Community Services Bulletin July 2020 - Gore District Council
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Community Services Bulletin July 2020
1. REPORT OF THE DISTRICT ARTS & HERITAGE CURATOR – JULY 2020 (Jim Geddes)
Eastern Southland Gallery
Exhibitions (Annual Plan KPI = 10 per annum)
Rob McLeod – selected works (Maruawai Centre temporary exhibition space)
Selected works by Eastern Southland artists (Croydon Aviation Heritage Centre)
The usual Gallery programme was suspended from April onwards so that earthquake
strengthening work on the former Carnegie Library wing could proceed.
Events (Annual Plan KPI = 10 per annum)
Because of Covid-19, it was necessary to cancel or postpone four events. Our normal
programme will resume in August.
External loans from Gallery permanent collection
City Gallery Wellington/ Auckland Art Gallery (19 x works – returning home soon)
Christchurch Art Gallery/Dunedin Public Art Gallery (3 x works – processing)
Te Papa Museum of New Zealand/Royal Academy London (postponed)
Talks, tours and education programmes (Annual Plan KPI = 50 per annum)
Because of Covid-19, it was necessary to cancel a number of talks and tours. However
there are a number new bookings, so these programmes are set to resume in August.
Gallery earthquake strengthening
Progress with earthquake strengthening of Council’s Carnegie building is pleasing and
contractors have almost completed some key structural stages. Steel and carpentry
components have been carefully managed and sensitive to the integrity of our
heritage building and further work is now beginning to re-roof the building and replace
the old corroded down-pipes.
Maruawai project
Stage One – Moonshine Museum redevelopment
Detailed planning
Architect and all trade specifications have been completed to consent standard and
Signal Management have compiled the associated tender documents.
Project timeline
June
Lockdown prevented the final wave of project consultants from accessing the site, so
much of the remaining detailed design had to be undertaken remotely. Additionally,
with many of our suppliers’ premises and offices being closed, it delayed the accurate
pricing for many of the required fixtures and fittings. However, contractors and
suppliers have made up for lost time and all detailed plans, specifications and reports
are now complete.
July Considerable progress was made with stage one internal demolition at the Hokonui Moonshine Museum and a lot of recycled building material has been collected and processed by John Dennison. Fabrication of distillery components has begun off site and a range of fixtures and fittings are being prepared remotely. Minister Shane Jones and representatives of the Provincial Growth Fund and MBIE paid a site visit on 15 July and re-confirmed their enthusiasm for the project.
2. REPORT FROM PARKS AND RECREATION MANAGER (Ian Soper)
General operations
Recently staff have been revisiting work that had been ‘whipped into shape’ following
a return to typical parks and reserves operational maintenance. We are now poised
to be ready to start spring without the considerable backlog of work created by the
lockdown.
At the time of writing, all mowing operations have ceased, plant maintenance is being
undertaken, rose, and hedge pruning underway. Mulching and composting are
occurring along with associated scheduled replanting. Weed spraying also continues
as weather conditions allow.
Training is once again being delivered by the PITO. The Council has taken up the
Government offer of free trade courses by signing up four staff that have completed
a level three qualification for a level four certificate.
Contractors have been mulching the felled eucalypts at Hamilton Park landfill site.
Work has been hampered by mechanical breakdown. As soon as this job is complete,
the contractors will be moving to Henderson Park in Mataura for a similar operation.
Plant replacements are being worked through in line with LTP projections. The
replacement Case digger for 3 Waters has arrived, and Parks and Reserves has
received replacement Trimax mowers, all sourced from local Gore businesses.
Projects
Regional Places and Places Strategy
o Discussions with the lead agency, Sport Southland, and consultants are
continuing. A draft review meeting held last week of July.
Depot workshop rebuild
o The internal fit-out is now complete. The staff have only to complete the
final hazard ID and user induction.
Asset Management Plans
o Work on constructing division based asset management plans (AMPs) for
Parks, Recreation, and Property is 95% complete. The AMPs will contain
relevant and detailed information that will be the underpinning dataset of
the Council’s Long Term Plan 2021-31.
Predator-Free 2050 (PF2050)
o Ongoing dialogue and meetings with the coordinator and stakeholders.
Dolamore Park predator plan is being developed, with implementation
planned later this year.
Community interaction
Interaction with groups, clubs, and organisations over the past month:
Sport Southland, consultation
A & P Joint Management Committee, ongoing operational management
Southland Equestrian Park Trust, consultation and meeting
Southland Rhododendron Group, consultation
Gore Garden Club, consultation
Pukerau Cemetery Support Group – multiple consultations, staff meeting
onsite
Various sub-contractor contact
Various sports club interaction and
Regional Sports Trust meeting attended
Discussions and liaison with various suppliers.
Collegial interaction:
Recreation Aotearoa (RA) - Otago Southland Branch, consultation and zoom
meeting attended
South Island Park Managers Forum – ongoing collegial dialogue
New Zealand Park Agencies Managers Group (PAMG), trading as Park Leaders
Forum. Governance Group – teleconferences, zoom meetings, and
operational input.
