Agenda of Ordinary Council meeting - Monday, 12 December 2022

UNCONFIRMED Ordinary Council meeting Minutes

28 November 2022

MINUTES

Ordinary Council meeting

Monday, 28 November 2022

Order of Business

1 Opening karakia. 3

2 Apologies. 3

3 Public forum.. 3

3.1 Kalani Tarawa - Ngai Tamarāwaho. 3

4 Acceptance of late items. 4

5 Confidential business to be transferred into the open. 4

6 Change to the order of business. 4

7 Confirmation of minutes. 5

7.1 Minutes of the Council meeting held on 2 November 2022. 5

7.2 Minutes of the Council meeting held on 7 November 2022. 5

7.3 Minutes of the Council meeting held on 14 November 2022. 5

8 Declaration of conflicts of interest 5

9 Deputations, presentations, petitions. 5

To be held later in the meeting at item 12

10 Recommendations from other committees. 5

Nil

11 Business. 5

11.1 Partial Reclassification of Gate Pā Recreation Reserve - Deliberations. 5

11.2 Civil Defence Emergency Management Controller Endorsement 7

11.3 Temporary Road Closure Report 2022 2023 Addendum 2. 7

11.4 Backflow Prevention Device Installation Cost Recovery. 8

11.5 Letters of Expectation 2023-2024 for Council-Controlled Organisations. 9

12 Deputations, presentations, petitions. 9

13 Public excluded session. 11

13.1 Public Excluded Minutes of the Council meeting held on 2 November 2022. 12

13.2 Public Excluded Minutes of the Council meeting held on 7 November 2022. 12

13.3 Appointment of Board Members to the Boards of Tauranga Art Gallery Trust and Tourism Bay of Plenty. 13

13.4 Appointment of Commissioner(s) and List Member(s) for Tauranga City Council District Licensing Committee. 13

14 Closing karakia. 13

MINUTES OF Tauranga City Council

Ordinary Council meeting

HELD AT THE BoP Regional Council Chambers, Regional House, 1 Elizabeth Street, Tauranga

ON Monday, 28 November 2022 AT 9.30am

PRESENT: Commission Chair Anne Tolley, Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston, Commissioner Bill Wasley

IN ATTENDANCE: Marty Grenfell (Chief Executive), Paul Davidson (Chief Financial Officer), Barbara Dempsey (General Manager: Community Services), Nic Johansson (General Manager: Infrastructure), Sarah Omundsen (General Manager: Regulatory and Compliance), Gareth Wallis (General Manager: City Development & Partnerships), Phil Kai Fong (Team Leader: Strategic Property), Rachael Williams (Strategic Property Advisory), Jack Furnish (Water Engineer), Peter Bahrs (Manager: Water Services), Anne Blakeway (Manager: City Partnerships), Sanjana France (CCO Specialist), Coral Hair (Manager: Democracy & Governance Services), Robyn Garrett (Team Leader: Governance Services), Sarah Drummond (Governance Advisor), Janie Storey (Governance Advisor)

1 Opening Karakia

Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston gave the opening karakia

2 Apologies

Apology

Resolution CO22/22/1

Moved: Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded: Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

That the apology for absence received from Commissioner Stephen Selwood be accepted.

Carried

3 Public forum

3.1 Kalani Tarawa - Ngai Tamarāwaho

Key points

· Mr Tarawa noted that he was standing in for Mr Buddy Mikaere.

· The consideration on the classification of the proposal to develop a cultural centre was amazing to hear.

· Grew up in Auckland as his hapū had to leave Tauranga as the family land had been taken from them. He grew up in an area that was not his whenua and a place he had no connection to.

· The whanau came home every Christmas, and it was through those visits that he understood where he was from - where the bones and blood of ancestors were, and the connection with Tauranga moana and the land.

· There was nothing that could be done to change the injustices of the past, but he was glad that the city had come to maturity and had looked to provide a way forward that accepted and respected both cultures.

· Withstanding the objections of the last 180 years, iwi were grateful the public objections were getting smaller and less frequent.

· The cultural centre would unite both sides and respect the true history. There was no shame in what had happened - it happened and could not be changed.

· Noted the opportunity to establish a brighter future for their grandchildren and those that will follow, with all being proud to say they were from Tauranga.

· There was a significant shift this year for Māori with the celebration of Matariki. Schools had been celebrating it for over a decade, but to finally have it recognised signalled a significant shift in attitude.

· Mr Tarawa hoped that the Commissioners supported what had been tabled in the report as the area desperately needed a cultural centre.

· Mr Tawara’s great great grandfather had been killed during the wars; he had grown up with the local stories.

· It was such an honour to see the realisation of the dream.

Discussion points raised

· The Commissioners thanked Mr Tawara for attending the meeting and sharing his support for the facility.

4 Acceptance of late items

Nil

5 Confidential business to be transferred into the open

Nil

6 Change to the order of business

Nil

7 Confirmation of minutes

7.1 Minutes of the Council meeting held on 2 November 2022

Resolution CO22/22/2

Moved: Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded: Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

That the minutes of the Council meeting held on 2 November 2022 be confirmed as a true and correct record.

Carried

7.2 Minutes of the Council meeting held on 7 November 2022

Resolution CO22/22/3

Moved: Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

Seconded: Commissioner Bill Wasley

That the minutes of the Council meeting held on 7 November 2022 be confirmed as a true and correct record.

Carried

7.3 Minutes of the Council meeting held on 14 November 2022

Resolution CO22/22/4

Moved: Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded: Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

That the minutes of the Council meeting held on 14 November 2022 be confirmed as a true and correct record.

