Hamilton's Dog Day Afternoon returns to Innes Common on 3 March for its fifth year to promote positive and responsible dog-ownership in Hamilton. This year's theme is the Adopt a Dog programme that is run by Council's Animal Care Centre. The dog adoption programme provides a mechanism to re-home suitable dogs with responsible dog owners. All adopters receive a complimentary 2kg bag of Nutro Food ... more...

Hamilton Zoo is set to welcome a brand new resident into its giraffe herd on Wednesday [28 February]. Dume, who celebrated his first birthday in January, is being transported by road from his birthplace at Auckland Zoo to Hamilton Zoo. At Auckland Zoo, Dume has been living with his father, Zabulu and his mother, Kay together with an un-related enclosure-mate named Rukiya. Upon relocating to Ham... more...

Release of two significant surveys have returned the highest ever satisfaction levels for Hamilton city and Council across a range of areas. The national Quality of Life Survey (QLS) and the local Residents Survey (RS) show that Hamiltonians enjoy a high quality of life and have high satisfaction with many aspects for their city and Council. The 2006 QLS shows that 91 per cent of respondents say... more...

Council's swimming facilities have successfully registered with Swimming New Zealand as a Quality Swim School (QSS) under the new industry standards launched on 7 February 2007. Waterworld and Gallagher Aquatic Centre join two other swimming establishments in the Waikato Region to achieve the nationally recognised QSS standards set out by Swimming New Zealand. The QSS standards signify the firs... more...

A third destination playground is now open in Hamilton at Tauhara Park as the Potter Children's Playground was officially opened on 13 February. Council jointly funded the playground in conjunction with the Potter Trust administered from the national office of the Freemasons of New Zealand and the WEL Energy Trust. Council also provided public toilets and a car park to serve Tauhara Park. A play... more...

Hamilton City Council CEO Tony Marryatt has resigned his position to take up the CEO job at Christchurch City Council. Mr Marryatt has been chief executive at HCC for more than 11 years and recently had his contract in Hamilton renewed for a further five years. Hamilton mayor Michael Redman says it is naturally disappointing to lose a CEO who has had so much experience working in local governmen... more...

Repainting work on Council's Municipal Building will be carried out during weekends to minimise impact on commuter carparking during February and March. Patrons will experience marginal restrictions on access to three inner-city car parks for designated weekend periods between mid-February and 1 April due to the re-painting project. Parking spaces located within areas in which painting work is un... more...

Council has progressed its commitment to future-proofing the city as a $22 million upgrade of Hamilton's Water Treatment Station is now complete. In 2003 Council commissioned GHD, an independent professional services company, to produce a 20-year plan for the Water Treatment Station. The upgrade is a critical component of the 20-year plan and addresses issues of taste and odour, toxin management ... more...

Funding for one of Access Hamilton’s major projects, Wairere Drive extension, has been approved by the Land Transport New Zealand Board. The funding assistance, 55% of $15.3m, is the largest the city has received for any project to date.   Transport Committee chairman Dave Macpherson says the funding recognises the importance of completing the city’s ring road and the special transportation... more...

A three-month project involving the exterior repainting of Council's Municipal building in Garden Place is scheduled to begin in mid-February. The $435,000 project encompasses the Council tower block, Chamber wing and Community Building that faces onto Caro Street. The works will be delivered over three months and in three stages. Stage one began on 30 January and involves the washing of the Mun... more...

The first blog to be launched from a Hamilton City Council website is now live on Hamilton Libraries website www.hamiltonlibraries.co.nz . This new public blog space is available to all users of the Hamilton Libraries website and will open with the thread: Should Hamilton Libraries have a blog? Hamilton City Libraries director Faye Clark says the key proposition driving the new blog is greater c... more...

  Hamilton City Council has completed its budget meeting for the proposed 2007/2008 financial year and is planning a reduction in rates from what was outlined in the ten year plan adopted last year. Council is proposing an average rates rise of just over half a percent less for the coming year, compared with what was forecast in the ten-year Long Term Plan adopted in 2006. Council is propo... more...