>Community Update 27 May 2011
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Community meeting coming up soon
www.mpcc.org.nzhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Mt-Pleasant-community-Christchurch/118824294860099email bjollynz@hotmail.com.
Farmers Market
Mount Pleasant Farmers Market will open as usual at Mount Pleasant Community Centre, McCormacks Bay this weekend 28 May. Park on Causeway or Grass or McCormacks Bay Road near Soleares. Shuttle from Redcliffs at 10am.
See you there.
Need your car washed?
St Andrews College Students are required to complete community service to gain their school diploma. Sunday the 29th of May, from 11am-4pm. Six students will be holding a carwash in the club car park, and all proceeds will be donated to the Squash Club.
Get a clean car and support the Squash Club -$5.00 per wash.
Art Nomad Gallery 87 Main Road Redcliffs
Friday Night Wine Night – from 6.30pm Gallery Open 2pm to 9pm
Fri 27th Keith Morant
Fri 3rd June Don McAra
Friday 10th June Llew summers and Robyn Webster
Friday 17th June Karin Lange
Friday 24th June Mark Soltero and Kim Hennessey
Update from the Chief Executive, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority: 20 May 2011
Three months on from February 22, we’re continuing to make good progress pulling together very complex and technical information to make decisions on the worst affected suburbs. While I understand people want to know now about their homes and communities, we have to ensure the information and decisions made are robust.
Work at the moment is focused on merging technical information about land damage with property damage information from EQC and insurance companies. More than a dozen public and private groups are helping to build a single scientific picture with data collected since February’s earthquake. This data’s being compiled on a suburb-by-suburb basis, with the greatest urgency placed on the worst affected suburbs close to the Avon River.
Costs and benefits of remediating land must be weighed up alongside this data, meaning it simply may not be feasible to return some areas to pre-earthquake standards. The staff here at CERA, along with our Minister, remain committed to providing certainty as soon as we can. It’s been a top priority since day one.
This week the Government released Budget 2011. It includes significant funding across a range of areas to assist the recovery work in Canterbury that is being led and coordinated by CERA.
To the end of last month, the Government had already spent about $1.2 billion on earthquake costs.
In the budget, it committed a further $5.5 billion over six years to its new Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Fund.
The Minister Gerry Brownlee has explained the Government created the new fund to ensure transparency of the money spent in the rebuilding.
The Recovery Fund will cover:
- The Government’s share of repairing essential local infrastructure – mainly water and roading infrastructure
- Repairing state owned assets such as state highways, schools and hospitals
- Welfare support through job loss cover and wage subsidies, as well as costs relating to the immediate response to the emergency
- The Government’s financial support package for AMI Insurance.
The Recovery Fund also includes about $3.2 billion yet to be allocated. This will be used for any additional costs as well as for policy decisions yet to be made, such as temporary housing and any remediation of earthquake damaged land. You can read more about the budget announcements on our website.
John Ombler
Acting Chief Executive
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority
Share an Idea Community workshops
The thousands of ideas are now being read and analysed by the team who are developing the draft Central City Plan to identify common themes and trends to be explored further at a series of public workshops which start this weekend (28 and 29 May) and on our website – www.shareanidea.org.nz
Nine workshops have been finalised to date; others will follow in the next few days.
Public workshops to date are:
• Saturday 28 May, 2.30pm in North Beach
• Sunday 29 May, 2pm in Central Christchurch
• Wednesday 1 June, 6pm in Central Christchurch
• Saturday 4 June, 2.30pm in Wigram
• Sunday 5 June, 2pm in Central Christchurch
• Tuesday 7 June, 6pm in Central Christchurch
• Wednesday 8 June, 6pm in Cashmere
• Sunday 12 June, 2pm in Central Christchurch
• Sunday 12 June, 2.30pm in Burnside
The two and a half hour discussion groups are for anyone to attend but registration is essential as numbers are limited. To register click here or go online at www.shareanidea.org.nz, or call into your local Service Centre and staff will assist you with registering for the workshop in your area.
Share an idea online
Our website, shareanidea.org.nz, has been flooded with thousand of ideas. We’ve started to group these ideas under the four headings Life, Space, Move and Market.
