Woza Wanderer: Fendalton Quake Damages. Council's Parker, Marryatt Reckoning

Fendalton, Council Bosses focus. Tuesday 10.09.13. After my belated birthday dinner, while driving Luke & his girlfriend to his Ashgrove Tce flat, our trek was interrupted by a fallen oak across Guildford St. Fallen power-lines swung above my car while I reversed away.

I flicked my headlights warning cars entering Guildford St from Grahams Rd about the fallen oak. There was a lot of northwest gale damage. While I drove across town, I saw many fallen branches on roadsides & roads. I saw scattered rubbish bins & roads-cones. Gale-whipped dust caused murky vision while I drove. The dry norwester caused so much static over Canterbury Plains that I saw yellow sheet-lightning strikes in the sky. That was rare for Canterbury.

On my return to Burnside, close to home I saw two more trees blown down by the norwester: a birch on a Clyde Rd footpath & a birch across Greers Rd which had crushed a red Volvo. Two cop cars with flashing lights blocked Greers Rd access, so I drove the long way round to our Heath St rental. Four fallen, ornamental, apple tree boughs lay on Heath St footpaths near home!

The norwester had whipped open our locked garage doors. Stopping them banging, I secured them with bricks & a barrow & a ladder & a folding- table & a steel-pole & a concrete-block. "Only a quake will open those doors again," I said.

Heath St: Wednesday 11.09.13. Post gale, the next morning our garage was secure, but a bough from our plum tree had fallen behind the garage. Morning news TV: Greers Rd, squashed Volvo.

The Press front page:

MORE THEN 28 000 CANTABRIANS WITHOUT POWER LAST NIGHT.

HURRICANE-FORCE GUSTS OF UP TO 252 KMH RECORDED, GUSTS TO MORE THAN 133 KMH IN CHRISTCHURCH LAST NIGHT...

During recent Fendalton treks, while spring magnolias & azaleas & rhododendrons bloomed, I saw many post-quake constructions & repairs, like newly concreted driveways & fixed chimneys & fixed roofs & electrical jobs & plastering jobs & paint jobs & tree trimmings & new house constructions & Harcourts SALE boards: people cashing in on on land subdivisions due to artificial land shortage caused by CERA's land zonings.

I saw many different contractor vehicles parked by construction & repair sites. I saw no Fletcher repair vehicles, although Fletcher subcontracted EQC repairs. Had western Christchurch property owners received insurance payouts? Were they doing repairs or rebuilds themselves? Were their insurers doing repairs or rebuilds?

I saw FOR SALE or AUCTION signs: people cashing in on high demand for properties on safer TC1 or TC2 land, whereby those selling properties would include geotech reports extolling their quake-safe land. I saw a drill-rig. I saw sucker-trucks sucking sewage muck after rains.

Post gale, I snapped gale-damages on my circular Burnside - Bryndwr - Fendalton trek: I snapped post-quake construction activity & contractors' boards hanging on fences. It was one of my favourite walks which gave the lie to eastern suburb whingers about their immense quake-damages, as my Fendalton walk showed that Fendalton & environs also had great quake-damages & gale-damages too.

Heath St: I saw boughs fallen off ornamental apple trees near home. White blossoms still bloomed despite the recent gale.

10.09.13. Post quake / NW gale, Heath St

Guildford St: FOOTPATH CLOSED: Asphalt & concrete trucks did driveway repairs. A fallen oak pointed to Wadhurst Pl where some years ago AOS cops shot a wheelchair-bound gun-nut. I saw a Council trailer parked by the fallen oak: black-plastic EMERGENCY WATER tank on top, locals pouring water into containers. We weren't affected, as Heath St water-pipes had survived the gale. City Care workmen stood around wearing orange Hi-Vis vests.

10.09.13. Post quake, asphalt contractor, Guildford St

10.09.13. FOOTPATH CLOSED. NW gale, felled oak, Guildford St

10.09.13. EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLY. Tank, trailer, Guildford St

Greers Rd: FOOTPATH CLOSED: I saw a fallen birch tree already sawn into logs. An orange digger was parked by the logs. A bus-stop pole was tilted by the fallen tree. The crushed red Volvo was parked nearby. More City Care workmen stood around wearing orange Hi-Vis vests. I saw a Traffic Control van in the middle of the road directing traffic around an OPRC-cordon by means of a digital-arrow. Later when driving round town, I saw several digital-arrow trucks directing traffic around fallen trees.

10.09.13. Orange digger, orange, Hi-Vis vested workmen. NW gale felled birch, Greers Rd

Habituated to quake-damages for more than two years, seeing so many crushed cars was just another "normal." The norwester disaster was just absorbed by us.

