A bumper Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) meeting covering user fees and charges, tree and fraud policies and Project Manawa will take place this afternoon (Thursday April 4).

Councillors will decide whether or not to approve a wide range of price increases for use for council’s facilities and services, from swimming lessons to court hire and Food Act audit fees.

Many of these increases fall well under the annual inflation rate, with swimming lessons ranging from no change up to a 4.8 percent increase depending on the group and most other pool fee categories due to increase by no more than four percent.

Last year the council backpedalled on proposed fee increases of up to 73.9 percent at the pool (for swim lanes) after pushback from the public. 

Other Wānaka Recreation Centre fees like courts, meeting rooms and stadium hire will increase by less than 4.2 percent under the proposal going to councillors today.

At the Lake Wānaka Centre, Luggate Memorial Centre and Hāwea Flat Hall, proposed increases are also no more than four percent in most cases for use of the kitchen, meeting room, venues and the like.

At the opposite end, a proposal to increase mooring fees by up to 357 percent is likely to receive pushback, with deputy mayor Quentin Smith saying he will not support the increase at today’s meeting.

Read more: Frustration over moorings; fees may more than double

Other agenda items councillors will consider at today’s meeting include an updated tree policy (which includes more detail on topping trees and why it is prohibited as well more detail on what constitutes a ‘significant tree’) and an updated fraud policy (which has been expanded to include a fraud control plan, broadened scope, and a revised definition of fraud).

Queenstown-centred items will include a hearings panel report on Project Manawa (a new council office building and civic centre billed for Queenstown CBD) and a decision on whether or not to extend by 15 years the lease for the Kiwi Birdlife Park in Queenstown.

There are also two publicly excluded items.

Today’s QLDC full council meeting will take place at 2pm at the council chambers in Queenstown.

PHOTO: Supplied