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Waitakere City Council has launched two full-scale independent inquires into the chlorine leak at its
Aquatic Centre on Saturday evening.
West Wave closed
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See the latest information - Leisure Complex Re-Opens on Thursday 16 January 2003. |
The leisure complex at the West Wave
Aquatic Centre in Waitakere City, has been closed until further notice, because of a technical problem.
The fault affects only the new leisure pools area, including the wave pool, hydroslide, lazy river, hydrotherapy pool and family spa pools.
Other parts of the facility are still open, including:
The Council apologises for any inconvenience. For further information contact us.
The fault occurred on Saturday evening and released chlorine into the atmosphere. The centre was immediately evacuated and subsequently closed by Mayor Bob Harvey.
After the pool was evacuated, first aid was given to children, 48 of whom were taken to hospital – mainly as a precaution. All the children had been discharged and sent home by midnight Saturday.
Mayor Harvey praised the skill of lifeguards who, he said, had followed emergency procedures to the letter.
“Naturally we are deeply concerned that the accident happened and we will do everything necessary to find the fault and fix it,” Mr Harvey says
“However, if you’re going to have a problem, you want to know that the emergency procedures do work. In this case they did and I am very proud of the way our lifeguards did their duty. I am sure it was their prompt and skilled action that contained this incident and ensured that the children weren’t more seriously affected.” he says.
| Waitakere Libraries’ Summer Reading Programme – aimed at encouraging kids to read - is back on December 9. Open to young library members aged between 5 and 12 years, the six-week programme (run by Waitakere Libraries’ Children’s and Teens’ Team) encourages kids to keep up their reading over the long summer break. |
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Each participant signs a special contract to read for 15 minutes every day with a parent or caregiver and to report in to their local library four times during the six week period to show staff what they’ve read and talk about the books. Each visit, the child will be rewarded with a sticker, a small incentive and activity sheets to do at home. Librarians also suggest other books they might like to read and give some positive one-on-one encouragement.
At the end of the programme, children who have gained all four stickers and fulfilled their reading contract will be invited to a celebration party, where they will receive a book of their own, a participating certificate and a medal – and, of course, cake and soft drink!
“It’s a fantastic programme for stimulating kids to enjoy reading – one of the most powerful tools for life-long learning,” says Service Development Team Leader, Janice Chong. “It encourages caregivers to become involved in their kids’ reading at home and supports the reading work done by their teachers. The programme also helps children to gain self-confidence and become familiar with using a library.”
Now, in its fifth year, the popular programme is sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Henderson, New Lynn, Waitakere and West Harbour, with sponsorship in kind from Whitcoulls at Lynnmall; Scholastic Publishers and Shortland Publications.
Places are limited, so enrolment is essential. Enrolments can be made at all
Waitakere Libraries branches from Monday 25 November. For more information, phone
(09) 838 1303 (extension 803 or 804) or email ‘the Kidz Team’ at
kidz@waitakerelibs.govt.nz.
Twenty-four Waitakere City residents were recognised for their contribution to the community at the fourth annual Te Taumata Runanga Maori Community Awards on November 16.
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The awards sought to acknowledge those who were identified from within the community as having made an important contribution to the well-being of Maori within Waitakere City. Held in the Council Chambers, the awards were hosted by Te Taumata Runanga, a standing committee of Waitakere City Council that, along with iwi, advises the Council on policy and issues pertaining to Maori in Waitakere City. Candidates were nominated for their involvement in such areas as politics, health, education, culture, economy, the environment and spirituality. |
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“These awards celebrate the achievement of those people who work away behind the scenes, often unrecognised, for the well being of Maori,” says Te Taumata Runanga chairman, Te Warena Taua.
“Ui mai ki ahau he aha te mea nui o te ao, maku e ki atu, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata” (If one asked what is the most important thing in this world, we would answer, it is people, it is people, it is people).
The Maori Community Award recipients for 2002 include:
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For more information contact Te Warena Taua, Chairman – Te Taumata Runanga.
Phone: 0274 851 991 or email tw.taua@xtra.co.nz
Waitakere City Council’s award-winning Massey Leisure Centre has received yet another accolade - the New Zealand Recreation Association’s Win-Win Facility Award.
Massey Ward Councillor, Gwen Nash, who travelled to Hamilton with fellow councillor Brenda Brady to collect the award, says the Council’s decision to engage the YMCA to run the Centre has proved a winner.