Non-financial Performance Measures
Percentage of community that are satisfied across the
range of property and recreation criteria
94% satisfied
RECOMMENDATION
THAT the report be received.
3. REPORT OF THE LIBRARY MANAGER (Lorraine Weston-Webb)
Gore Library building
The Regional Economic Development and Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones made a
surprise visit to Gore Library on 15 July 2020. The visit was to announce central
government funding to the tune of $3m for the redevelopment of the library in the
James Cumming Wing, and $1m for the Gore Multisports Complex re-roof project. This
funding package came about following the suite of applications Council made in April
to the government’s shovel-ready project infrastructure committee. This is very good
news because the solution for the library building was uncertain due to the economic
climate following the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding allocation will contribute to
the complete renovation of the James Cumming Wing Community Centre, and this is
expected to begin in early 2021.
Performance measures
The 2019-2020 library’s first performance measure has stood the test of providing
valued library experiences despite the Gore Library being temporarily accommodated
in the dated and cramped James Cumming Wing hall. 98% of surveyed library users
(Jan 2020) were satisfied with the overall service, and 96% of surveyed residents (May
2020) were satisfied with the quality of library service. Clearly the libraries remain a
positive choice in terms of quality places to go and things to do.
Unfortunately the score for the accessibility measure was way below par with only
76.5% of opening hours achieved against a target of 95%. This was because first the
February flood, then COVID-19, meant temporary closures were non-negotiable.
COVID-19 impact
Lockdown from 21 March to 17 May
The libraries were closed for a total of eight weeks. The impact of the closure was
serious for library users, with many people having since reported that being unable to
borrow library books during the lockdown weeks was very difficult for them. On the
plus side library staff working from home developed online resources and activities to
help meet the needs of people confined to their homes and unable to borrow books.
Many borrowers discovered eBooks and eAudiobooks for the first time and still enjoy
accessing these. The library’s online presence via facebook and the Library website
had a significant increase in use during lockdown. Story Time for kids with the Youth
Librarian was provided weekly on Facebook live during lockdown, and continued
during May and June. This was popular with up to 280 views per session. The WiFi
was turned off during this period to prevent social mixing.
Level 2 – 18 May to 8 June
Both libraries were open with limited hours and services. Gore Library was open
Monday-Friday and Sundays for a total of 28 hours per week. Mataura Library and
Service Centre was open Monday-Friday for 15 hours per week. Staff took precautions
to keep people safe, and collected contact tracing information as required. Returned
books were quarantined for two days before being made available and children were
not permitted in the libraries. A ‘Call and collect’ service was provided, and loans were
also delivered on request. The WiFi remained off during this period.
Level 1 from 9 June 2020
Normal hours and services including WiFi access resumed for both libraries. All
restrictions, including contact tracing recording, were lifted and children were able to
visit the libraries again, with many clearly enjoying the freedom to be in the library.
Children’s activities resumed in July.
Gore Library open Number of Gore
Level 2 weeks hours total Library visitors
May 18-24 28 1407
First week opening
May 25-31 28 924
June 2-7 28 805
Level 1 weeks
June 8-14 52 1735
June 15-21 52 1644
June 22-28 52 1829
June 29-July 5 52 1744
July 6-12 - School holidays 52 2624
July 13-19 - School holidays 52 2325
July 20-26 52 2115
This chart records the number of Gore Library visitors during the period of reduced
hours and after the library returned to normal hours. The first week of opening was
very busy especially considering the limited opening hours. It was noteworthy that a
large number of elderly residents visited the library during the first week, eager to be
out and about again. Since resuming normal opening hours, visitor numbers have
steadily increased, and the libraries were very busy during the school holidays as is
usual.
Mataura Library and Service Centre
Stage II of the Mataura Library new layout was completed on 26-27 May. The library
was closed during the installation for health and safety reasons. The Service Centre
remained open and many residents visited on those days to make rates payments.
New child-friendly furniture and children’s book shelves.
Stage III was completed on 6 July with the little-used Mataura office converted to a
Conference Room for dual public/staff use. It is available for meetings and study with
guiding criteria for use. Comments from users have been positive, for example:
‘Absolutely awesome library conference room’ (Student)
‘Client interviews were enhanced from client perspective due to the room providing a
private space to discuss personal matters’ (Workbridge Officer)
Visitor and issue statistics for year end 30 June 2020
With the highly unusual circumstances of this year resulting in long periods of closure
and it being the first full year we have had a visitor count at Mataura, statistical
comparisons with previous years are not particularly useful. The following table
records borrowing statistics and visitor numbers for both libraries during the last year,
where both visitors and issues exceeded 100,000.
Physical items borrowed 97,596
eBooks borrowed 2,271
eAudiobooks borrowed 1,496
Total issues 101,363
Visitor count Gore 83,491
Visitor count Mataura 25,069
Visitor count total 108,560
4. REPORT FROM COMMUNICATIONS/MARKETING MANAGER (Sonia Gerken)
Purpose
This report provides an overview of key communications/marketing activities
undertaken from May through to the end of July.