The Life topic covers recreation, nightlife and heritage; Space includes parks, gardens and buildings; Move looks at all areas of transport, including walking and cycling; and Market covers anything that relates to business.
Keep checking the website for further updates and watch as your ideas get pieced together and themes start to emerge.
Group discussions
Get together with work colleagues, clubs and community groups that you belong to and discuss ideas for the Central City. Check our website for some ideas on how you can capture these conversations. Come back and post your group ideas here, or if you’ve already had some great conversations please add them now.
Find us on Facebook and Twitter
We’re also set up on Facebook and Twitter to keep you up to date on where and how to share an idea.
If you’re posting an idea on Facebook or Twitter – make sure you also load it to shareanidea.org.nz so it can be considered as the central city plan is developed.
You can also share your ideas by:
Sending a letter to PO Box 73001, Christchurch 8154
Phoning 941 7959 and leave a voice message
Sending an email to shareanidea@ccc.govt.nz
FORUM: RE-VISIONING THE GARDEN CITY – Wednesday 25 May, 7:30-9:30pm.
Canterbury Horticultural Society Hall. 57 Riccarton Avenue. This is a forum to give the gardening public of Christchurch food for thought as we make new plans for our Garden City. Speakers will have 12 minutes each to tell us from which organisation or perspective they speak and then give us a succinct summary of what they deem important in re-planning our city. Speakers will offer us history, experience, ideas. This is not a platform for politicising. It’s an opportunity for us, the city’s gardeners, to gather together and listen to interesting ideas to take home and ponder. That way, we are better equipped to be involved in the planning of the city. This is a 2-hour meeting followed by supper. Many thanks to the Canterbury Horticultural Society for making this possible. Parking available on site. Speakers:
Dr John Clemens, Curator of Christchurch Botanic Garden “Christchurch and the Shape of Water: A Tale of Two Botanic Gardens”
Steve Bush, Trees for Canterbury “Walking, Cycling, Native Plants and Me!”
Grant MacLeod, Christchurch City Council “Natural Play for All, Play Areas for Children”
Peggy Kelly, Packe Street Community Park “The Growing Need for Community Parks and Gardens in the City”
Neiel Drain, Former President Canterbury Horticultural Society “Christchurch, Garden City of the World. Dream or Reality?”
Coralie Winn, Gap Filler “Filling Empty Spaces: Movable Scenes for an Earthquake City”
Di Lucas, landscape architect, Lucas Associates “Re-Gardening our City – Renewing the World Model”
Diana Madgin, Press Garden Writer and Garden Guide “How Christchurch Became The Garden City”
Canterbury University is looking for people who have been feeling stressed and anxious post-earthquake interested in trialling micronutrients. If interested please go to: www.mentalhealthandnutrition.co.nz to find out more.
>Community Update 21 May 2011
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23 May deadline for claims for damage from 22 February earthquake
Scroll to the bottom of newsletter for info.
Now that we’re starting to get some building action in Mt Pleasant local resident Greg Young offers the following advice.
As a brief overview, all work has nominated “Project Management Organisations (PMO)”. I’ll list the ones I know about, but there is probably more.
Work estimated at under $100,000 +GST
Fletcher Construction = EQC
Work estimated at over $100,000 +GST
Hawkins = NZI, State, IAG, Lantern
Stream Group = Tower
MWH/Mainzeal = Vero, AA
Beca = Medical Assurance
Arrow = AMI
The initial procedure is (please note that this is just a general overview and may differ from company to company):
1. EQC complete a rapid assessment – this is just a quick evaluation to let them know what is damaged and what isn’t – it is non-conclusive
2. EQC complete a thorough inspection so that they can establish a method to fix, and a cost associated
Your insurance company will also do their own inspections. There is an overlap which is currently being legislated to allow insurance companies to tell EQC that the damage is over $100K – but this isn’t finalised yet.
1. Insurance companies PMO will do an initial assessment of damage, and forward this on to the insurance company.
2. Insurance company will accept liability of the damage based on the initial PMO inspection and hand it back to the PMO.