Carried

8 Declaration of conflicts of interest

Nil

9 Deputations, presentations, petitions

To be held later in the meeting at item 12

10 Recommendations from other committees

Nil

11 Business

11.1 Partial Reclassification of Gate Pā Recreation Reserve - Deliberations

Staff Paul Davidson, Chief Financial Officer

Rachael Williams, Strategic Property Advisor

Phil Kai Fong, Team Leader: Strategic Property

Key points

· Acknowledged the comments made by Kalani Tawara regarding the cultural centre creating a brighter future for local children and grandchildren.

· Two late submissions were received from St George Street residents; recommended that these be received.

· The Gate Pa tennis club had not raised any concerns with how the matter was progressing.

· One St George Street resident had raised concerns around carparking for the centre and the reserve. The submitters had been responded to confirming that no decision had been made around carparking. If the centre proceeds Council would work with affected parties on the best locations for parking.

In response to questions

· Any carparking issues still needed to go through a process of consenting. There was a commitment by the Council to work through these with local residents.

· The next step was negotiating the lease provisions with the Trust and involving Council’s Spaces and Places team to see what impact the centre would have on the reserve management plan. It was expected that this would commence early in the new year.

· Any funding sought would be led by the Pukehinahina Trust.

· The Trust was made up of Ngai Tamarāwaho, historians, other tangata whenua and members of the community and was the result of the community working together. One of the main drivers was to educate Tauranga Moana about the history of Tauranga. Council would lease the land to the Trust and the Trust would liaise with Ngai Tamarāwaho.

Discussion points raised

· An additional resolution was added to allow negotiations to commence with the Pukehinahina Trust and engagement with Spaces and Places with regards to the Reserves Management Plan.

· Staff thanked for the work done in terms of the report and the engagement that had taken place.

· The issue was one from the early 2000’s and it was good to get a resolution; expectation that the Council would honour those earlier agreements.

· The location was sensible as it was a historic place for Pukehinahina and Tauranga Moana and all the tribes that heeded the call to come and support the local tribes against threat of invasion. The site was of local, regional and national significance and the only pa site in an urban environment.

· It was important to tell the history of the area.

Resolution CO22/22/5

Moved: Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

Seconded: Commissioner Bill Wasley

That the Council:

(a) Receives the report "Partial Reclassification of Gate Pā Recreation Reserve - Deliberations".

(b) Confirms the attached submissions, including objections, in response to the public and tangata whenua consultation on the proposal have been considered (Attachment 1).

(d) Confirms the partial reclassification of that part of the Gate Pā Recreation Reserve shown as Section 1 on SO 584235 (Attachment 3) from recreation reserve to historic reserve.

(e) Agrees that consultation be commenced accordingly with regards to lease negotiations with the Pukehinahina Trust and the Spaces and Places activity in relation to the Reserve Management Plan.

Carried

11.2 Civil Defence Emergency Management Controller Endorsement

Staff Barbara Dempsey, General Manager: Community Services

Key points

· Remove recommendation (c) in the report as it was no longer needed.

Resolution CO22/22/6

Moved: Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded: Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

That the Council:

(a) Receives the report "Civil Defence Emergency Management Controller Endorsement".

(b) Endorses the following nomination for Tauranga City Council’s Local Controller:

(i) Sarah Omundsen – General Manager: Regulatory & Compliance

Carried

11.3 Temporary Road Closure Report 2022 2023 Addendum 2

Staff Nic Johansson, General Manager: Infrastructure Services

Key points

· No feedback had been received from the consultation.

· The events were repeat events and any issues had been sorted out in previous years.

In response to questions

· Concern was raised at the closure of one lane of Trumans Lane by Waka Kotahi and how this would affect the proposed event closures.

· It was agreed that the matter be looked at and the plans be provided to the Commissioners outlining how the traffic would flow through the area and the exact timing of the closures.

Discussion points raised

· It was requested that the public be made aware of the events, the road closures for the event and those proposed by Waka Kotahi.

Resolution CO22/22/7

Moved: Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded: Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

That the Council:

(a) Receives the report "Temporary Road Closure Report 2022 2023 Addendum 2".

(b) Pursuant to Clause 11(e) of the Tenth Schedule of the Local Government Act 1974, grants approval to close the roads and car parks listed on Attachment A to ordinary vehicular traffic on the dates and during the hours stated for the purposes of facilitating safe and successful operations during the following events in Tauranga.

Carried

11.4 Backflow Prevention Device Installation Cost Recovery

Staff Nic Johansson, General Manager: Infrastructure Services

Jack Furnish, Water Engineer

Peter Bahrs, Manager: Water Services

Key points

· The programme was being implemented as part of the new water legislative requirements to keep the community safe.

· All properties were protected with back flow devices according to the amount of risk posed.

· The changes introduced for the quality drinking water rules regarding backflow included a survey being conducted throughout the city on a five-yearly basis to ensure the backflow device installed at each property was suitable for that property.

· The changes took effect on 14 November 2022 and TCC had to comply by 1 January 2023.

· Option 1 in the report was recommended, whereby the Council would undertake the changes using a maintenance contractor and then charge the property owner for the installation. Rationale for this option included that this would tighten up the scrutiny on the time frame needed for updating and the time taken to do it.

In response to questions

· The city consisted of approximately 50,000 properties with areas being sectioned over the five years, and the surveys undertaken on a rotating basis.

· There were a number of ways a property could be checked including a desk top study, pool fencing surveys, aerial maps, LIM’s, visual inspections and the comprehensive data that the Council had on each property. Staff would also co-ordinate with staff from other activities such as pool inspection co-ordinators to ensure that site visits were minimised.

· Staff would work with the owner of the premises if a change was required regarding the likely cost implications.

Resolution CO22/22/8

Moved: Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded: Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

That the Council:

(a) Receives the report "Backflow Prevention Device Installation Cost Recovery".

