The Tauranga City Council is advising some works projects may be delayed this week as local contractors are sending staff to Christchurch to assist in the earthquake recovery.
Also, nationwide, supplies such as pipes and pipe fittings are being prioritised for Christchurch so this may stall some Tauranga works.

This information from Tauranga City Council weekly bulletin for the week beginning Monday, February 28, published below.

City Waters
Water Supply
• Works are underway in Woods Ave, Maxine Place and Strathmore Street as part of the water main upgrade in the Matua area.
• Water main upgrade on 11th Ave/Cameron Road is now complete.
• Remedial works are being carried out on pipe bridges over the Waiorahi stream, as a result of damage during the recent storms.
• A water main break occurred on Heron Ave East early Thursday morning, this caused a lengthy disruption to the water supply on the street and also damage to gardens and lawns on several properties.

Drainage
• A lot of work has now been done to eradicate the very noxious weed named ‘Alligator weed' recently identified in the Carmichael Stormwater Reserve by TCC and EBOP.
• One blockage reported this week – an ongoing intermittent fault possibly caused by roots from a large protected tree. CCTV inspection is now scheduled to confirm the fault and extent of it.
• Works on removing silts from four stormwater ponds continues. These ponds have been in use for a number of years and need the build up of silt removed to restore them to original dimensions and storage. The ponds are off Bateleur Close, Resolution Road, Waipuna Grove and Waiorakei Way.
• The damaged wastewater pipeline in Norton Road, Otumoetai was repaired.
• Sewer pipes in Wilrose Place and Brook Street scheduled to be cleaned next week.
• Repairs to a damaged culvert off Johnson Reserve are scheduled to start next week.
• A number of open drains and stormwater ponds are scheduled to be cleaned of aquatic weed in various locations around the city over the next six weeks. These are Maranui Main Swale drain, Oriental Parade, Maleme Street, Royal Palm Beach, Arabian Drive, Upper Vale Street.
• Flood gates on two stormwater outlet pipes draining to the Kopurererua Stream near Barberry Street, Birch Avenue have been leaking and now being repaired. The recent king tides have highlighted this problem causing minor flooding around street sumps.
• A new stormwater overland flow path is being constructed to help with flood protection for some Glenlyon Properties.

Stormwater Pollution
• The Pollution Prevention Quiz begins on Tuesday, March 1 with a marine prize pack worth $850 sponsored by Rutherford Marine Electrical up for grabs. The quiz has an interesting twist this year so check out the display at the Tauranga Library next week. The display will rotate around the city libraries over coming weeks.
• One pollution incident this week was reported which involved the discharge of sediment from construction works at Memorial Park. Contractors have addressed the issue on site to prevent further discharges.
• Pollution prevention audits of around 170 Auto Workshops have begun this week. These will take several months to complete.

Waiari Water Supply Project:
• Design of the access road to the intake and the design of the intake is being done at present.

Bulk Water Meter and Pressure Management Project:
• The contract to install additional bulk metering and pressure management in Birch Ave. and 12th Ave is nearing completion. This will regulate pressures in the area and also improve the water supply zoning in this area. The contract is due to finish end February.

Southern Pipeline:
• Pipe laying in Oropi Road is progressing away from the Maleme Street junction.
• Works in Devonport Road between 12th & 15th Ave continue.
• Works in Devonport Road between 18th & 15th Ave have started.
• Works in Memorial Park continue.

City Projects
• Arataki Community Centre construction was to start this week but will now start first week of March.
• Repairs to the Beach Road walkway and seawall to start this week.
• Baypark Arena: work continues in the central area and the three and six court areas. Exterior work is underway again.
Parks and Leisure
• Part of Mount Drury Playground will be closed next week for work on installing a replacement piece of play equipment (called a ‘spinner').
• Parts of Memorial Playground will be sectioned off from 7 March for repainting.
• Next Friday, March 4 at the Tropical Display House at Robbins Park – Liani Smith of Aztec Gardens will be giving a demonstration on growing and showing Begonias. This follows on from a similar demonstration at the end of 2010 with Bromeliads. There is no charge and will be open to the public 9-12 am on the Friday.
• The Ponga track at McLaren Falls is open again after work to clear all the slips and re-dig the drains. New pipes have been installed to take the water away.
• New steps at Omanawa Falls have been completed and a big cleanup. New farm gate and railing at the entrance.

