dren 103 10 224 62 11 11 179 30 30 660
s chool s 23 350 190 245 739 317 1864
Sub-Total 139 17 224 449 205 259 185 769 347 0 0 0 2594
0
Pool Total 6391 3010 3201 6142 5298 5157 6991 5553 5243 0 0 0 46986
SWIM SCHOOL & SK SQ Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Term code counted 2h T320 3h T420 4h 4X T121 T221
Lea rn to s wi m - ENROLMENTS 44 222 49 182 84 339 920
Sha rk Squa d - ENROLMENTS 89 173 11 50 13 163 499
G.A.P 214 1845 477 1508 4044
LFSS - number of l es s ons (a ttend 592 289 58 537 668 415 396 754 1280 4989
SK SQ - number of l es s ons (a tten 373 318 163 287 381 203 315 488 2528
Swim School Total 965 607 221 1038 2894 1095 396 1069 3276 0 0 0 11561
Stadium days open 31 31 30 31 30 29 29 28 31 270
STADIUM Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Pa trona ge - booki ng crowd
numbers & POS 21188
6152 6610 1624 2404 2080 883 260 1175
Vi s i ts 12 9 4 6 25 7 5 9 10 87
Booki ngs - number of a ctua l
809
booki ngs 170 205 93 122 87 41 19 72
Stadium Total 6164 6619 1628 2410 2105 890 265 1184 10 0 0 0 21275
Pool days open Total 269 Swim School needs to be term and holiday numbers only to avoid double ups
Stadium days open Total 270 ( light green area indicates term roughly so only one lot of numbers here)
Completed work • The first part of the Shovel Ready fund project for the MLT and Aquatic Centre re-roof is well underway. The teams from Roof Craft, Custom Build and Ajax have completed 90% of the Aquatic Centre roof, 60% of the MLT Event Centre roof and they are currently working with the ventilation team from ARMATEC to coordinate the Aquatic Centre plantroom re-roof. • The second part of the Shovel Ready fund project for the Aquatic Centre pool hall and plant room ventilation is through the design phase. ARMATEC is working with local contractors Roof Craft, Custom Build and Ajax to coordinate the installation pre-work. On completion of building the unit at its base in New Plymouth, ARMATEC will be onsite to install it, with the help of local contractors. • We are working through the Building Management System (BMS) upgrade and moving the Gore Multisports server room from the upper plant room to the meeting room. We are also aiming to coordinate this with the ventilation upgrades as this goes hand in hand. • The new fire alarm system has been designed and is with building control for signing off before it can be installed. This project is being completed by Fire Protection. • The motor that pumps the leisure pool filtered water failed, resulting in the closure of the pool on a Saturday. We were able to source a replacement motor in Invercargill and completed the replacement. We are currently investigating why a two year old motor failed.
Photos of the roofing work to date
Scaffold put up around the site Half the iron craned up onto the scaffolding
Flashings and waterproofing of pool hall Workman removing sections of iron
New iron being put in position
Future challenges
• Over the past months, changes in alert levels have been challenging for staff. Covid-19
response challenges include;
• trying to maintain school lessons
• the changeover after school lessons – leading to no public access between 3.00-
6.00pm
Mostly, the the public was understanding, however, there was less acceptance of moving
through the levels, which was taken out on staff verbally.
• The winter season is fast approaching with team selection already underway. This places
pressure on the MLT Event Centre with court availability. The other challenge during this
time of the year is parking. We are working with the clubs to educate members on how
the overflow parking operates, with signage being erected in mid-April to help with
directions.
• During the planned shut-down in September 2022, we have planned work to be
completed on the electrical boards. The biggest challenge is our current board in the lower
plant room which has been affected by corrosion. Electricians will continue to monitor
the situation to see us through until this planned work can commence.
