COVID-19 Update – Tuesday 24 March 2020
Released: 24 March 2020, 4.30pm
Due to COVID-19 alert level 3 and pending move to alert level 4, Council has closed all its community facilities until further notice. This includes libraries, pools, community halls, The Plaza, events centre, the Tīrau i-SITE, playgrounds, skateparks, reserves and public toilets (except the afterhours toilet at the Dog in Tīrau and the Dunhams Park toilet in Tokoroa).
Playgrounds and skateparks contain hard surfaces that cannot be maintained to hygienic standards. Our community is advised not to use these facilities.
Reserve toilets and showers are closed and won’t be cleaned or maintained. While reserves are not locked, they are closed to the public.
Council offices in Tokoroa and Putāruru are open until 1pm on Wednesday 25 March.
The Urban Connector will stop on Wednesday 25 March, but a three time a week service from Mangakino to Tokoroa will continue.
“Critical Council services will continue. Our priorities are water supply, stormwater, wastewater, waste management, animal control and pound operations, along with our Emergency Management function,” said Ben Smit, Council’s Chief Executive.
“Please be assured that our team will be removing your urban household collection on your normal day. Additional skip bins will be available at the two rural drop off zones for our rural community,” he continued.
The Tokoroa landfill and Putāruru Transfer Station will however be closed to the public.
“We ask our community to be mindful of waste, use the household service responsibly and be kind to the team on the ground,” continued Mr Smit.
Council is available online and over the phone. Our staff are being deployed into critical service delivery areas and into our Emergency Management function.
We are rostering staff on our main line 07 885 0340. You can visit our website or use our council-app Antenno to log a request.
Mayor Jenny Shattock asks our community to please stay at home to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“As your Mayor, I can’t stress this enough – please stay at home unless you need an essential service. If you do need an essential service please follow the Ministry of Health’s guidelines regarding hygiene. If we all stay home as much as possible, we have a chance to slow the spread. It is up to us all to play our part,” said Mayor Jenny Shattock.
“Please also stay calm. There is no need to panic buy as essential services including supermarkets and pharmacies will stay open. Shop as normal so our supermarkets can cope with demand. Please be kind to the wonderful check-out staff who are doing our community an incredible service.”
“This is an unprecedented, uncertain and challenging time for everyone and we need to ensure we are looking out for each other. Keep an eye on your neighbours, whanau and friends,” continued Mayor Shattock. “Be safe. Stay home. Let’s all do our bit and beat this together.”
To stay up to date with COVID-19, please visit www.Covid19.govt.nz. This website is updated regularly and is a reliable source of information.
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View Mayor Jenny's announcement here