Transportation
• Devonport Road:Southern Pipeline work continues on Devonport Road. A single lane is still operating at the intersection of 15th Avenue and Devonport Road. Pipe laying work has started on 18th Avenue between Fraser Street and Devonport Road and this section of road is open to residents only. The pipe laying will continue onto Devonport Road between 18th Avenue and 17th Avenue. Expect delays and please use an alternative route if possible.

• Esmeralda Street: Work to modify the existing two speed thresholds is underway. Please take care when driving through the area.
• Hairini Link Advanced Works: Work continues on the shared footpath at Burrows Street, 15th Avenue, Mayfield Street and Turret Road. The pedestrian crossing at Burrows Street/15th Avenue will be commissioned and work on the Waimapu shared footpath area is underway.
• Inner City Bus Stops: Work on the new bus stop facilities on both sides of Willow Street continues with the bus shelter canopy on the Masonic Park car park side of the road currently being constructed.
• Kairua Road: Work on the next stage of the reconstruction of Kairua Road continues. Minor delays are possible.

• Maleme Street/ Oropi Road: Southern Pipeline pipe laying work continues from the intersection of Maleme Street along Oropi Road. Expect lane closures and delays. Please take extreme care when driving through this area and use an alternative route if possible. Work is expected to progress to Fraser Street north of the Chadwick Road roundabout.

• Pyes Pa Bypass: Northbound traffic is now running on the new roundabout during peak times and overnight. During off-peak times, there are traffic lights operating, allowing traffic to travel on the southbound lane of the highway one direction at a time while the contractor excavates the original northbound lane. As the new roundabout is about two metres lower than the existing road, a significant amount of earth needs to be excavated to complete it. The work is programmed to take eight weeks and the roundabout is expected to be fully functional in April.

• Tara Road: Sealing of the new roundabout at the intersection of Doncaster Drive and Tara Road is underway. Please take care and expect delays.

• Welcome Bay Road: Work to create a new inset bus bay on the northern side of Welcome Bay Road opposite Greenwood Park Village is underway. Please take care when driving through this area.
Venues & Events
Baycourt Community and Arts Centre

Baycourt Community and Arts Centre
• 5 March 2:30pm and 7:30pm - TOWER Tutus on Tour - Presented by the Royal NZ Ballet at Baycourt Centennial Theatre
• 10 March 7:30pm - Party Girls - Presented by Ben McDonald at Baycourt Centennial Theatre
• 13 March 1:30pm - The Mighty Wurli, and afternoon with Ken Rawle - Presented by the Tauranga Theatre Organ Society at Baycourt Centennial Theatre

Event Support
• 6 March Midday - 6pm - Gartshores Tauranga Food and Wine Festival - Wharepai Domain
• 11 & 12 March 8pm - Strike - presented by the Littleweed Charitable Trust.

Event Facilitation
• Surf Lifesaving event that was scheduled for Christchurch has been moved to Mount Beach 10 - 13 March. This has impacted on some beach volleyball and wedding bookings, and we are working through contacting these people.

Other
• The Small Projects Investment Fund (SPIF) and Major Projects Investment Fund (MPIF) applications are now being called for. Advertising has been in Our City Views and the newspaper, as well as online

Democracy
Projects & Monitoring Committee - Wednesday, 2 March 2011 - 1pm
• Stephen Murray from Sport Bay of Plenty will attend the meeting to present the National Cycling Centre of Excellence bid for the Region. (10 mins)
• Mount Maunganui Mainstreet Six Monthly Monitoring Report to December 2010

• Homelessness in Tauranga
The report provides an overview of homelessness in the City and puts forward options to address nuisance issues associated with homelessness.

• Treasury Activity Report to 31st January 2011
• Monitoring Report for Seven Months to 31 January 2011