The days might be shortening as we move through autumn, but that doesn’t mean a drop-off in Council activity.

Roading contractors are working full steam to complete rehabilitation projects before the cold sets in, staff across all Council facilities are busy preparing school holiday programmes for April, and last weekend EA Networks Centre hosted a learning triathlon for children.

It was great to see the youngsters swim, bike and run with such enthusiasm around the recreation centre, which  also planned to open its outdoor sand court this week.

Our regular Activity Briefings are a good way to see the breadth of Council work and you can find the 112-page agenda for this week’s briefings on our website’s meeting page.

The summer road rehabilitation work is in its final weeks, with Seafield Road almost complete. To recap, Council will have spent $2.4 million rehabilitating about 8.5km of roads over the past few months and that’s in addition to the $8.2m spent on resurfacing and maintaining other sealed and unsealed roads.

A roading project that is not Council’s, but is firmly in Council’s territory, is the major asphalting project to be undertaken by NZTA on State Highway 1 over the next six weeks. The work needs to be done and there will no doubt be congestion and delays, so follow the detours or find alternative ways to get around town. But most of all, be patient.

If you feel like preparing with a relaxing afternoon of music, I can suggest heading along to Council’s free community event at the Ashburton Domain on Saturday, Live on the Lawn.

The forecast is for sunshine and we are hoping it will be the first of what will become annual music events. The flavour for the first one is jazz and three wellknown bands will be performing on the Long Lawn, from 12pm.

The Long Lawn is right beside the layby on West Street, so you can’t miss it.