There are known populations of long-tail and short-tail bats throughout Waipā and Waikato districts.
“This raises the question of what bat monitoring should be undertaken prior to commencing work,” the report by community services manager Sally Sheedy said.
“Due to the large flight distance of the pekapeka (bat), the whole Waipā district could be considered to have areas that host these species.”
It could mean “larger financial and time related costs” for bat monitoring.
To monitor bats, staff needed to be deemed a “Class C Supervising Bat Ecologist” by the Department of Conservation.
Waipā is reviewing what training was required for staff or its tree maintenance contractor to perform monitoring. A consultant ecologist is used at the moment.