(b) Approves Tauranga City Council installing the required backflow prevention device and on-charging the full costs of the device and installation back to the customer.

Carried

11.5 Letters of Expectation 2023-2024 for Council-Controlled Organisations

Staff Gareth Wallis, General Manager: Central City Development

Sanjana France, CCO Specialist

Anne Blakeway, Manager: City Partnerships

Key points

· The letters were linked to the strategic direction and framework for the entities and for Council.

Discussion points raised

· The expectation was that the CCO’s would utilise the Council’s logo and branding.

Resolution CO22/22/9

Moved: Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded: Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

That the Council:

(a) Receives the report "Letters of Expectation 2023-2024 for Council-Controlled Organisations".

(b) Approves the Letter of Expectation from Tauranga City Council to Bay Venues Limited (Attachment 1).

(d) Approves the Letter of Expectation from Tauranga City Council to Tourism Bay of Plenty (Attachment 3), noting that Western Bay of Plenty District Council, as joint shareholder, will take a separate letter to their Council meeting on 8 December 2022.

Carried

12 Deputations, presentations, petitions

A petition was tabled by Mr Mark Kimber as follows:

“A Tragedy Waiting to Happen - Dangerous Bethlehem Pedestrian Crossing Removal.

The aim of this petition is to have the unmarked, traffic light controlled Pedestrian Crossing at the corner of Moffat Road and Tamatea Arikinui Drive, (State Highway 2) removed due to the inherent dangers.

With no warning signs and the crossing less than 50 meters passed a busy roundabout, this leaves inadequate time or distance to view the roadway before encountering the crossing.

By completing and signing this petition you are confirming that you have read, seen or heard about what has been described as a tragedy waiting to happen.

Join us in this petition to remove the pedestrian crossing before it claims more victims.”

Mr Kimber spoke to the petition noting the following:

· The pedestrian crossing north of the roundabout at Bethlehem was dangerous and people wanted it removed to make the area safer.

· Mr Kimber showed a video taken while using the crossing where a car came straight through the red light and nearly hit him.

· There was inadequate timing with the changing of the lights from green to red to allow the traffic to stop in time.

· He had asked many of the people who signed the petition what they thought should happen - comments received included:

· There were a high number of near misses with cars coming off the side roads; wanted to see an overpass before someone was killed. Drivers were in a hurry.

· Had lived in the area for 15 years and the road was more dangerous since the crossing had been installed as people were driving through the area and were not aware of the sudden light change. There was also a high fence at the crossing.

· A local business manager who had been working in the area for a year and had family in the area noted an accident where two people had lost their lives. Considered it only a matter of time before that happened again. She regularly witnessed people crossing the road and not waiting for the lights or moving further up the road to cross. Many people pushed the button to activate the lights and then did not wait for them to change.

· The proximity of the roundabout did not allow time for people to stop for the red light. It also impacted the view of drivers when they were looking to give way to traffic on their right - they were looking right not to the side or upwards where the signage and lights were.

· The crossing was a risk to cars - the ability for traffic to flow and travel was risky as the traffic was always heavy.

· Witnessed multiple times people crossing when it was not a green light, or running across thinking they had time. It was impossible for turning traffic to see the crossing; vehicles sometimes swerved across lanes to avoid a rear end collision. Remove the two crossings and put in a pedestrian overpass or underpass.

· There was a Bethlehem community Facebook page and Mr Kimber had screen shot some of the comments for the Commissioners to read. Some people supported the crossing, some were against and others provided suggestions of what to do such as installing an underpass.

· The petition was signed by about 700 people and had been collected from the Bethlehem shopping centre.

· Signatures and comments had also been provided online and were unavailable to be presented at the meeting but would be provided subsequently.

· There was a garden in the middle of the roundabout which also obscured the vision to the crossing.

· Suggestions included improving and clearing the roundabout to improve traffic visibility and putting in signage before the crossing.

· There was no amber light - only red and green - so there was no time to react from the change of the colours. Inclusion of an amber light would give the traffic more warning.

· Suggested installation of a floodlight beside the crossing that would turn on when the pedestrian crossing button was pushed.

Discussion points raised

· Commissioner Tolley noted that they would consider the tabled petition and comments and would seek a report from staff regarding possible improvements.

· Appreciation was passed on to Mr Kimber for attending the meeting and the time and energy he had put in to gathering the petition signatures and talking with the community.

· Mr Kimber noted that any change would be for the better.

Resolution CO22/22/10

Moved: Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

Seconded: Commissioner Bill Wasley

(a) That the Bethlehem Community Crossing petition be accepted.

(b) That staff be requested to provide a report, including Waka Kotahi involvement, on the issues raised with regards to the pedestrian crossing at Bethlehem.

Carried

13 Public excluded session

Resolution to exclude the public

Resolution CO22/22/11

Moved: Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

Seconded: Commissioner Bill Wasley

That the public be excluded from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting.