3. PMO will assign a claim manager, and do an in depth assessment with cost adjusters and structural engineers to work out how to fix the buildings (if possible) and the cost to do so.
The only way we have been able to speed up this laborious process is to talk directly with the claim managers – if you don’t have one yet, put pressure on your insurance companies to accept liability and then put pressure on your PMO to assign a claim manager.
Some insurance companies are accepting independent engineer reports for building damage, and quantity surveyors for repair costs – it is worth asking.
Once all of this has been you need to make a very important decision.
You have the option of letting the PMO manage the repairs, or you can opt out and manage it yourself (take a cash payout).
If your house is a complete demolition and rebuild, you can also build it on another site.
The main advantage of letting the PMO manage the repairs is that you’re not fixed to their estimate of costs – if other problems are found, then they will be fixed at no cost to yourselves.
If you opt out, then you only have the agreed amount estimated to work with – if this is based on a full demolition, then you do get the flexibility of using that money on a completely different design if you like.
There are a few points crucial points that you need to take care over. If these points aren’t ensured to be correct, then you may end up losing money / having legal issues / being unable to sell.
1. Make sure that any work the Fletchers Construction builders are doing is what your insurance company has authorised – if they are only authorised to demolish for safety reasons and then protect your building from weather damage – make sure that is all they do.
2. Unless the repair work is just fixing something that was broken, then you’ll require a building consent – for example, if you’re changing your cladding from brick to timber. Check the attached information from the Department of Building and Housing http://www.dbh.govt.nz/UserFiles/File/Publications/Building/Guidance-information/pdf/dbh-guide-for-building-work-consent-not-required.pdf
3. If you can, nominate an architect/architectural designer to act on your behalf with your PMO. This ensures that things progress for you, and when the PMO has finalised their proposal for you, you have a professional to check what they are telling you (you may have to pay for this time personally, but it is money well spent, and may be able to be reimbursed once the building contract is discussed).
4. Ensure your architect/architectural designer has experience on the hills – it is a very specialised environment that we live in, and a lot can go wrong if done without appropriate knowledge.
5. Ask your architect/architectural designer to recommend builders with experience on the hills – these builders will then need to be registered with the PMO so they can complete the work for you.
6. Most of the buildings on the hills are by necessity architecturally designed, so professional fees should be covered by your insurance company – check your policies fine print. This will cover fees for redesigning your current building to today’s standards, but also can cover design fees to design a different building that is the same size and specification level (as determined by your PMO).
7. If you have a set of existing drawings, then that will help the accuracy of the estimate and specification level considerably – the council do have copies of a lot of our houses on their property files.
As I mentioned, I have a list of architects and architectural designers that live in our neighbourhood that have experience designing in this specialised environment – I have no problem with people calling me for help. These designers will have builders that they use on hill projects, so that we can ensure the quality of design and build is up to the standard it needs to be.
There is a lot more information that can be elaborated on, but at this stage since the systems are still evolving.
Greg Young greg@LSARC.co.nz
Car wash in support of Mt Pleasant Squash
St Andrews College Students are required to complete community service to gain their school diploma. Sunday the 22nd and 29th of May, from 11am-4pm. Six students will be holding a carwash in the club car park, and all proceeds will be donated to the Squash Club.
$5.00 per wash.
Get a clean car and support the Squash Club.
Hitching Posts in place of Buses on the Hill
As it will be some time before we have a bus service back on the hill, local resident Derek McCullough has come up with the idea of hitching posts. This system involves identifying a set of stops where locals can pick up other locals and take them to Ferrymead or maybe even to town depending on the people concerned. It also involves picking people back up from Ferrymead and taking them up to whatever part of the hill they want to go. This scheme is still being worked on but for now we need residents who live on Mt Pleasant Road to indicate to us where they think the hitching posts need to be on Mt Pleasant Road. We have a pretty good idea for the other streets. Please email Derek with your suggestions. mcculloughs@clear.net.nz
If you, or someone you know, have experienced new or further damage to your property or contents from the 22 February 2011 earthquake and have not yet made a claim with EQC for that event, please lodge a claim by Monday 23 May 2011 either online at: www.eqc.govt.nz or by ringing 0800 DAMAGE (0800 326 243).