Nice to know • Shark Squad has had some fantastic meets with personal best times recorded by every swimmer. The club boasts the top ‘U12 boys freestyle team’ in Otago and Southland. It also has the fastest ‘U12 50m freestyle’ male swimmer in the country. • Mariano Nani was the head coach for the Southland swimming team that travelled to the South Island Championships in Dunedin. The squad consisted of 38 swimmers from around Southland. • Gore Aquatic Programme (GAP): This newly implemented swimming programme has run for the last two terms. So far, two schools have benefited from the programme and the feedback has been fantastic. Schools love the change to water safety and only have one week of travel. From this feedback, we have had several other schools from outside of the Gore District make enquiries and sign up for lessons with our team.
4. REPORT FROM THE NEWCOMERS NETWORK COORDINATOR (Mark McCann)
Ongoing work
• We have identified a lack of newcomers who hold leadership positions within
the business and not-for-profit sectors. Utilising the ‘Migrant Participation
Fund’, we have established a regional/local initiative called the ‘Southland
Newcomer Leadership Scholarship’. This project involves the creation of a
contestable fund where newcomers can apply to access funding which enables
them to participate in the Southland Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership
Academy. This has recently been launched and several applicants have already
been interviewed for the first intake in Edendale.
• We are working with the Streets Alive initiative to create a ‘Welcome Trail’
which involves erecting signs through the Gore Gardens bearing flags from
each of the countries represented by newcomers within the District. The signs
will also bear the word ‘welcome’ in the countries native language. Work is
being carried out to provide schools with lesson plans encouraging the use of
trails within educational opportunities.
• Ongoing collaboration with ‘Welcoming Communities’ representatives from
Great South, Invercargill City Council and Southland District Council has seen
the formation of a ‘regional advisory group’, who is currently working on the
creation of a new Welcome Plan.
• We are uploading relevant events to the NZ Newcomers Network website,
informing newcomers of upcoming events, activities and opportunities.
• We have connected newcomers with relevant organisations to support them
with finding employment, obtaining legal advice, establishing connections and
easing their sense of isolation.
Community engagement
We have engaged with the following organisations: Hokonui Rūnanga, Sport
Southland, community and faith leaders, Great South, Southland Multicultural
Council, Invercargill City Council, The International Connect Group, Southland District
Council, REAP, New Zealand Newcomers Network, Community Connections Centre,
Welcoming Communities NZ, Community Networking Trust and Women’s Refuge,
Gore High School, St Peter’s College, Blue Mountain College, Menzies College, St
James Theatre and MLT Event Centre.
Events
We have supported and promoted the local International Connect Group. This is a
vibrant group of people from all around the world who are keen to welcome locals to
their monthly events. It recently celebrated the Lunar New Year with 45 people
attending.Lunar New Year celebration held by the
International Connect Group. Article
featured in The Ensign.
Projects and initiatives
• In the last bulletin, reference was made about the idea of providing English lessons for
newcomers locally. Since then, ‘English Language Partners’ based in Invercargill has
shown its willingness to support this initiative. Currently, it only offers online lessons,
however, it is motivated to offer group lessons depending on the level of interest
received. These would be held at the Gore REAP offices.
• REAP has made us aware of an exciting opportunity where funding can be used to
support speakers of foreign languages (including Pacific and Asian) who are teaching
the local community.
• We have also been in discussions with REAP regarding driving lessons for newcomers,
to help them gain their NZ licence. REAP is supportive of this initiative and we are
looking into funding options.
• Work placements have been found for two employees. In one case, it has enabled
them to be able to stay in the country with their family. We appreciate the businesses
for their support of recruiting newcomers to the area.
• We are aiming to educate the local community about the cultural diversity of the
district through local media. Hokonui Radio has offered to support this and The Ensign
regularly attends events held by the International Connect Group.• We have been supporting the new Gore Badminton Club recently established by
newcomers. Several international students from St Peter’s College are now attending
lessons. International students from Gore High School, Menzies College and Blue
Mountain College will also be invited.
