Council is working closely with police and local retailers to ensure the city's Ward Street remains an enjoyable and friendly part of the CBD. Recently, there have been some instances of antisocial behaviour from youths who gather in Ward Street. Patrons of retail outlets in the area, passers-by and other members of the public have found some behaviour to be intimidating. General manager env... more...

Community Services Group has appointed Elton Parata as the new manager of swimming facilities within the Leisure Facilities Unit. Elton, who is currently the facility co-ordinator for Gallagher Aquatic Centre, will assume the swimming facilities manager role on Monday, 27 September. Leisure facilities manager Jason Rogers says Elton measured up extremely well against strong candidates for t... more...

Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park hosted its first planting on 19 September and Minister of Conservation Chris Carter planted the first tree. Mr Carter's kahikatea was one of 540 natives planted on the day. The inaugural planting placed locally sourced plants typical of Waikato wetlands into Waiwhakareke soil. These included kahikatea, harakeke (flax), swamp manuka, purei and pukio (sw... more...

The sudden death of two of Hamilton Zoo's otters has heightened awareness of a mystery illness which has claimed the lives of many otters across the country. Massey University has been engaged to carry out post mortems on both otters who died of a disease which has led to a number of similar deaths in other New Zealand institutions that keep otters. Massey has been involved in the post mortem... more...

Replacement candidate profile booklets delivered 21 September 2004 For Immediate ReleaseThe Hamilton Electoral Office is delivering replacement candidate profile booklets to areas in the city which have been identified as receiving the wrong supporting information.Hamilton Electoral Officer Blair Bowcott says seven small pockets within the city have been identified with the wrong booklets. "In... more...

The sudden death of two of Hamilton Zoo's otters has heightened awareness of a mystery illness which has claimed the lives of many otters across the country. Massey University has been engaged to carry out post mortems on both otters who died of a disease which has led to a number of similar deaths in other New Zealand institutions that keep otters. Massey has been involved in the post mortem ex... more...

Tally of incorrect booklets fewer than first thought 20 September 2004 For Immediate Release An investigation into a sorting error that saw the wrong candidate profile booklets delivered to some households in the East Ward has found a smaller number of incorrect booklet deliveries than first thought. Hamilton Electoral Officer for the local body elections, Blair Bowcott, say originally it was ... more...

Small number of voters receive wrong information booklet 19 September 2004 For Immediate Release A document sorting error has caused what is believed to be a small number of voters in Hamilton to be delivered the wrong candidate information booklet with their voting papers.Hamilton electoral officer, Blair Bowcott, says while everyone has been issued with the correct voting papers, at this sta... more...

Hamilton City Council wins excellence award 15 September 2004 For Immediate Release The Hamilton City Council organisation has won a Performance Excellence Study Award recognising business excellence.The Awards are jointly sponsored by the Government and the private sector to help foster the use of performance excellence criteria in all New Zealand organisations.The Award was made in Wellingto... more...

The figurative lighting of a Chinese lantern is set to take place when the Chinese Cultural Day celebration is held at the Waikato Museum of Art and History this Saturday. This celebratory day, which honours Chinese culture, was organised when the Chinese poll tax exhibition opened at the museum in late July. Responding to the resounding community interest in the exhibition, the museum ... more...

The Keep Hamilton Beautiful City Garden competition returns for 2004, bringing with it a chance for gardeners to home a gnome in their flora fairyland. The competition runs between August and November and has become an established feature on the city's gardening calendar. Amongst the wide variety of competition categories, this year brings a touch of magic with a gnome theme running thr... more...

Commissioning of new water supply bulkmain Wednesday 8 September 2004 For Immediate ReleaseA new 600mm diameter bulkmain recently installed between Hamilton Gardens and the Dey Street/Cambridge Road intersection will be commissioned on Thursday 9 September.Water and waste services projects operations engineer Phil O'Connor says some discolouration of the water may be experienced when the commiss... more...

Council's swimming facilities are diving headfirst into a water safety initiative centred on encouraging children to become more confident in the water. Leisure facilities manager Jason Rogers explains that a special offer to be run over the school holiday period aims to teach children the key skills required to participate in water activities, particularly over the summer period. "This ... more...

Comprehensive candidate information on the website 9 September 2004 For Immediate Release Hamilton City Council's website www.hcc.govt.nz has been updated with comprehensive information for the upcoming local body elections. There are 53 candidates standing for the three Council wards and the Mayoralty and each of these candidates has a 150-word profile, written by them, on the website. Hamilt... more...

Hamilton's Central Library is developing and consolidating its heritage resources as part of its commitment to better customer service and resource accessibility. The library's archive storage area has been upgraded and refurbished while a new special purpose reading room has recently been opened on Level 3. A New Zealand Film Archive video collection is set to open in November. The developm... more...

Hamilton opens books of condolence 8 September 2004 For Immediate Release Two books to record messages of condolence have been opened in Hamilton to allow people to pay their respects to the victims of Beslan hostage siege in Russia. The books will be available for signing from this morning through until Friday afternoon/evening. One of the books will be available outside the ground floor rece... more...

Annual Residents Survey shows high level of satisfaction for Hamilton as a place to live 2 September 2004 For Immediate Release A comprehensive survey of Hamilton residents shows that 82 percent of people feel that Hamilton has become a better place to live over the past 12 months. The telephone survey of 700 Hamilton residents was carried out by International Research Consultants and DigiPoll... more...