"Manager Shona Ballinger has the knack to be able to communicate with the Massey community and to run programmes to suit their needs,” she says.
“Their youth programme is a good example. The YMCA now employs three people to run activities requested by our young people, such as break dancing and skate boarding. It’s a win-win situation for the Council, the YMCA and the community – and makes the facility very deserving of this award.”
NZRA judges also commented on the Centre’s strong visual link to Waitakere City and its
environmentally friendly building
features.
The accolade comes hot on the heels of two other awards presented to the Massey Leisure Centre and Library this year. The Centre’s artistic design won it the NZ Creative Places Premier Award in August and its sustainable eco-features won it a place in the finals of the Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority’s national EnergyWise Awards in September.
“We were very proud to accept the award for this wonderful community building,” Cr Nash says. “The Leisure Centre really serves the community it was built for and its artistic and environmental merits make it a source of pride for Waitakere City.”
Opened in February 1999, the Massey Leisure Centre features a two court, sprung-floor stadium, a fitness centre and a crèche. The adjoining community centre, library and CAB were opened in December 2001. The complex is located on the corner of Don Buck Road and Westgate Drive.
For more information contact us.
West Wave – Waitakere’s new world-class aquatic facility – was opened by Prime Minister Helen Clark on Saturday.
Other dignitaries, including local MPs, Japanese Consulate
General, Mr Mizuno, members of Waitakere’s sister city
delegation from Ningbo, China and Madame Yang - the
Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China - also
attended, along with Sir Paul and Lady Reeves, who opened
the original complex in 1990.
The opening of the $14 million Henderson complex was marked by excited pupils from Green Bay Primary School shooting out of the new 76 m
hydro slide on inflatable tubes – a sight that will soon be commonplace at the aquatic centre.
Developed around the original Olympic-sized competition pools, built for the 1990 Commonwealth Games, the complex now also incorporates the latest recreational water facilities, as well as a swim school, modern fitness centre, recreation centre, a shop, sauna and steam room, activity rooms, cafe and fully trained staff. It is also accessible for people with disabilities.
West Wave is one of the largest indoor aquatic facilities in Australasia, featuring a wave pool,
hydro slide, lazy river, hydrotherapy pool (with ramp access) and toddlers’ pool.
At the opening ceremony, Waitakere City
Mayor, Bob Harvey, said Waitakere has made sustainability the hallmark of its public and government partnership.
“This year we celebrate 10 years as New Zealand’s first eco-city and we are very proud of what we have achieved. Waitakere City leads New Zealand in the quest to build sustainable cities for the future and the West Wave Aquatic Centre is designed to exemplify that approach,” he says.
“West Wave is one of Australasia’s finest integrated lifestyle centres, offering something for the whole community - from families seeking a safe, affordable, fun-filled outing, to adults determined to achieve peak health and fitness. It’s also a place with significant environmental features, including thermal insulation, full solar water heating, natural lighting with double glazing, massive rainwater collection and water recycling and power cogeneration. So there is clear delivery on two pillars of sustainability: the community and the environment.”
The Council has an established practice of arts/design collaboration in all its civic developments. For West Wave, lead artist Virginia King and architects John Fraser and Bob Allen combined their talents to produce a building with flowing lines, organic materials, natural colours and sculptural water features. The pool environment is inspired by the Waitakere Ranges; the waterfall/dam wall, the nikau palms on the Lazy River, the small pools inspired by waterholes in mountain streams and the natural rock.
Local iwi have contributed to key design features – Te Warena Taua of Te Kawerau A Maki gifting a waterfall with a proverb etched into it and designing a steel sculpture for the foyer and Bernard Makoare of Ngati Whatua contributing designs based on the traditional Puhoro pattern for the glass wall of the foyer.
Other arts projects created by local artists include bronze Waitakere bush inlays in the toddlers area (Virginia King), ceramic fish in the learners’ and hydrotherapy pools (Zeke Wolf), a cast glass wall plaque (Jenny McLeod), a painting in the fitness centre (Dean Buchanan) and a frosted glass design in the fitness centre (Graeme Gash).
Apart from the wave pool (which is currently being filled), all West Wave water features opened to the public today (November 11). The wave pool is expected to open sometime next week.
For
more information contact
us.
Is Waitakere City a good place to do business? How much business is done locally? How well do businesses and the Waitakere City Council relate to each other?