• Promotion of the service and programmes is going to be carried out at future local
events. Pamphlets will be provided to schools with whom we have recently created
connections with and churches to act as a conduit to disseminate the information.
• We are aiming to become part of a new nationwide project in creating a ‘Welcome
Forest’ where newcomers can plant trees and ‘lay down roots’ as part of an initiative
called Project Crimson.
Other news
Newcomer elected as vice-chair
of Youth Council. Article featured
in The Ensign.
JB Acuna was recently elected as vice-chair of the Youth Council. He is very motivated to be
the voice for newcomer youth and international students in the Gore District.5. REPORT FROM THE LIBRARY MANAGER (Lorraine Weston-Webb)
Library relocation
Planning is underway for the relocation of the Gore library to the temporary site at
Encounter New Life Church on Jacob Street. Internet facilities have been installed
within the building. The library will be closed from 17 April through to 5 May for the
relocation.
The layout at the temporary premises is tight, however, adequate space is available to
fit all books, computers with limited seating.
Residents who provided their email/phone numbers have been contacted and advised
of the relocation. Groups who regularly use the facilities such as Justices of the Peace,
the Camera Club and the weekly walker’s group have also been notified of the
relocation. An article was run in the 7 April edition of The Ensign and reached a wide
audience. To date, the feedback received has been positive.
Once the library is established within the temporary premises, it will become clear
how much room is available for hosting classroom visits. It may prove necessary to
implement a system limiting one visiting classroom at a time.
The Council is leasing the majority of the building at the temporary site. For the
duration of the lease, the Church’s services including Sunday mass, art hub and
pastoral services will remain active in separate, non-leased areas of the building. Early
forecasting suggests that the library will remain at these premises until approximately
September 2022.
Gore Library building planning
While final plans will be forthcoming, initial work will involve asbestos removal,
followed by a programme of demolition and rebuilding.
The New Zealand Libraries Partnership Programme (NZLPP)
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the new position funded through this
partnership has provided the following activities:
The Gore library hosted the DORA bus (Digital
On-Road Access) providing digital banking
classes throughout Aotearoa.The library now provides one-on-one device
advice by appointment.
Both of these initiatives meet the digital
inclusion aspect of the role.
Gore’s first Lilliput Library, a local component of a
widespread national phenomenon. The Gore library has
donated books to this initiative and is offering further
support for Lilliput Libraries being set up within the
District. https://www.cityofliterature.co.nz/a-literary-
city/libraries/new-block/
Neighbours Day Aotearoa was celebrated within both libraries and encouraged people
to connect with their neighbours. Both of these initiatives met the community
engagement aspects of the role.
Autumn at the libraries building
Classroom visits resumed after the summer school holidays, with pupils of West Gore
School arriving by bus for stories and sessions within the library.
As part of the library’s Covid-19 response plan, the unaccompanied children policy and
classroom visits were suspended from 28 February through to 7 March. Thankfully,
services returned to normal on 8 March.
In preparation for the relocation, subject specialists have made a concerted effort to
deselect older, underused titles. Consequently, the summer book sale was extended
through to the April relocation date.Mataura Library and Service Centre
The main door was broken on the evening of 23 March. Fortunately, entry to the
building was not gained. The incident was caught on the library security camera and
reported to the Police who are investigating.
The door’s glass panel and hours of opening have
been replaced.VISITOR INSIGHTS REPORT
MILFORD SOUND
QUEENSTOWN
TE ANAU
DUNEDIN
GORE
INVERCARGILL
THE CATLINS
.
STEWART IS
Tourism/Gore Visitor Centre Senior Consultant Renatta HardySUMMARY
‘Heart of
The opening of a trans-Tasman bubble is good news. With the Gore District being Southland’
one of the few that went through 2020 relatively well with strong support from
domestic visitors, we can look forward to a winter full of exciting events.
We can expect destinations like Queenstown, with its ski-season attractions, to draw
Australian visitors during the winter. The Gore District can expect a good flow through of
daily visitors.