10.09.13. Car crushed by NW gale, felled birch, Greers Rd

Clyde Rd / Truman Rd: I saw a fallen birch tree on the footpath, later cordoned with white-plastic DANGER tape. The three fallen trees caused no housing damage. I saw gale-damage to several wooden-fences which were blown down. I saw a man fixing a fence.

10.09.13. Post NW gale, Traffic Control vehicle, Greers Rd / Clyde Rd

10.09.13. Quake tilted power pole. NW gale, felled birch, Clyde Rd / Truman Rd

10.09.13. NW gale, trashed fencing, Clyde Rd

10.09.13. Post NW gale, low hanging power line, local govt election board, Clyde Rd

Clyde Rd / Ilam Rd roundabout: A new Dental Clinic was built on a demolition-site. On the opposite corner's demolition-site, I saw repairs to a neighbouring building, the wall was covered in black plastic. Fendalton Village: I saw a metal heap in the carpark, the supermarket's roof-panels were being repaired.

10.09.13. Post quake shop repairs, Clyde Rd / Ilam Rd

10.09.13. Metal heap. Post quake refurbishment, super value, Fendalton Village, Clyde Rd / Ilam Rd

Ilam Rd: I saw a scaffolded house paint job & a new house construction site.

10.09.13. Post quake house repair, Ilam Rd

10.09.13. Post quake house rebuild, Ilam Rd

Although CERA minister Brownlee said there was no post-quake housing crisis, in his Ilam constituency, Ilam Rd, I saw a Harcourts sign:

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

LOOKING4RENTALS...

Bryndwr Rd: I saw a chimney hole on a roof covered with a new metal-sheet. I saw a new house construction & a wooden-fence blown down at a house demolition-site. The Harcourts real estate board was blown down too. St Johns Moraia Church ghost was SMF-cordoned.

10.09.13. Post quake house repair, Bryndwr Rd

10.09.13. NW gale felled fence, quake demolition site, Bryndwr Rd

10.09.13. Quake damaged house, Bryndwr Rd

10.09.13. Post quake house repair, Bryndwr Rd

10.09.13. NW gale felled Harcourts real estate board, Bryndwr Rd

10.09.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Quake trashed, abandoned, St Johns Moraia Church, Bryndwr Rd / Jeffreys Rd

Glandovey Rd: DANGER CONSTRUCTION SITE: I saw a new house being built. I saw several repair sites & paint jobs, some houses were scaffolded. I saw two Harcourts sub-division boards: vacant section, $1 400 000. Although CERA made offers to red-zoners, there was no cheap land for sale elsewhere. WASTEWATER RECONSTRUCTION: Glendovey Rd & surrounding areas.

10.09.13. Contractor sign. Post quake house rebuild, Glandovey Rd / Garreg Rd

10.09.13. Green tarp, scaffolding, blue portaloo. Post quake housing rebuild, Bryndwr Rd / Glandovey Rd

10.09.13. Post quake land for sale, Harcourts board, Glandovey Rd

10.09.13. House awaiting post quake repair, Glandovey Rd

10.09.13. Post quake house demolition site, Glandovey Rd

10.09.13. Post quake land for sale, Bayleys board, Glandovey Rd

10.09.13. Post quake house repair, Glandovey Rd

10.09.13. Post quake sewage infrastructure rebuild, SCIRT board, Glandovey Rd

Thornycroft St off Glandovey Rd: Two trucks laid concrete on a driveway. Gale-trashed phebalium shrubbery lay by another driveway. Behind, I saw a two-storey wooden-house where a board covered quake-damage on a chimney.

10.09.13. Quake damaged house, Thornycroft St

10.09.13. Quake damaged, boarded house, NW gale felled vegetation, Thornycroft St

10.09.13. Post quake, concrete driveway contractor, Thornycroft St

Fendalton Rd: I saw scaffolded ghosts & quake repairs. Abandoned St Barnabus Anglican Church was SMF-cordoned & boarded with steel-bracing at nave ends. $500 000 was so far raised for repairs, $500 000 was pending. A two-storey, wooden-ghost opposite the church had a junk-mailed letter-box & a chained-gate by an overgrown garden. The house roof in two places was black-plastic covered.