The general subject matter of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded, the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter, and the specific grounds under section 48 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution are as follows:

General subject of each matter to be considered	Reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter	Ground(s) under section 48 for the passing of this resolution
13.1 - Public Excluded Minutes of the Council meeting held on 2 November 2022	s7(2)(a) - The withholding of the information is necessary to protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of deceased natural persons s7(2)(c)(i) - The withholding of the information is necessary to protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence or which any person has been or could be compelled to provide under the authority of any enactment, where the making available of the information would be likely to prejudice the supply of similar information, or information from the same source, and it is in the public interest that such information should continue to be supplied s7(2)(h) - The withholding of the information is necessary to enable Council to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities s7(2)(i) - The withholding of the information is necessary to enable Council to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations)	s48(1)(a) - the public conduct of the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting would be likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for withholding would exist under section 6 or section 7
13.2 - Public Excluded Minutes of the Council meeting held on 7 November 2022	s7(2)(a) - The withholding of the information is necessary to protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of deceased natural persons s7(2)(b)(ii) - The withholding of the information is necessary to protect information where the making available of the information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information s7(2)(g) - The withholding of the information is necessary to maintain legal professional privilege s7(2)(h) - The withholding of the information is necessary to enable Council to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities s7(2)(i) - The withholding of the information is necessary to enable Council to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations)	s48(1)(a) - the public conduct of the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting would be likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for withholding would exist under section 6 or section 7
13.3 - Appointment of Board Members to the Boards of Tauranga Art Gallery Trust and Tourism Bay of Plenty	s7(2)(a) - The withholding of the information is necessary to protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of deceased natural persons s7(2)(c)(i) - The withholding of the information is necessary to protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence or which any person has been or could be compelled to provide under the authority of any enactment, where the making available of the information would be likely to prejudice the supply of similar information, or information from the same source, and it is in the public interest that such information should continue to be supplied	s48(1)(a) - the public conduct of the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting would be likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for withholding would exist under section 6 or section 7
13.4 - Appointment of Commissioner(s) and List Member(s) for Tauranga City Council District Licensing Committee	s7(2)(a) - The withholding of the information is necessary to protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of deceased natural persons	s48(1)(a) - the public conduct of the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting would be likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for withholding would exist under section 6 or section 7

Carried

14 Closing Karakia

Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston closed the meeting with a karakia.

The meeting closed at 10.50 am.

The minutes of this meeting were confirmed as a true and correct record at the Ordinary Council meeting held on 12 December 2022.

........................................................

CHAIRPERSON

Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

12 December 2022

11 Business

11.1 Te Manawataki o Te Papa - Preliminary design and cost report

File Number: A13869148

Author: Mike Naude, Director of Civic Developments

Authoriser: Gareth Wallis, General Manager: City Development & Partnerships

Purpose of the Report

1. The purpose of this report is to present the preliminary design and updated costs for Te Manawataki o Te Papa for approval to enable works to proceed to developed and detailed design. The developed and detailed design process for Te Manawataki o Te Papa will be managed in accordance with the Tauranga City Council / Willis Bond Partnering Agreement 2018, and will commit the Council to enter into the Development Commitment phase of the programme.

Recommendations

That the Council:

(a) Receives the report "Te Manawataki o Te Papa – Preliminary design and cost report".

(b) Notes that at this stage of the design process, the projected cost has increased by $4.5 million compared to the Long-term Plan Amendment budget.

(d) Reconfirms that the programme of works is subject to achieving 50% ($151.5 million) of funding from sources other than rates-funded debt.

(e) Authorises the Chief Executive to enter into a Development Commitment with Willis Bond, to progress the developed and detailed designs at an estimated cost of $21.3 million.

(f) Notes that the detailed design will be brought back to Council for approval, prior to entering into a Development Agreement, in accordance with the Tauranga City Council / Willis Bond Partnering Agreement.

Executive Summary

2. The Council adopted the Civic Precinct Masterplan on 6 December 2021. The new civic precinct, to be called Te Manawataki o Te Papa – the heartbeat of Te Papa, is envisaged as a vibrant space which includes a library and community hub, civic whare (public meeting house), exhibition gallery, museum, and associated public open space landscaping.

3. This report is one of the key gateway stages built into the programme structure to ensure prudent Council governance and oversight.

4. It presents the now completed Te Manawataki o Te Papa preliminary design (attached as Appendix 1) and seeks commitment from Council to enter into the next phase of our Partnering Agreement with Willis Bond, working to progress the Te Manawataki o Te Papa developed and detailed design.

5. Further enhanced costings have been undertaken to reflect the progression from concept to preliminary design. These costings have resulted in a number of changes to various components of the programme, with increases in some components being largely offset by decreases in other areas.

6. The overall change is a $4.5 million increase in Te Manawataki o Te Papa (Site A) costs, resulting in the total revised cost estimate for this portion of the project moving from $270.4 million to $274.95 million. The driving factor for this cost change is attributed to:

· increased construction costs associated with transitioning to mass timber buildings and 6 Star Green Ratings; and

· increased costs associated with the public open space landscaping, including structurally designed pou whenua, and improved accessibility being required to address the significant slope of the civic precinct site.

7. It is important to note that included in the above cost estimates is a contingency sum of $29.35 million, and escalation costs of $21.52 million.

8. In addition to this, a budget of $32.9 million for The Strand and the waterfront central plaza works, collectively known as Site C, has been allocated. The costs for Site C are yet to be refined as part of the preliminary design work and could potentially realise savings, for example, by increasing the ratio of greenspace (cheaper) to hard paving (more expensive). This could be used to offset the $4.5 million of additional costs identified in the Site A preliminary designs and costings.

9. This report recommends that Council note the additional $4.5 million of cost identified through this stage of the design process.

10. The costs estimates will be further refined through the developed and detailed design process, and will be reported back to Council in July 2023, prior to signing the Willis Bond Development Agreement.

Background

11. In 2018, Council adopted the Civic Precinct Masterplan. The plan provided direction for the future development of the Council-owned site bounded by Willow, Hamilton, Wharf and Durham Streets (Site A); and the Council-owned site at 21-41 Durham Street (Site B), formerly known as the TV3 site. Extensive community consultation took place but for various reasons, the Civic Precinct Masterplan was not implemented at this time.