Projects
The last three months have seen the launch of several significant changes and
projects.
They were:
Changes to the waste collection service
The Gore Water Treatment Plant Upgrade and new bridge
Discontinuing free swimming lessons
The opening of the new Pyramid Bridge.
It would be fair to say the amount of the community feedback these generated was
not unexpected and required considerable management.
The Council also created some good content that achieved high engagement, such as
the Pyramid Bridge construction time lapse video. The only significant weather event
to date this winter also saw a lot of people using Facebook for information. It is worth
noting the excellent flow of information from our roading team to the communication
team, which enabled us to put out regular road condition reports.
As shown on the graphs on the next page, weather events are also great for increasing
your audience. The Council now has 6,787 followers.
Antenno
The Council continues to grow the number of people it has on Antenno. At the time
of writing, there were 1502 downloads of the app, which represents 24.9% of our
rating database. This is quite an achievement for a small council and cements our
position as the top council in New Zealand for downloads per rating units.
We are in the process of introducing a new feature, which will enable our customer
service staff to respond directly to reports received via the app. The biggest cause of
customer dissatisfaction is not letting people know the outcome of their reports, so
we are expecting the added feature to be well received.
Digital Projects and Community Engagement Work is progressing on the Council’s new website. The team is planning to go live in about three months. However, as if often the case with these projects, a lot will depend on staffs’ other commitments. We are also rolling out a new community engagement platform Let’s Talk Kōrero Mai Gore District. It is built on a platform called EngagementHQ, which is used by many councils in New Zealand, including Environment Southland, Queenstown Lakes District and MacKenzie District Council. It is planned to launch the platform the week of August 10. It will be one of the tools we use for finding out and better understanding what matters are important for our community. Online engagement enables people to participate at a place and time that suits them, unlike more traditional forms of consultation such as public forums or formal submissions. It's a quick and safe way to get involved on a range of issues and topics. It enables people to keep informed on specific projects that interest them, and follow the journey as projects progress. The platform also provides the opportunity to see what other members of the community think about particular issues, and enables a two-way conversation unlike more traditional channels. RECOMMENDATION THAT the report be received.
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
Tourism businesses nationwide will be counting on the domestic
Southland’
tourism market to assist the industry to recover from the Covid-19
pandemic. Businesses offering value for money holiday experiences
for domestic travellers will be the key to a successful recovery.
VISITOR CENTRE STATS
The Gore Visitor Centre is seeing the impact of February’s flooding and COVID-19 on our visitor
numbers and sales.
For the period January 2020 to June 2020 the total number of visitors was 19,200, which is down
40% from 31,984 for the same period last year.
SALES (Jan - Jun 2020/2019)
The centre’s gross income for the same six month period was $45,908, which is also down
40% from $76,738 for the same period last year.
Gore Visitor Centre Visitor Numbers (Jan-Jun) month-on-month Comparison
Gore Visitor Centre Visitor Numbers (Jan-June) MoM Comparison
8 00 0
7 00 0
2018 2019 2020
6 00 0
5 00 0
4 00 0
3 00 0
2 00 0
1 00 0
0
Jan
Fe b
M ar
Ap r
M ay
JunTOURISM DISTRICT INSIGHTS YE MAY 2020
International visitor spend down 13.5% to $7 million
Top 5 International Markets
Domestic visitor spend down 9.1% to $61 million
1. Australia (up 6.7%)
Total spend down 9.6% to $68 million
2. USA (down 21.7%)
3. UK (down 4.1%)
4. Germany (up 23.8%)
5. China (down 77.6%)
Visitor market YE May 2020
International
10.3%
Domestic
89.7%
WE HAVE MOVED
The Gore Visitor Centre is now located in the former Salvation Army Building in the heritage
precinct. The move is due to stage one of the Maruawai project - upgrading the Hokonui
Moonshine Museum. We have new space, and impressive district branded beautifully NZ
made sofas for our contemporary interior and outdoors to be used for various events such as
Moonshiners Festival, Southern Field Days.VISITOR FEEDBACK/MEDIA ARTICLES
GORE VISITOR CENTRE
MOONSHINE MUSEUM
MEDIA ARTICLES/MEDIA
Mike Yardley’s famil in June has resulted in an
excellent article. It will be featured in the Kiwi
Tripster travel pod, which has a weekly NZ
audience of 50,000 listeners and an excellent
online following with 150,000 unique browsers
to the website www.fortheloveoftravel.net.nz
and 300 downloads per episode for fortnightly
travel podcast, Kiwi Tripsters available at
www.kiwitripsters.co.nz.
The article is available here
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/
lifestyle/travel/mike-yardley-gore-
s-heart-and-soul/
Sources: Total Spend in NZD Figures for Year End May 2020 MRTE’s (Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates) | Vend GoreNZ Shop Jan-Jun 2020You can also read