10.09.13. Post quake house repair, Fendalton Rd

10.09.13. Quake damaged house, Fendalton Rd

10.09.13. Local govt election boards, Fendalton Rd

10.09.13. Orange skip, scaffolding. Post quake house repair, Fendalton Rd

10.09.13. Quake broken garden wall, Fendalton Rd

10.09.13. Post quake, abandoned, steel mesh fence cordoned, steel braced, boarded, St Barnabus Anglican Church, awaited repairs, Fendalton Rd

10.09.13. Junk mail, chained gate. Quake damaged, abandoned house, Fendalton Rd

Fendalton Rd: I saw a fallen tree in Fendalton Park. I saw a two-storied wooden-house with a chimney-damaged wall covered by black- plastic. The brick garden-wall was wood-braced, the wood was grey-weathered due to slow EQC's & slow insurers' settlements. I saw a SMF-cordoned ghost. Evidence from contractors' vehicles & contractors' boards was that Fendalton quake repairs were only happening now more than two years post 22 February 2011 Quake. Slow EQC's & slow insurers' settlements!

10.09.13. NW gale felled tree, Fendalton Park, Fendalton Rd

On a Fendalton Park rock, a bronze-plaque:

IN THIS PARK ARE OAK TREES
SOURCED BY L.T.K. AND OLIVE ALLISON
WHICH ORIGINATE FROM
QUERCUS ROBUR ACORNS
BROUGHT TO NEW ZEALAND IN 1850 ON THE
'CHARLOTTE JANE' FROM THE FOREST OF
DEAN, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND
BY THE BISHOP FAMILY...

10.09.13. Oak leaf sculpture, Fendalton Park, Fendalton Rd

10.09.13. Black plastic covered chimney. Quake damaged house awaited repairs, Fendalton Rd

10.09.13. Quake damaged, wood braced, garden wall, next to steel mesh fence cordoned, abandoned house, Fendalton Rd

10.09.13. Quake damaged, boarded, black plastic patched, Fendalton House

10.09.13. Post quake rebuilt shops, Fendalton Rd / Clyde Rd

10.09.13. The Four Winds sculpture, Fendalton Rd / Clyde Rd

Clyde Rd: I saw several fallen boughs on properties, including sawn logs on the Fendalton School playground & fallen boughs by redwood trees further on. Another property: a surveyor did measurements by a gum tree bough fallen across a driveway. Fendalton Village again: a fallen tree lay by a lawyers' office. A two-storey wooden house was scaffolded: the chimney was being fixed.

10.09.13. NW gale, felled tree, Fendalton School, Clyde Rd

10.09.13. NW gale, felled redwood boughs, Clyde Rd

10.09.13. NW gale, felled gum tree bough, Clyde Rd

10.09.13. Post quake house repair, Clyde Rd

10.09.13. Quake damaged house behind tree, Clyde Rd

10.09.13. NW gale, felled branches, Clyde Rd

10.09.13. Heritage oak, protected tree, Clyde Rd

Heath St: Back home, I texted Leah about the norwester damage I'd seen. She text-replied that Christchurch airport area had no power due to the gale. "I dodged dangling power-lines on my trek," I replied.

Reckoning: Weekend Press 14-15.09.13, front page headline: MARRYATT POCKETS BIG CASH PAYOUT. Town clerk Marryatt had resigned yesterday, Friday 13. Citizens had protested about Marryatt's venality since early 2012. According to The Press, Marryatt's exit-package would be $492,932 leaving Council employment 30.11.13.

Marryatt's & mayor Parker's, pre-quakes supervision:

*Buying bankrupt Henderson's CBD properties, most of which were demolished post-quakes.

*Purchasing loss-maker Ellerslie Flower Show.

*Under-insured Council assets. (Like NZ National government had under-insured EQC). Marryatt was mainly responsible for that. Marryatt was also chairman of the Civic Assurance board dealing with Council insurances, a conflict of interest. Like other insurers, Civic Assurance was slow to settle.

Post-quakes supervision:

*Poor building inspections & stickering & cordoning of quake-prone buildings, during the complacent, business-as-usual period post 4 September 2010 Quake & the 26 December 2010 Quake up to the lethal 22 February 2011 Quake. If Council building inspectors had done their jobs properly in the almost six months' warning period, pre 22 February 2011 Quake, there would've been fewer deaths & injuries!

*185 dead, 1 000s injured in the 22 February 2011 Quake, mostly in the CBD, where there were many dilapidated buildings which Council allowed to exist under-code for decades. There were poor pre & post-quakes building inspections.

Nearly three years post 22 February 2011 Quake, there wasn't a cheep from cops about corporate manslaughter charges for the 185 quake deaths. Cops' excuse: the Royal Commission of Inquiry & Coroners Inquest were insufficient evidence. Why didn't cops find more evidence? I'd seen CTV rubble evidence had been secured for cops at Bottle Lake Forest Exclusion Zone behind protective fences! There was slack supervision of subordinate design engineer Harding by CTV design engineer Reay. There was convicted fraudster & 1986 CTV construction manager Shirtcliff, who'd stolen a Pom engineer's ID. Latest: Reay tried wriggling out of an investigation by IPENZ, engineering institute (The Press).