12. More recently, Council included a budget in the Long-term Plan (LTP) 2021-31 for the development of a new library and community hub on the civic precinct site. Following the adoption of the LTP 2021-31, Council issued a design brief to Willis Bond to prepare a Civic Masterplan Refresh, to reflect the strategic decisions the Council had made as part of the LTP process including; a decision to lease a new civic administration building at 90 Devonport Road; to respond to public submissions in favour of a museum located on the civic precinct site; and to reflect the history and cultural significance of the site to tangata whenua, and to tell the stories of Tauranga Moana.

13. Te Manawataki o Te Papa (Civic Precinct) Masterplan (Refreshed 2021) was prepared by Willis Bond in collaboration with mana whenua, including representatives from Ngai Tamarāwaho, Ngāti Tapu and Te Materāwaho, as represented by the Otamataha Trust. As part of the refresh, the Masterplan was expanded to include the waterfront reserve, between Hamilton and Wharf Streets, linking the moana with the civic precinct via Masonic Park.

14. Te Manawataki o Te Papa was formally adopted by the Commission at the Council meeting on 6 December 2021. At the same meeting, Council requested a further report to enable the Commission to make a decision on inclusion of the full Civic Masterplan in a Long-term Plan Amendment (LTPA), acknowledging that components of the Masterplan, to develop a new library and community hub, and associated urban space enhancements, had already been resolved through the LTP 2021-31 and work on these components was already commencing.

15. On 21 February 2022, Council approved the development of an LTPA for the implementation of Te Manawataki o Te Papa, including public consultation from 25 March to 26 April 2022. The focus of consultation was intended to inform an understanding of the community’s views regarding the delivery and timeframes for the additional components of the Civic Precinct Masterplan, not those components that had already been consulted on and agreed through the LTP 2021-31.

16. Community consultation on the LTPA was undertaken in conjunction with consultation on the draft Annual Plan 2022/23, and results were considered by Council on 24 May 2022. It was considered that the proposal to include the full Civic Masterplan as one programme of work (Option 1), would provide wide ranging social, economic, cultural, and environmental benefits that will have a positive impact on our communities, today and in the future. This option included a capital cost of $303.4 million, subject to achieving 50% of the required funding from sources other than rates-funded debt and therefore, an estimated net cost to ratepayers of $151.5 million. At the 24 May 2022 Council meeting, Council resolved to include the full Civic Masterplan in the LTP.

Strategic / Statutory Context

17. Our community has told us loud and clear that they want a vibrant, well-planned city centre that is inclusive, accessible, and diverse, with more activities and events for all to enjoy.

18. Te Manawataki o Te Papa has clear alignment with the city and Council’s strategic direction, from the aspirational community vision to Council’s action and investment plans.

19. One of six strategic priorities for Council is to drive delivery of the City Centre Masterplan – Te Manawataki o Te Papa, the broader City Centre Action and Investment Plan, and the Te Papa Peninsula Spatial Plan to revitalise and reactivate the heart of the city.

20. Te Manawataki o Te Papa clearly seeks to establish Tauranga’s city centre as the commercial, civic and cultural heart of the Western Bay of Plenty sub region – the cultural and community focus of the city centre, and a unique civic destination for the stories and decision making of Tauranga and its people.

21. As Tauranga continues to grow, our city centre will continue to transform from a commercial business centre into a sub-regional destination, providing a wide range of activities and facilities that support our economy, strengthen our community, and celebrate who we are.

Project Governance

22. The Council resolved on 28 February 2022 to approve the Te Manawataki O Te Papa Governance and Project Structure:

Figure 1: Approved governance structure

23. The governance structure includes a Governance Group that oversees the whole programme, including project updates, budgets, timings, and risk management. A Te Manawataki o Te Papa – Governance Group Chair’s Report is included as part of this report (attached as Appendix 2) and confirms the Governance Group’s support for the recommendations being considered by the Council in this report. The Chair’s Report also includes an updated Governance Structure diagram.

24. On 14 November 2022, Council approved consultation with the community on the proposed establishment of a new council-controlled organisation, to lead delivery of Te Manawataki o Te Papa projects, and potentially other significant council-led capital projects. The proposed governance structure would include a Board and at least one employee experienced in delivering similar large-scale capital projects. Consultation ran from 14 – 28 November 2022 and a further report will be made to Council on 12 December 2022 outlining feedback received from the community on the proposal.

Programme Changes since Council adoption of the LTPA

Updates in response to community feedback

25. During an extensive engagement process from 25 March to 26 April 2022, Council received 1181 formal submissions to the proposed LTPA 2021-31 regarding Te Manawataki o Te Papa implementation. Of the total 1181 submissions received, 628 submitters provided a specific response to the question posed in the Consultation Document regarding Te Manawataki o Te Papa implementation. Of the 628 submitters who provided a response, 450 submitters (72%) supported Option 1 (Council’s preferred option), 128 submitters (20%) supported Option 2, and 50 submitters (8%) chose ‘no opinion’. The remaining 549 submitters did not choose an option on the form but provided their written feedback on the topic.

26. At the Council meeting on 24 May 2022, Council approved Option 1 – Te Manawataki o Te Papa Masterplan for inclusion in the LTPA at a capital cost of $303.4 million. However, Council also made this additional resolution in response to the broad range of feedback and community views expressed through the consultation process:

e) Specific consideration before gateway approval is to be given to the following matters raised by the community through the LTPA submissions process:

· Size and scale of the individual facilities.

· Opportunities to deliver facilities which are exemplar in terms of sustainability; and

· Less concrete and softer, greener design elements.

27. Since that date, the governance groups that have been established to oversee the programme have taken on board the feedback received from the community, and considered ways to respond to their views:

(a) The size, layout and utilisation of each separate community space has been reconsidered and configured to ensure maximum utilisation, and to create vibrant, active, and appealing community facilities.