Updated Tourism New Zealand data shows many measures are in line with Nov 2020, such
as 80% of Australians are actively considering travelling internationally for the first time for
a holiday, and most wanting to travel for fun and relaxation. Tourism New Zealand Research
Key Insights link: https://www.tourismnewzealand.com/media/4322/covid-impact-on-
intentions-to-travel-in-australia-acm-feb-21-add-on-_pdf.pdf
Demand for international travel remains high with almost 60% wanting to
travel abroad within the next six months of restrictions being lifted
INFOMETRICS INSIGHTS - GREAT SOUTH REPORT SOUTHLAND TOURISM
Tourism Report Highlights:
- Tourism sector is important, but will struggle
- International tourism recovery will be slow
- Tourism won’t be the same again
- Domestic tourism has been helpful, but can’t replace internationals
Weak tourism means low growth to 2022 - Over the period 2020 to 2022, employment growth is
expected to be low or negative in most industries.
A lack of international visitors contributes to a severe decline in accommodation and food
services employment, down by 25% in Southland. Arts and recreation, and transport, postal and
warehousing also suffer due to a lack of international visitors, down 7% and 11% respectively.
Information, media and telecommunications suffers a 17% fall in employment in Southland due
to a loss of advertising revenue affecting the publishing and broadcasting sector, in addition to
an ongoing trend of centralisation.
By contrast, employment is expected to grow strongly over this period in health care and social
assistance (8%), public administration and safety (6%), and education and training (5%).
Great South detailed report link: https://greatsouth.nz/storage/app/media/Publications/post_COVID_
analysis_report_southland.pdfGORE DISTRICT TOURISM INSIGHTS YE FEBRUARY 2021
TOURISM ELECTRONIC CARD TRANSACTIONS (TECTs)
Total visitor spend down 4% to $68 million
Accommodation services spend down 22% to $1 million
Cultural, recreational, and gambling services spend down 36% to $0.429 million
Food and beverage serving services spend down 9% to $8 million
Retail sales - other spend up 0.3% to $17 million
Retail sales - alcohol, food, and beverages spend up 6% to $25 million
Retail sales - fuel and other automotive products spend down 12% to $11 million
Other passenger transport spend down 94% to $0.058 million
Other tourism products spend down 11% to $4 million
The Tourism Electronic Card Transactions (TECTs) data is provided by Marketview, which use a base
of Electronic Card Transactions (ECT) spending from the Paymark network (approximately 70% of
total ECT spend) to estimate total ECT spend. Despite some limitations, currently, the TECTs are the
best available measure for tracking tourism spending in New Zealand amidst the COVID-19 border
restrictions.
VISITOR CENTRE STATS
For the period January 2021 to March 2021 the total number of visitors was 12,708, which is
down 19% on the same period last year.
Gore Visitor Centre Visitor Numbers (Jan-Dec) month-on-month Comparison
Gore Visitor Centre Visitor Numbers (Jan-Dec) MoM Comparison
8 00 0
7 00 0 2021 2020 2019 2018
6 00 0
5 00 0
4 00 0
3 00 0
2 00 0
1 00 0
0
Ja n Fe b Mar Apr
May Jun Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
SALES (Jan - Mar 2020/2021)
The centre’s gross income for the Jan - Mar 2021 was $22,053, which is down 46% on
the same period last year. However, we had an increase in sales of Hokonui moonshine
products: Hokonui Moonshine Whiskey Liqueur up 72%, Robbies Hokonui Moonshine Pickled
Onions up 14% and Moonshine The Great Sequah up 11%.VISITOR FEEDBACK/MEDIA ARTICLES
GORE VISITOR CENTRE
GORE VISITOR CENTRE
Sources: Total Spend in NZD Figures for Year End Feb 2021 TECTs (Tourism Electronic Card Transactions) | Vend GoreNZ Shop Jan-Mar 2021 |
Great South Southland Region post-COVID scenario analysis Feb 21You can also read
