COVID-19 continues to impact Council facilities and services

Kāpiti Coast District Council is continuing to make temporary changes across its community facilities as Omicron lingers in the community.  

From this Sunday, 5 June, the Ōtaki Pool will be temporarily closed on Sundays and reduced weekend hours will remain at the Coastlands Aquatic Centre due to ongoing challenges with staff availability for at least the next four weeks.   

Acting Chief Executive Sean Mallon says the Council team is being as agile as it can but its ability to keep the doors open is compromised at times by staff needing to isolate at home.  

“We’ve always been very upfront with our community about the need to operate some of our facilities and services differently as we continue to navigate the pandemic,” Mr Mallon said. 

“We had hoped, like everyone else, that we would be out the other end of this pandemic by now but it’s becoming clear as we look overseas that COVID-19 has a long tail. 

“Making sure we can keep our facilities open and provide continuity of service to the Kāpiti Coast community is important to us and we are very grateful for the patience and support our community continues to extend to our staff.”  

Mr Mallon said libraries and services centres are operating normally for the most part. 

“We’ve had the odd occasion where we’ve been forced to close our Waikanae Library and Service Centre and Paekākāriki Library at short notice due to staff availability but this has been the exception.”  

The Council regularly updates its website kapiticoast.govt.nz and uses its Council, Kāpiti Coast District Libraries, Ōtaki Pool and Coastlands Aquatic Centre Facebook pages and Antenno to communicate changes to its services and facilities. 

“While we do what we can to keep our community informed of any changes to our services and facilities, we acknowledge that there are times where people’s expectations are not met.   

“If you’re unsure about our facilities opening hours or availability of Council services, please give us a call on 0800 486 486, our people are more than happy to help,” Mr Mallon said.