OPOTIKI District Council is working on a revised harbour plan following the Government’s rejection of its initial $150 million bid.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, chief executive Aileen Lawrie, said the new proposal was being refined following an engineering workshop involving technical people.
She said the council had been assigned new personnel to engage with over the revised harbour proposal.
Ministry of Social Development client services group manager Kay Reed was now the senior regional official for the Bay of Plenty.
Reporting to her was David Caselli, who had taken over day-to-day liaison duties with the Opotiki council.
Meanwhile, the council has approved an extension of the land area leased by the Opotiki Coastguard.
Property officer Tina Gedson said the Coastguard foresaw a greater demand for its services when the harbour was developed.
A variation to the current lease would allow the coastguard to allocate a “keep clear” area in front of its premises, next to the Opotiki wharf.
With this extension, the coastguard has the authority to order vehicles, objects or people to be removed if they block the entry or exit of their vessel.
“At the moment they’ve got no authority to move people to get their boat out, and that’s all they want,” said Mayor John Forbes.
Ms Gedson said the coastguard was also fundraising for a new and larger vessel.