(b) On 30 June 2022, the Joint Steering Group Chairs approved the incorporation of a mass timber hybrid construction. The mass timber buildings were to be incorporated into the library/community hub and civic whare, exhibition and museum buildings. The Joint Steering Group Chairs included a proviso that cost reductions be made to accommodate the associated increased cost of construction.

(c) Also, in response to community feedback, all buildings have been enhanced to include premium façade finishings, an increase in natural materials, and general enhancement of design aesthetics and vegetation, including a canopy along the southern edge of Masonic Park.

Staged approval of Site A & C

28. On 30 June 2022, the Joint Steering Group Chairs also agreed (and approved) that it would be more practical and efficient to develop the waterfront (Site C) as a combined waterfront development, outside of the Willis Bond Partnership Agreement. The effect of this decision is that Site A and Site C will be progressed concurrently, but separately, with slightly different timeframes. This report presents the preliminary designs for Site A only, with Site C preliminary designs to be brought back to Council at a future date.

Figure 2 – Site A and Site C definition

Updated preliminary designs for Te Manawataki o Te Papa

29. In accordance with the changes outlined in the section above, preliminary designs have been drafted and are attached to this report (attached as Appendix 1). Changes from the original concept designs, approved through the LTPA, are summarised below:

Te Manawataki o Te Papa precinct scope

30. The enhanced costings approved by Council on 24 May 2022 presented a precinct-wide plan, including Site A and Site C, at a total cost of $303.4 million. Since then, The Strand and waterfront areas (Site C), with an allocated budget of $32.9 million, have been moved and established as a separate project. The remaining area defined from the eastern edge of Masonic Park to the Durham Street eastern curb edge, had an LTPA budget of $270.5 million.

Library and community hub | circa 5,473m²

31. The library and community hub is a multi-purpose facility that incorporates an integrated customer services function, and provides for community activities beyond a traditional library. Council’s customer services activity will also be integrated into this facility.

32. People will gather, play and learn, community groups will access meeting spaces, and the public will engage with customer services representatives. The Library and Community Hub building will feature a mass timber hybrid structure aiming for a 6 Green Star rating. Exposed timber will be visible in many parts of the building, including an internal timber staircase across all levels. This building will include a library, archive, community space (with secure after-hours access), customer services functions, terrace, café, and kiosk providing iSite and precinct-wide ticketing functionality.

33. Changes to the design following the enhanced costing phase in July 2022 include:

· Hybrid timber structure (aiming to achieve a 6 Green Star rating).

· Significant enhancement to the façade.

· Removal of the upper floor, an overall 442m2 gross floor area reduction.

· Reduction of the archive floor area.

· Integration of the customer service function.

· Kiosk footprint increased to allow for the iSite, including centralised ticketing and refreshments

· Relocation of partial community hub space to the adjacent Museum building.

Civic whare, exhibition and museum (CWEM) | circa 6,195m²

34. The civic whare, exhibition and museum (CWEM) building aims to achieve a 6 Green Star rating through the use of a hybrid mass timber structure.

35. The civic whare design is flexible to allow for the dual functionality of a formal council chamber, and ceremonial marae for welcoming, hosting, and facilitating meetings at the heart of the precinct. The exhibition area is a multi-purpose space designed to cater for arts, art gallery and museum-related activities, ranging from large-scale international exhibitions down to local community exhibitions, or be hired out for private events. The museum display spaces are located on the first floor and will contain the ‘Bay of Plenty Stories’ and ‘Discovery’ Centre.

36. Changes to design following the enhanced costing phase in July 2022 include:

· Introduction of mass timber structure (aiming to achieve a 6 Green Star rating).

· Significant enhancement to the façade.

· Number of floors and level changes reduced, simplifying structure, circulation, and massing – unlocks clearer expression of exhibition and museum masses as 'vessels' housing Tauranga's activities and precious taonga.

· By enlarging the museum footprint, all exhibition space is proposed to be combined onto a single floor – this reduces the height of the eastern wing of the building by one floor, reducing bulk and overshadowing to public outdoor spaces to the south.

· The external ātea is raised by 500mm to allow a level and barrier-free connection to the CWEM circulation space – the ground level through-site link and overall floor level is lowered by 1,150mm to better relate and connect to the external lower amphitheatre.

· The footprint of the civic whare has changed from a rectangular to an elliptical shape, and the gabled form roof has changed to a curved portal.

· Further investigation into the ground conditions under the CWEM building has seen the previously assumed 12-month settlement period removed. This allows the CWEM building to potentially commence construction mid-2024, and brings the programme completion date forward to 2027.

Cultural elements

37. The design teams have been working in collaboration with the Cultural Advisory Group (CAG), representing mana whenua, to develop a series of cultural design outcomes which feature across the entire civic precinct. The cultural strategy showcases how we have arrived at a collective cultural vision with mana whenua (framed on the 4 pillars of Te Papa), and how we have turned the shared vision into a design strategy.

38. The key idea to explore is weaving concepts about tauhere (bind our hearts with ties of love), rangitāmiro (twisting the fibres together for strength), and paihere (unity). Enabling references to the metaphors of weaving and what we can achieve as design outputs with descriptors such as rhythm, bindings, pūriri roots and branches, veil, filtering and permeability etc.

Landscaping

39. Through preliminary design, the Site A landscaping design has built upon the language and conceptual approach of the refreshed Masterplan. Taking cues from the flow of wai (water), from puna (spring) to moana (sea), this movement shapes spaces to dwell in and move through. The design re-establishes the green corridor from ngahere (forest) to moana (sea) that once existed, nurturing ecosystems and connecting the people of Tauranga with nature.

40. Changes to design following the enhanced costing phase in July 2022 include:

· Increased sculpture garden extent.

· Inclusion of potential permanent stage and shade structure in the amphitheatre (costed as an enhancement).