*Kept up basic services during quakes, like rubbish removal.

*Fractious Council, A & B team councillors, the former for Marryatt, the latter against.

*Slow repairs & rebuilds of damaged Council housing (like CERA's slow repairs & slow rebuilds of state housing). Council just followed CERA's poor leadership regarding post-quake housing repairs, then minister Brownlee blamed Councillor Johanson for slow maintenance of Council housing!

*Several anti-Council public protests, some in the Council building, some outside & elsewhere.

*Bullying CERA which interfered in Council affairs doing some Council functions like road repairs; some Council staff seconded by CERA, making Parker & Marryatt overpaid for doing precious little.

*Allowed CERA to usurp citizens' post-quake Share an Idea, City in a Garden suggestions for CERA's Blueprint Frame.

*Squabbling & poor communication with CERA, like Council forming its Insurer Advocacy Service versus CERA's Insurer Advisory Service for property affected by quakes. Another example: Council unanimously voting to spend $127.5 million repairing / restoring damaged Town Hall in opposition to CERA's Performing Arts Precinct. Again, poor communication between Council & CERA: Duplication of theatre facilities in Town Hall & CERA's Blueprint Performing Arts precinct.

*Marryatt's staff loyalty bribing: Without consulting ratepayers, Marryatt gave one day's extra paid leave per month for Council workers. Post- quakes, anyone watching road workers saw them shirking: Most shirked around holes for long periods, resulting in worse roads than pre-quake roads: Pothole City.

*Secret negotiations with CERA about who paid for what regarding CERA's Blueprint anchor projects in the CBD. Without consulting ratepayers, Marryatt & Parker hoped Council's poorly insured payouts for damaged Council assets would cover costs for CERA's Blueprint projects. Ratepayers would be landed with huge debt for CERA's follies for decades to come.

*Not a squeak from Marryatt nor Parker about CERA's takings in residential red zone, riverside & Port Hills areas (over 7 000 houses plus land) & CERA's takings in the CBD regarding Blueprint anchor projects, like Convention Centre / Te Pae & Frame lands.

*Latest: CCDU promoted high-density housing for 20 000 residents in Frame lands (The Press). Only schools in the CBD vicinity were low decile Christchurch East School & expensive private schools. Yet MoE recently closed low decile Richmond School & low decile Phillipstown School on CBD fringes! (By 2026 the new high-density housing was mainly expensive apartment rentals. Few permanent residents would live in those new apartments near the 35 000 seater stadium in the East Frame!)

*Not a squeak from Marryatt nor Parker about CERA's 28 months NZDF-occupation of Christchurch CBD.

*Not a squeak from Marryatt nor Parker when minister Brownlee announced CERA's formation in March 2011, nor later CCDU's formation to be controlled by former Timaru town clerk Isaacs, the Christchurch CBD demolisher. Minister Brownlee thus supervised two town clerks: 1. Isaacs, the favoured boss of CCDU's core-CBD; 2. Marryatt, the maligned boss of leftovers, separated by NZDF-cordons.

*From April 2012, CCDU produced a Blueprint CBD within 100 days. Council's Share an Idea scheme, already completed with input from 1 000s of Cantabrians was imbibed by that Blueprint.

*Marryatt & Parker liked air travel paid by ratepayers. Parker posed as a great communicator, but wasn't. Parker was secretive, making Council decisions behind closed doors. Marryatt was secretive, leaving Christchurch Council with a golden handshake and the disputed pay increase of $68 000, which Marryatt after public protests said he would repay. Early 2012, citizens had been enraged by Marryatt's huge pay rise, condoned by some councillors, while citizens suffered quakes.

*2012. For a couple of months after Parker couldn't control his A & B teams, Crown observer Marshall dozed though Council meetings, allegedly checking Council communications. After Marryatt's exorbitant pay increase & public protests, Council underwent an $80 000 communications review, spurned by Marryatt, a poor public communicator, behind closed doors. The Crown observer & communications review was NZ National government's intimidation of Council & waste of taxpayers' money. Why didn't CERA minister Brownlee or CERA boss Sutton attend Council meetings?

*Marryatt's idea of communications was taking his employer Council to court, for B team councillors protesting at the February 2012 protest about Marryat's salary increase, approved by A team councillors. Marryatt ensured gagging orders against B team councillors who'd protested with ratepayers about Marryatt's salary increase. The Press pics of Marryatt's bloodshot eyes, droopy, lower lip & chins said it all.