Even if you lodged a claim for the 4 September 2010 earthquake and/or subsequent aftershocks you still need to lodge a new claim with EQC if you have experienced new or further damage from the earthquake on 22 February.
If you have made an EQC claim for your property damage caused by the 22 February earthquake but haven’t told us about damage to contents, contact us on 0800 DAMAGE (0800 326 243) with your EQC claim number to add contents damage to your existing claim.
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Help keep our Flames alive
Our own local restaurant Flames is finding business tough post-eathquake. The closure of Soleares Ave has had a real impact and now the temporary closure of McCormacks Bay too. We have already lost our local dairy and café so let’s try to keep Flames alive by giving it our local support. See the pdf attached for their great midweek specials.
URGENT NOTICE due to roadworks in McCormacks Bay road the market is temporarily relocating to Redcliff’s New World Site for Saturday 14th May 2011. Enquiries to Tom Davies 027 600 7779
EQC payout?
A local resident would like to know “of anyone (particularly on Mt P) who has been paid out the over $100K for the February quake. There seem to be a large number of residents with confirmed uninhabitable homes who were supposed to be the priority, but still we wait…. all info appreciated, you can email me on:” bjollynz@hotmail.com
A one-day event to re-imagine Christchurch as a world leading city of the 21st century, exploring key issues of vision, leadership, consultation, action, and bringing together a broad range of key local and national participants and decision makers Former Mayor of San Francisco, Art Agnos, is to speak at the event. Agnos was Mayor during the 1989 San Francisco earthquake and the city’s rebuild www.tedxeqchch.com
The Rise Up Christchurch Telethon – Sunday 22 May
Three months on from the 22 February earthquake, at the CBS Arena a 12-hour global telethon to raise money for Christchurch. To be broadcast by Maori Television from studios in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. A chance for everyone to get together, fundraise and have a bit of fun.
Accommodation Mt Pleasant
Is there a family that still needs accommodation in the community? We have a 4 bedroom house for rent off Cannon Hill. It’s got 6 heat pumps and, apart from some gib cracks IS UNDAMAGED! It is just two minutes’ walk to Mt Pleasant school, beautiful large garden overlooking Heathcote valley and across the Plain to the Alps. See Branton Kenton-Dau -Mt Pleasant Community on Facebook
Warmer Homes this winter
The Canterbury CEA is keen to support people trying to make their homes warmer while you wait for Fletchers & EQC to do their bit. They are keen to hear about your ideas so do send them your pictures of your creative draught stopping results and they will put the best up on their face book page. Meanwhile, check out http://energyadvice.org.nz/?page_id=22
Handy earthquake information websites
1. EQC frequently asked questions page
http://canterbury.eqc.govt.nz/faq
2. You can get the latest geo-tech info emailed directly to you by emailing: porthillsgeotech@ccc.govt.nz and asking to go on their residents email list.
3. CERA has its own Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/CanterburyEarthquakeRecoveryAuthority
4. Institute of Engineers article on why buildings respond the way they do in earthquakes
http://www.ipenz.org.nz/ipenz/forms/pdfs/ChchFactSheets-BuildingsRepsonsdDifferently.pdf
5. Looking for a job? Check out job matcher
http://canterbury.careers.govt.nz/
6. Rates reductions can be applied for up to 40% if home to be demolished. For criteria and app forms go to this link.
Earthquake rates relief – Rates and valuations – Christchurch City Council
Christchurch City Council has agreed a rates relief package for property owners worst affected by the September 4 earthquake and aftershocks.
