Small Bins Removed From Recycling Plan

The Dunedin City Council has decided on it's new recycling service. (ODT report here). But there will be no choice of a small bin.
In the consultation, the preferred Option C had a choice including a 40 litre, lidded, stacker bin especially for smaller properties or those with steps.
The smaller bins were an essential part of Option C: they catered for residents without much space, or with steps. Without them many people, including myself, would not have supported this option.
And why was this change in the Option which was consulted on, not mentioned in the Council press release? With this kind of omission, it can be fairly described as propaganda. Especially when it was praised as a good deal, when a significant amount would have been saved by the unmentioned reduction in choice.
This may well turn into yet another Council bungle.

Response from Councillor Andrew Noone:

The Councils preferred option was as you describe during the Annual Plan process, however when tenders were sought we asked contractors to provide options for the enhanced service.

Of the four conforming tenders none were prepared to provide the lidded/stacker bin for a reasonable price for these reasons:

1) lidded stacker bins are not robust enough for mechanical pick up, there seemed to be a problem with the lids hinge and the handles. This was news to the Council. Several were broken when contractors tested them.

2) the industry have far higher standards re health and safety these days and are moving towards using only left hand drive vehicle/single operation, so the driver is the only person in the vehicle, hence mechanical pickup.

3) the wheelie bins have a 12 year guarantee, contract is for 7 years. The lidded stacker bins had a much shorter life, sorry cannot recall length of guarantee.

4) the media were told about the reasons for the change but did not include those reasons in the article.

If individuals are physically unable to wheel bins to the kerbside then arrangements can be made with the contractor by providing a medical certificate for a back door service.

Update:
The ODT now has this story.

Gallery Tiff Over Arts Map Exclusion

The Dunedin City Council has been embarrassed by a bungle in which public money funded an Arts Map from which some Galleries were excluded. (ODT report here).
The Map is going to have to be re-printed. I wonder who will bear the cost of this?
That this has been allowed to happen shows slack management. Dunedin City Council community arts adviser Cara Paterson appears to have responsibility in this area.

$3.3 Million Blowout In Old Gasworks Costs

A Dunedin City Council report shows a $3.3 million blowout in the cost of restoring the old Gasworks. An extra $345,000 is required this year and an extra $1 million in 2012/2013 and 2013/2014. This follows a regular pattern in DCC projects where approval is gained by claiming only a relatively small amount of money will be required, and then "unexpectedly" finding that costs are much greater.
Councilor Michael Guest is not impressed and said that:

someone's head should roll

This comment is ironic considering that Guest is a strong Stadium supporter, and the same thing could be said about that project.
In a private business, those responsible for bungles such as this, are not going to remain in their jobs for very long. But Council staff never seem to be held accountable. Perhaps from the Council's point-of-view, it is actually successful empire-building.

$9 Million Blowout In Cost Of Stadium Bypass

The cost to move the highway around the new Stadium has increased by over $9 million, to almost $25 million. This includes increases in the cost of both construction and land. Taking into account a previous increase, the cost of land for the Stadium is $10 million over budget. It is some consolation to the City, that 2/3 of the cost will be paid by the New Zealand Transport Agency.

Dunedin city councillor Andrew Noone yesterday said the change to the district plan that turned land at the area from an industrial to a stadium/campus zone had an effect on negotiations, and an impact on the value of land.

Duh! The Council rezoned the area to benefit property speculators, and it ends up costing ratepayers millions more dollars?

Using the Public Works Act to require land owners to sell would have been the ideal situation, he said, but the timing of the stadium and realignment meant that had not been possible.

This is just bad planning, due to the rush to build the Stadium.

Independent Report On Parking Debacle.

The Dunedin City has called for an independent report on the bungled Parking changes. Deputy Mayor Syd Brown said "common sense" should have been applied to the changes before their release.
It does not need an independent report to tell us that the Parking shambles was due to the poor performance of Council staff for which DCC chief executive, Jim Harland, is ultimately responsible.
It is probably too much to expect the report to provide any accountability, which is sadly lacking in government organisations, both local and national, in New Zealand. As an example, no staff were held to account for the slack management in the Otago District Health Board which allowed the multi-million dollar Swann fraud.
As a further insult to ratepayers, they will presumably have to pay for this extra report.

The ODT has now written an editorial on this issue, "DCC Common Sense".

Backdown on Harbourside Bungle

The Dunedin City Council has decided to withdraw Stage 2 of its planned Harbourside development because of the concerns raised by local businesses. This uncharacteristic change of direction may be because an election is not far away.
This is a blow to DCC chief executive Jim Harland's vision for a Harbourside "Venice of the South".
But it didn't seem to be happening anyway: private enterprise wasn't rushing to follow the DCC investment. Handicaps of the area include the separation from the city caused by the railway corridor, and the windy and cool weather that the area is notorious for (I know because I have worked there for the last ten years).
Contrast this with the development at the St Clair Esplanade which has a much better climate, where cafes and restaurants are thriving.
The other loser is the Otago Regional Council which hoped to profit from it's property speculation in the Harbourside. It has vented it's frustration by cancelling it's membership of the Otago Chamber of Commerce which acted for local business in this matter.
The ODT story is here.