· Rationalisation of key site levels relative to the new building floor heights.

· Combined sequence of 1:12/1:20 grade accessible ramps to transition the terraces (inclusion of strategically placed handrails where necessary).

· Increased extent of green through the site and in turn, rationalisation of paving extents.

· Inclusion of the waharoa to the ātea.

· Relocation of the ‘building waharoa’ (adj. Willow St) off the buildings and into the landscape.

· Inclusion of a mauri stone water feature.

· Adjustments to the service lane design to maintain the ongoing serviceability of Baycourt.

· Planting palette as primarily native supplemented with exotic species.

Baycourt refurbishment

41. An upgrade of Baycourt Community and Arts Centre is proposed, to modernise the facility and reflect the architectural design of other buildings within the civic precinct. A lift will be added to the outside of the building, allowing 24/7 accessible access across the site.

42. Changes to design following the enhanced costing phase in July 2022 include:

· A new exterior lift and walkway to provide 24/7 accessibility up the site – this may involve reinstatement of an external walkway.

· Exterior façade upgrades that are complementary to the future precinct development.

· Potential upgrade to interior lobbies, toilets and acoustic treatments.

· Canopy extension.

· Potential for roofing upgrades and added insulation.

Final CWEM preliminary designs

43. The library and community hub reflect finalised preliminary designs, whilst CWEM designs are at an advanced stage, but final preliminary designs and cost estimates are due in February 2023. It is not anticipated that there will be cost variation for the final CWEM preliminary designs however, it is noted that the developed and detailed designs will be brought back to Council for approval, prior to entering into a Development Agreement.

Project costs

44. Table 1 (below) outlines project costs for key elements of the Te Manawataki o Te Papa programme. Costs included in the LTPA are included, as well as updated project costs resulting from the preliminary design process. Project costs (including cost escalation) have increased from $303.4 million to a total of $307.85 million, and are delivered over the 2022-27 timeframe.

Project	Proposed Completion Date	Approved in LTPA May ‘22 ($mil)	Revised costs Nov ‘22 ($mil)
Library and community hub	Nov-25	$88.2	$91.50
Public amenity space – staged	Jun-27	$15.7	$17.25
Museum and exhibition gallery	Jan-27	$104.2	$110.55
Civic whare	Jan-27	$15.4	$15.50
Masonic Park upgrade	Jun-24	$10.9	$9.00
Baycourt upgrade	Dec-25	$11.0	$11.00
The Strand road reserve and adjacent reserve upgrade	Jun-25	$7.5	$7.50
Willow Street shared space	Jan-27	$8.9	$8.30
Durham/Hamilton/Wharf Street footpath upgrade	Jun-25	$9.2	$3.35
Wharf and Central Strand Plaza	Jun-25	$25.4	$25.40
Site A establishment	Apr-24	$7.0	$7.00
Tauranga Art Gallery*	Jul-24	-	$1.50
*Note: Art Gallery costs are included within the individual project cost items in the LTPA. These have been separated into their own project line for the enhanced costs presented.
TOTAL		$303.4	$307.85

Table 1: Project costs for Te Manawataki o Te Papa^{^[1]}

45. As outlined in the LTPA, it is currently expected that the average annual operating costs will be an additional ~$21.4 million, once construction is complete. These operating costs are continually being refined and updated as the programme progresses and in particular, as all of the function, use and design permutations are resolved. The LTP 2024-34 will include more detailed and accurate ongoing operating costs.

46. Of the $303.4 million LTP budget adopted for Te Manawataki o Te Papa, $32.9 million was allocated for Site C, waterfront and The Strand, leaving a budget of $270.5 million for Site A. The preliminary designs have suggested a $4.5 million budget increase for Site A to a total of $274.95 million:

Figure 3 – Funding changes from May 2022 to November 2022

47. Further enhanced costings have been undertaken to reflect the progression of the preliminary design from concept design (attached as Appendix 1). These costings have resulted in a number of changes to various components of the programme, with increases in some components being largely offset by decreases in other areas (see Table 1 in section 44).

48. Enhancements were approved by the Joint Steering Group Chairs, including mass timber buildings with a targeted 6 Green Star sustainability rating, premium façade finishings, and a canopy along the southern edge of Masonic Park. The project team have reassessed the whole programme, found targeted cost savings, and reached a design that incorporates mass timber and world leading sustainability aspirations, with only a $4.5 million increase in overall programme budget.

49. Figures are based on the costings provided in the Preliminary Design and Costings Report, and have been developed by Rider Levett Bucknall (Quantity Surveyors) and reviewed by LT McGuinness. These costs are based on the following conservative assumptions:

· Cost escalation of 8% of construction costs across the five years, totalling $21.52 million.

· Contingency of 11% of total cost across five years, resulting in $29.35 million total contingency.

· Programme of works commencing with developed and detailed design in 2022, and construction staged over the following five years.

· Programme completion by June 2027.

funding considerations

50. Te Manawataki o Te Papa proposed funding is a mix of Tauranga City Council debt and a variety of external funding sources. Table 2 (below) provides a summary of the indicative funding mix based on earlier expert advice from the Giblin Group. The funding may evolve as the funding strategy and programme costings are finalised. The current programme funding mix shows external funding of $119.93 million, and Tauranga City Council rates-funding of $151.5 million, and Tauranga City Council non-rates funding of $36.42 million.