These questions and more will be put to local businesses through Waitakere City Council’s biennial Business Survey, posted out from November 11-15.
From that date, the survey will also be online at www.waitakere.govt.nz, alongside other local business information.
“The Council has identified economic development as its number one priority for the City, so it is really important that we get feedback through the survey on how we can best provide the support businesses need to prosper and grow,” says
Deputy Mayor Carolynne
Stone, chair of the Council’s City Development
Committee.
Covering such areas as business location, employment, investment, business support and services, customer trends, economic development and the use of information technology, the survey will provide the Council with an up-to-date snapshot of the City’s business sector.
While serving to highlight current and emerging trends for the Council, the survey will also give business owners more information about relevant business development programmes and Council services available to them.
Results from Waitakere City’s business survey for 2000 showed that small businesses and home businesses made up the majority of business activity in the West. Eighty-three percent of businesses had access to the Internet. This year the survey will ask how many are using the Internet for their business and/or have their own Internet address.
In 2000, businesses were generally positive about Waitakere City as a place to live, work and do business. More than 90% of businesses said they supported the Council’s
Eco-City goals, while more than 55% wanted the Council to be more flexible with rules and regulations.
For
more information contact
us.
The opening of the $15m West Wave Aquatic Centre redevelopment will go ahead as planned on Saturday November 9th.
However, a new wave pool, which is part of the complex, will not open for approximately another week.
During final stages of construction on the weekend several hundred tiles in the new wave pool dislodged. A Waitakere City Council spokesperson says contractors are working to repair the problem, the cause of which is unknown at this stage. Other features of the Centre, such as a new hydro-slide, lazy river and learn to swim pool will open to the public on Monday 11 November.
Some 250 tickets to the opening weekend had been sold. Those tickets will be honoured anytime over the next 6 months, or the Council is offering refunds to those who wish to take up the offer.
Over the weekend, the Main Pool and Fitness Centre will be open for water walking and lap swimming for
members and concession card holders only - there will be no casual entry.
For
more information contact
us.
Debbie Cook – mayor of Waitakere’s American sister
city, Huntington Beach – is currently in Waitakere City experiencing her first taste of Kiwi hospitality.
She is the first Huntington Beach mayor to visit Waitakere since the two cities signed an official sister city agreement in 1983. However the relationship between Waitakere and Huntington Beach began about 28 years ago with a lifeguard exchange programme, of which Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey was a part.
“As a young Karekare lifeguard visiting Huntington Beach to swap surf-lifesaving techniques, I had no idea that one day I would be mayor of Waitakere City and enjoying a sister city relationship with Huntington Beach in a civic sense,” Mayor Harvey says.
“The two cities have a great rapport and can learn much from each other.”
Like Mayor Harvey, Mayor Cook takes a keen interest in environmental matters and she is keen to learn about Waitakere City’s eco-city initiatives. She currently serves on the Southern California Association of Government’s Energy and Environment Committee and the County of Orange Harbors, Beaches and Parks Commission. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Earth Science.
Mayor Cook’s eight-day stay includes an official Maori welcome at Glen Eden’s Hoani Waititi Marae and visits to Piha and Karekare beaches, the Arataki Visitors’ Centre in the Waitakere Ranges, the Harbourview residential development, the new West Wave aquatic complex, the award-winning New Lynn Community Centre and Massey Leisure Centre and Library and
Waitakere City’s 2002 Trash to Fashion
Awards. Her itinerary also includes trips to Tiritiri Matangi Island, downtown Auckland, Rotorua and Taupo.
However, civic leaders are not the only ones to benefit from the sister city relationship. Student exchanges are also taking place every year – strengthening the ties between the two cities.
Meanwhile, a delegation from Chinese sister
city, Ningbo, will arrive in Waitakere City on November 7 for a four-day visit. The group will visit Unitec, Sovereign Yachts in Hobsonville, Soljans Winery, Lopdell House, Arataki Visitors’ Centre and Piha Beach. They will also receive a traditional Maori welcome at Hoani Waititi Marae and attend the opening of the new
West Wave Aquatic Centre on November 9.
Waitakere City also has a sister city agreement with Kakogawa in Japan and a friendship agreement with Galway City in Ireland.
For
more information contact
us.
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Henderson’s historic McLeod’s Cottage is to be relocated to the Tui Glen Reserve.
