Strath Taieri Community Board
MINUTES
Minutes of an ordinary meeting of the Strath Taieri Community Board held in the Strath Taieri Community Centre, Middlemarch on Wednesday 03 June 2026, commencing at 1:00 p.m.
PRESENT
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Chairperson |
Terina Geddes |
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Deputy Chairperson |
Ken Bain
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Members |
Donna Hall via zoom audio visual link |
Quentin MacLeod |
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Robin Thomas |
Cr Brent Weatherall |
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IN ATTENDANCE |
Anna Johnson (Group Manager City Development). |
Governance Support Officer Lynne Adamson
1.1 Barry Williams
Mr Williams tabled and spoke to letters he had sent to the Otago Regional Council Chief Executive on the paddock he owned below the railway line that had a flood gate manually operated and an overflow channel to take excess water away from Mold Street and to the Chief Executive of the Dunedin City Council on the Mold Street flooding; 2 culverts on Browns Road; Trees on Cardigan Street, the train to Middlemarch; the suspension bridge.
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Moved (Terina Geddes/Cr Brent Weatherall): That the Board: Confirms the agenda without addition or alteration.
Motion carried (STCB/2026/025) |
Members were reminded of the need to stand aside from decision-making when a conflict arose between their role as an elected representative and any private or other external interest they might have.
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Moved (Chairperson Terina Geddes/Cr Brent Weatherall): That the Board:
a) Notes the Elected Members' Interest Register; and b) Confirms the proposed management plan for Elected Members' Interests. Motion carried (STCB/2026/026) |
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Moved (Terina Geddes/Cr Brent Weatherall): That the Board: a) Confirms the public part of the minutes of the Strath Taieri Community Board meeting held on 15 April 2026 as a correct record. Motion carried (STCB/2026/027) |
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The Group Manager Parks and Recreation (Heath Ellis), Parks Planning Manager (John Brenkley) and Senior Parks and Recreation Planner (Elizabeth Schonwald) provided an update on the planned upgrade of the Middlemarch Playground.
They advised that the location was unable to be moved due to the playground being a renewal and not a new build and commented that they had met members of the community including local school pupils and took back their concerns and wishes. They tabled pictures local school children had provided for their vision of the proposed upgrade and noted that between these and community meetings held, this had generated a list of priorities for the upgrade.
The team responded to questions and commented that the next steps would be to meet with stakeholder group representatives and talk through the ideas. It was agreed that Terina Geddes would be the Community Board Representative for the project.
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Moved (Robin Thomas/Terina Geddes): That the Board: a) Notes the update. Motion carried (STCB/2026/028) |
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Tom Dyer, Otago Regional Council) spoke to the tabled River Management Update and responded to questions.
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Moved (Terina Geddes/Quentin MacLeod): That the Board: a) Notes the Otago Regional Council update. Motion carried (STCB/2026/029) |
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A report from Civic provided an update on activities relevant to the Board area including: · Project Fund · Report Back · Funding Application Form · Strath Taieri Community Board submission to the Dunedin City Council Annual Plan 2026/27 · Currently consulting on · Roadworks Schedule · Dunedin City Council Updates |
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Moved (Terina Geddes/Donna Hall): That the Board:
a) Notes the Governance Support Officer’s Report. b) Ratifies the Strath Taieri Community Board submission to the Dunedin City Council Annual Plan 2026-27. Motion carried (STCB/2026/030) |
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Robin Thomas and Donna Hall withdrew from this item. There was one funding application for consideration by the Board. The Strath Taieri Historical Society has requested $3,734.00 towards the painting of railway carriages housed at the Middlemarch Museum. It was noted that there was $2,600 remaining in the project fund and questioned on how the additional money would be funded, Donna Hall advised that as owners of the Strath Taieri Hotel, she and Jim McDougall would pay the shortfall up to $3,734.00. |
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Moved (Terina Geddes/Cr Brent Weatherall): That the Board:
a) Approves $2,600 funding to the Strath Taieri Historical Society towards the painting of railway carriages housed at the Middlemarch Museum. Motion carried (STCB/2026/031) |
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The draft Community Board Plan with the updated priority list with updates provided by the Board, was presented for adoption. |
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Moved (Terina Geddes/Robin Thomas): That the Board:
a) Adopts the Strath Taieri Community Board Community Plan. Motion carried (STCB/2026/032) |
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The Board will provide updates on activities of interest including: - Cavalcade – Robin Thomas spoke of the success of the Cavalcade and wondered about commending the Cavalcade Committee on the Board Facebook page. Terina Geddes confirmed she had included gratitude in the last FYI of which she wrote the Community Board section. - Hyde – Quentin MacLeod advised that the Hyde Hall painting had been completed and it looked great. - Petition for Speed Limit Changes in Hyde and Middlemarch – Quentin MacLeod spoke about the petition for the speed limit changes and queried the timing of this. It was discussed and agreed that it would be progressed immediately and that he would reach out to the community and include rail trail operators in signing and promotion of the petition. - Rail Trail – Donna Hall was due to attend a meeting on the rail trail and would report back to the next meeting. - Pest Management – Ken Bain and Quentin MacLeod provided an update on Pest Management in the area.
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Moved (Terina Geddes/Quentin MacLeod): That the Board:
a) Notes the Board updates. Motion carried (STCB/2026/033) |
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The Chairperson will provide a verbal update on matters of interest since the last meeting including: - The ANZAC Day Parade – Ms Geddes provided an update on the Middlemarch ANZAC Day Parade. She advised that it had been well supported with a speaker and members of the NZ Army attending. - Dunedin City Council Annual Plan – Ms Geddes advised that she had attended the recent DCC Annual Plan hearing and presented priorities on behalf of the Board. - Meeting – Ms Geddes advised that there was a meeting with the Mayor, Board Chairs and Senior Staff scheduled for July. - Transport – Ms Geddes raised frustrations with Whitestone weed spraying at times when the weather was not conducive to this work being undertaken and questioned the waste of time and money this caused. She commented on road maintenance and the need to have blocked culverts cleared. Ms Geddes advised that she would contact Waka Kotahi to request more regular gritting of SH87 given there had been 1 reported crash and 2 near misses lately. |
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Moved (Quentin MacLeod/Ken Bain): That the Board:
a) Notes the Chairperson’s report. Motion carried (STCB/2026/034) |
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Councillor Brent Weatherall provided an update on items of interest which included: - 231 Stuart Street – The Council would seek proposals from prospective buyers of the property at 231 Stuart Street – formerly known as the Fortune Theatre commencing in July 2026. - Cr Weatherall spoke of the Chair’s presentation to the DCC Annual Plan and praised Ms Geddes for her clear concise presentation. - Cr Weatherall explained the proposed rates increase and responded to questions. |
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Moved (Terina Geddes/Robin Thomas): That the Board:
a) Notes the Councillor Update. Motion carried (STCB/2026/035) |
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The concerns raised by Mr Williams in the Public Forum were noted for follow up.
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The meeting closed at 2.36 pm.
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CHAIRPERSON