*Meanwhile, red-zoners & TC3 green-zoners suffered misery with CERA's land zonings.

*2012. Marryatt squeaked at protestor Lynch, a ratepayer in the Council building. Parker formally banned Lynch from observing public meetings. (Lynch's banning was later rescinded).

*Parker had crackpot, money-wasting ideas like covering ruined Christ Church Cathedral in a glass box for tourist gawkers, or constructing a light rail for University of Canterbury students to travel between varsity & the CBD.

*Marryatt & Parker wouldn't communicate essential information to the public & had lost accreditation for Council consents processing. That caused another Crown Manager to be expensively employed to sort out the consents mess. Minister Brownlee blamed Council for rebuild delays.

*Road potholes citizens endured post-quakes was an example of poor communication & disconnect between Marryatt's & Parker's Council & CERA / SCIRT. Although Council was responsible for road repairs at the best of times, at the worst of times, Council workers were also part of SCIRT road repair teams, responsible for infrastructure repairs below roads: water, sewage, drain pipes, etc.

*Although Marryatt's Council had given no directives to citizens regarding post-quake' pothole repairs, SCIRT messages a year before said it all about NZ National government's buck-passing & the huge disconnect between CERA / SCIRT & Council. Citizens were left guessing who was responsible for pothole repairs: Council or SCIRT?

SCIRT media message 15.10.12:

WHO WILL REPAIR MY POT HOLE?

If there is a pot hole in the road surface, please contact the Christchurch City Council to ensure the pot hole is fixed, unless the pot hole is with a SCIRT work site. If SCIRT has established a work site, pot holes within the work area and the signed detour are SCIRT's responsibility. Once the SCIRT site is disestablished, the responsibility for pot holes and maintenance goes back to Council.

SCIRT media message 17.10.12:

WHO YOU GONNA CALL POT HOLE BUSTERS?

Sometimes informal detour routes develop as a result of road works. These will not be signposted as detour routes by the construction company. They can become heavily trafficked and deteriorate particularly in wet weather. The SCIRT delivery (construction) team will keep an eye out for these unofficial detours [along footpaths & pavements] and keep the Council's maintenance team informed. Members of the public should also report any pot holes on these routes direct to the City Council.

There is no difference between repair of pot holes in the red zone and the green zone. If people are still living in an area and using the roads they need to be driveable. Phone the Council Call Centre to request a repair...

*Not a squeak from Marryatt nor Parker about that pothole gobbledegook & usurpation of Council functions by SCIRT & CERA. The pothole disconnect symbolized daily irritations Cantabrians endured, due to poor communication between central government & local government.

Regarding current Council elections, long suffering citizens endured some councillors wanting re-election, like Button, Keown, Gough, Reid, Broughton,

The only two councillors worth re-election were Livingstone & Johanson. I'd seen them both active in 2012 protests. Johanson took flack from Brownlee over Council's slow repairs of post-quake Council housing. (Marryatt again). NZ National government made the post-quake housing crisis in the first place by red-zoning areas, with little release of affordable land nor affordable redevelopment elsewhere, residential nor CBD. CERA was only now building temporary housing in Rangers Park for red-zoners & TC3 green-zoners to rent while their housing repairs or rebuilds took place.

Condell Ave: Thursday 26.09.13. At the school demolition-site, a threat-sign:

GEOTECH
WORK SITE
NO ENTRY
UNLESS SIGNED IN

I snapped school buildings being demolished. Two diggers chomped the part-demolished school hall & loaded rubble & roofing into skips. A school building alongside was roofless. Laidlaw College next door endured seismic thumps while the diggers worked. Leah also endured seismic thumps on London St & environs for months while Richmond Working Mens Club was part-demolished & SCIRT continued its diggings & detours. Luke's girlfriend's parents had a Selwyn St picture-framing business which was red-stickered post 22 February 2011 Quake. Post-quakes, they still ran their business from their Southshore home. At Condell Ave school's demolition-site, I saw them salvaging good wood for their business. Better than demolishers dumping it at Burwood dump!

After completing his two years' polytech studies during quakes, then two years' joinery work during quakes, Luke would work for his picture-framing / quake-salvage boss for the next eight years. 2022. Luke would be sacked after his boss had a heart attack. Quake stress? Luke would work briefly for a New Brighton, master-joiner, saving his boss's life when injured by a joinery machine. 2024. Luke would also briefly work for Reubens Joinery, Burnham. He would then obtain joinery work at a Doors & Windows firm in Christchurch CBD.