Whangamatā park lighting fix leads to $45k request

Friday, 19 June 2026

A $45,000 lighting fix at a waterfront park in Whangamatā is done, and now council staff want to use a special fund to pay for it.

Initially it was thought “several light bulbs required replacing” at Williamson Park but it turned into a bigger project totalling $44,727.32, a report to the Whangamatā Community Board says.

One local representative called the cost “another kick”, but the board voted unanimously to recommend it be paid for using the Whangamatā Special Reserve – Land Subdivision fund. That decision will go through Thames-Coromandel District Council for final approval.

Work on the lights was done quickly to make sure the key community facility was set for the peak summer period, it says.

But an under-pressure parks budget would be blown if it had to cover all the costs, so manager Derek Thompson asked for approval to use money from the reserve fund, which he said was “built up over the years through subdivision contributions”.

“It will have no negative impact on rates,” he told board members at their June meeting.

Board member Terry Walker questioned how the project had grown.

“Little bit concerning really that this started off just being an upgrade and ended up being a full refurbishment,” he said.

Staff went in knowing “several light bulbs” would need to be replaced, a report from Thompson said.

Upon further inspection they found some lighting units could be repaired, but some light heads would need a full replacement “to avoid ongoing failures”.

“The work enhances safety and usability of the area, particularly during evening hours, and supports increased community use.”

The parks budgets are particularly tight this financial year because of work on a Port Road toilet rebuild, which meant some funds were no longer available this year and other budgets were under extra pressure.

As such, the operational parks activity budget was heading for a $9000 overspend if it had to cover the lighting project. However, if the special fund could pay for it instead, the budget would be about $35,000 underspent.

Walker acknowledged it was tough but said the funding for lighting was “a bigger number than we thought”.

“And after contributing to the toilets, because we lost that money, this is another kick.”

He wanted to make sure enough money would be left in the Whangamatā Special Reserve – Land Subdivision fund for future projects, including upgrades to the stage and public toilets.

The reserve held about $489,694 after an earlier allocation for an Onemana basketball half-court project. Approval of the Williamson Park request would reduce that balance to about $444,966, a report said.