March 14 2005

Friendly face of Council appointed at Piha

Public calls for a Council presence at Piha have been answered.

Piha lifeguard Geoff Calvert has been confirmed as Piha’s Park Ranger following a one month trial over the Christmas period.

Mr Calvert is warranted under the Reserves Act 1997 to carry out a custodial role at Piha.

He has the authority to interfere to prevent an offence happening on a Piha reserve and to ask a member of the public for his/her name and address in regards to an offence being committed. He does not issue infringement notices, but is in a largely advisory capacity regarding Council bylaws.

“I am pleased that Geoff Calvert has been confirmed as the friendly face of Council. It takes a particular sort of temperament to do this type of work and we believe he has already proved that he can promote the Council in a positive manner and handle the custodial part of the job,” says Waitakere Community Board Chair Christine Shepherd.

“The Council ranger’s duties will be complementary to those of the ARC Ranger. Andy Peterson deals with the far north and south end of Piha,” she says.

The Waitakere Community Board and Piha Residents and Ratepayers’ Association have been submitting to Council for last three years through the Annual Plan process for a dedicated ranger at Piha. The appointment of a park ranger was asked for at a public meeting following the disappearance in November of Iraena Asher as one of the strategies to make the community safer.

“Geoff is not here to fix things, but he will keep an eye on what’s happening. For example, he has already monitored film crews to ensure conditions of approval are met and answered many questions about the current dog exercise by laws,” says Mrs Shepherd.

Piha Park Ranger Geoff Calvert is on duty at weekends and public holidays from 12 noon. Requests for service can be made through the Council’s Call Centre, ph 839-0400.

ENDS

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