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The local board hopes that our town centres will benefit from a change in contracts, which will see some of the cleaning and maintenance work taken out of Auckland Transport (AT) and Waste Solutions’ hands.
Starting next year, contracts for town centre cleaning, bin emptying and loose litter collection as well as berm maintenance (public land), will be transferred to contractors working for Auckland Council’s community facilities department.
AT has been told to upgrade assets that are in poor repair before the transfer takes place.
The Hibiscus & Bays Local Board welcomes the move, which is designed to deliver value to ratepayers by integrating services with the existing Council contract for parks and open spaces, currently held by Ventia.
“It breaks down the demarcation lines,” Hibiscus & Bays Local Board chair Julia Parfitt says. “So if a Ventia person goes to a park, they are responsible for everything and don’t ignore overflowing rubbish bins.”
Council’s head of contracts and supplier management, Heidi Walkley, says another aim is to deliver consistent service levels across Auckland. She says as part of the change, Council will engage with local boards on weed management methods and see where new innovations can be utilised.
Despite its focus on value, the change looks likely to cost more. A report presented to the local board last month says that: “there is a strong likelihood that due to the improved service standards, the current budgets… will not be sufficient”.
At the meeting, the local board was asked to highlight its “top 10 local issues” with maintenance of the streetscape. These included overgrown weeds in Rawhiti Road, Manly; weeding around trees in Main Street Whangaparaoa; plants not being maintained on Orewa Boulevard and also overgrown plants on the path from Silverdale Village that goes under Hibiscus Coast Highway. Also noted was the fact that bike racks installed in Silverdale Village in mid-June are crooked and the surrounding area has been left messy.