7. Parks and Waterways Able to be Used
http://www.ccc.govt.nz/cityleisure/parkswalkways/index.aspx>
http://www.ccc.govt.nz/cityleisure/parkswalkways/index.aspx
8. For something different to do
http://glenfalloch-station.co.nz/ESCAPE_THE_CITY.php
Knitting Wool Wanted
A group of three keen and dedicated Christchurch women are knitting, sewing and crocheting blankets, bed socks, and other winter woollies for those in the eastern suburbs who are going to find it hard to keep warm over winter with little or no forms of heating. They are working very hard and have had some fabulous donations and offers of help, but they are running short on wool for knitting with.Can anybody help with donating wool so they can keep up the good work? The women can pick it up if that suits. Contact: Lyne Tinkler, phone 386 3010 or 021 038 1918.email address: winterwarmers@hotmail.co.nz
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>Community Update 4 May 2011
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Mt Pleasant Community Update 4 April 2011
Interesting Public Presentation on what is happening to Our Estuary
The Ihutai Trust is hosting speakers Dr Lesley Bolton-Ritchie and Michele Stevenson from Environment Canterbury to present two pieces of work currently being carried out on the Estuary at present.
1. Change in water quality in the Estuary upon the 2010 cessation of wastewater discharge to the estuary.
2. The earthquake’s effect on the ecology and public health status of the city’s rivers and the estuary – including the implications for recreational water use, the rebuild of city infrastructure and on-going wastewater and industrial wastewater discharges.
Tuesday May 10, 7.30pm at Redcliffs Bowling Club 11 James Street, Redcliffs. Gold coin donation appreciated.
Local EQC problem solved
Problem: On two separate occasions soon after the 22 Feb earthquake, EQC triage assessors verbally informed a resident that EQC would not cover a retaining wall that was part of a driveway.
Solution: The statements made were found to be incorrect as confirmed by more senior EQC staff at a later date. EQC cover retaining walls to an indemnity value where a wall supports or protects the main access way and are within 60 metres of relevant buildings. EQC do not however cover the ‘driveway’ which is taken to be the covering (eg. asphalt) of a main access way. Assessment of such land damage forms part of the EQC ‘Land Damage Assessments’ that are now underway. Assessment of driveway damage should be referred to private insurers.
MPMCCRAI nominations for CERA
At the monthly Residents’ Association meeting this week three committee members names were put forward as nominees for community representatives to CERA. They were Jocelyn Papprill, Tom Davies and Linda Rutland.
Portaloos and discharges to the Estuary
The Association has not received any recent advice as to the status of the use of portaloos and therefore our assumption is that we are still asked to use them wherever possible.
Become a member of your Community Association
Our
Community expo to start sharing
29 April 2011
Christchurch residents are being asked to start sharing their ideas for the redevelopment of Christchurch’s earthquake-damaged Central City at a community expo next month
At the CBS Arena on Saturday 14 May and Sunday 15 May, the community expo is one of the first opportunities for the Greater Christchurch community to start sharing their ideas about how thay want their Central City to develop during the next 10 to 20 years.
Mayor Bob Parker says he encourages all residents to take part in the weekend
“We need everyone’s ideas if we are to create a Central City where people want to live, work and play. The economic and social success of Christchurch relies on us having a vibrant and prosperous Central City, and we can only have that if everyone shares their ideas.
“There will be lots of different views and opinions, and not all ideas will be able to be implemented, but if we are to re-create a strong Central City where residents want to spend their time, tourists want to visit and businesses want to invest, we need to know everyone’s ideas and thoughts,” he says.
“From this wealth of ideas, we will develop the draft Central City Plan to reflect our community’s vision for their Central City.”
Following the Community Expo, a range of a stakeholder workshops, panel discussions, focus groups and social media events will be organised to keep conversations going during the next two months and everyone sharing even more ideas, Mr Parker says.
The community has until the end of June to share their ideas before the draft Central City Plan is written, and in line with Government legislation, is released for formal public consultation. During this phase, he says the public will be asked to comment on the content of the Plan, through submissions and taking part in Council hearings.
The Central City Plan will be presented to the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) in December for sign off.
The community expo is on Saturday 14 May and Sunday 15 May from 10am to 5pm at the CBS Arena.
Local Businesses Bargains
AJI – CHOCOLATERIA & INTERNATIONAL GROCERY -MOTHER’S DAY SALE
In continuation of a very successful Easter SALE, we will be having a Mother’s Day SALE this Saturday – 10.30 till 3pm, and Sunday 11 till 2.30 at the Mt Pleasant Shop; 189 Mt Pleasant Rd.
Join our Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mt-Pleasant-community-Christchurch/118824294860099
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