Community amenities grants announced

The purchase of floodlighting equipment for every fire appliance in the Eastern Bay of Plenty is being hailed as a huge safety improvement for fire-fighters and members of the public at emergency scenes.

The Opotiki Volunteer Fire Brigade has received just over $42,000 from the Eastern Bay Energy Trust on behalf of the area’s 12 volunteer brigades, which cover from Waihau Bay to Matata, Murupara and Kaingaroa.

New Zealand Fire Service Volunteer Support Officer Garth Sunckell says the new battery-powered lighting will improve set-up times at emergency scenes, speed up rescues at motor vehicle accidents and help identify hazards. “The new lights will also allow specialist fire investigators to do their jobs more efficiently,” Mr Sunckell says.

Public safety was also a feature of two further grants announced recently from the Eastern Bay Energy Trust’s Community Amenities Fund, which supports largely Council initiatives that provide a significant benefit to the wider community. In the current financial year, the Community Amenities Fund has a total grant pool of $400,000.

Opotiki District Council received $23,670 towards providing a 24-hour power supply to the poles where CCTV cameras are located in the Opotiki CBD.

Opotiki District Council Finance and Corporate Services Manager Bevan Gray says that for some time Police and shop owners have been asking for improvements to CCTV coverage, in a bid to prevent crime and vandalism. 

Mr Gray says improved CBD security and safety isn’t the only positive outcome of the CCTV upgrade. “The new power supply system to the poles will also enable Council to provide free wifi for visitors and also form the backbone of a high speed wireless network to the community, which is currently struggling with slow internet speed.”

Opotiki District Council received a further $12,106.75 towards the upgrade of the power supply for the Opotiki Showgrounds.

Opotiki District Council Community Facilities Manager Mike Houghton says the showgrounds is used regularly for a range of community and sporting events and the grant will be used to install a new power distribution pillar to replace the current power supply which is unreliable and unsafe.