		Total ($m)
	Capital Spend	91.50
Library and community hub	External Grant Funding	13.75
	TCC Loan/Other Funding	77.75
	Capital Spend	15.50
Civic whare*	External Grant Funding	15.08
	TCC Loan/Other Funding	0.42
	Capital Spend	110.55
Museum and exhibition gallery*	External Grant Funding	84.11
	TCC Loan/Other Funding	26.44
	Capital Spend	17.25
Public amenity space – staged	External Grant Funding	5.75
	TCC Loan/Other Funding	11.50
	Capital Spend	11.00
Baycourt upgrade	External Grant Funding	1.25
	TCC Loan/Other Funding	9.75
	Capital Spend	9.00
Masonic Park upgrade	TCC Loan/Other Funding	9.00
	Capital Spend	7.50
The Strand road reserve and adjacent reserve upgrade	TCC Loan/Other Funding	7.50
	Capital Spend	8.30
Willow Street shared space	TCC Loan/Other Funding	8.30
	Capital Spend	3.35
Durham/Hamilton/Wharf Street footpath upgrade	TCC Loan/Other Funding	3.35
	Capital Spend	25.40
Wharf and Central Strand Plaza	TCC Loan/Other Funding	25.40
	Capital Spend	7.00
Site A establishment	TCC Loan/Other Funding	7.00
	Capital Spend	1.50
Tauranga Art Gallery	TCC Loan/Other Funding	1.50
		Total ($m)
	Total Capital Spend	307.85
	External Grant Funding	119.93
Te Manawataki o Te Papa	TCC Loan/Other Funding	187.92
	- TCC Loan Funded	151.50
	- Other External Funding	36.42

Table 2: Te Manawataki o Te Papa indicative funding mix

*As of December 2022, $12.1 million of the ~$48 million Three Waters ‘Better Off’ funding package has been approved by the Department of Internal Affairs in relation to the museum, exhibition gallery, and civic whare projects. The approved amount has been included in external grant funding totals.

51. As shown in Table 2 (above), external funding is estimated at ~15% for the library and community hub, ~76% for the museum and exhibition gallery, ~97% for the civic whare, ~33% for the Civic Plaza and ~11% for the Baycourt upgrade. All other projects are expected to be 100% loan funded, with the exception of the central library which is expected to attract 12.5% development contribution funding.

52. The commencement of construction of the projects that rely on external funding is dependent on receiving the level of external funding reported, or sourcing alternative funding (other than further rates increases).

53. To achieve the required 50% non-rate funding target, a funding strategy has been developed with additional funding opportunities for the programme having been identified. Some examples include revenue from asset realisation and as mentioned above, a central government Three Waters ‘Better Off’ funding grant.

Options Analysis

54. The decision to progress with Te Manawataki o Te Papa to its current state was previously made through the LTPA. This report seeks approval to progress from current preliminary design, into the developed and detailed design phase. The Council has two options for consideration:

(a) Option 1: Authorises the Chief Executive to enter into a Development Commitment with Willis Bond to progress with developed and detailed designs at an estimated cost of $21.3m; or

(b) Option 2: Decide not to progress with the Te Manawataki o Te Papa programme of works.

55. Key benefits and disadvantages for each option are outlined below.

Option One: Authorises the Chief Executive to enter into a Development Commitment with Willis Bond to progress with developed and detailed designs at an estimated cost of $21.3m.

Advantages

56. In authorising the Chief Executive to enter into a Development Commitment with Willis Bond to progress the developed and detailed designs, the programme can proceed at the pace and quality planned.

57. In progressing to the developed and detailed design stages, the Council will be making progress towards delivering on the broad community benefits of the Te Manawataki o Te Papa programme.

58. Approving Option 1 is consistent with the Council’s LTPA and delivers on the commitment set through that process.

59. Council has set an expectation with the community that the city centre will be revitalised, and enhanced community facilities such as a museum, library, exhibition gallery and civic whare will be developed over the next five years, and be available for the community to enjoy. By progressing to the next stage of the programme, Council is delivering on that community expectation.

60. As a flagship community development, the project is proposed to attract significant external funding that is expected to significantly enhance community outcomes.

61. As the project progresses through the developed and detailed design phases to the tendering stage, costs will continue to be refined. There are potential opportunities to bring the costs back within the total programme budget. This may include amending the design to increase the use of green space (and reduce the amount of concrete), particularly in the waterfront and Site C, without negatively impacting the project deliverables. Therefore, this report does not look to increase the budget, at this stage, as future savings may mean that additional budget doesn’t eventuate as being necessary.

Disadvantages

62. In authorising delivery of the next phase of the project, Council is committing to the next portion of project investment. This includes an estimated $21.3 million to complete the developed and detailed design phases.

63. The current costings show an increase of $4.5 million from already approved budgets. There is a reputational risk that the community will see the current projected increase as a sign that the overall programme cost will increase over time. This is why this report recommends a separate resolution to reconfirm that the total cost from rates will not exceed the LTPA-approved amount of $151.5 million.

Option Two: Decide not to progress with Te Manawataki o Te Papa.

Advantages

64. By not continuing to the developed and detailed design phases of the programme, Council would limit further expenditure, including the $21.3 million of estimated cost associated with the next phase of the process.

65. Not delivering Te Manawataki o Te Papa will see financial savings for ratepayers and reduced loan funding, which may present an opportunity cost for alternative project delivery.

Disadvantages

66. The Council has already committed costs to get to this stage of the programme. By deciding not to continue the programme at this stage, those costs will be sunk with no discernible community outcome to show for it.

67. Extensive community consultation and partner collaboration has set an expectation that Te Manawataki o Te Papa will deliver great outcomes for the Tauranga community. Not continuing with the project means that those outcomes will not be realised, including revitalising the city centre, and enhancing mana whenua’s relationship with the land. This poses a reputational risk for the Council with mana whenua, with Council’s key partners, and with the broader community.

68. Extensive external funding is proposed for this programme. If the programme does not continue, the investment into Tauranga from other sources will not be realised.

69. Discontinuing the programme at this stage will see Council break its Partnering Agreement with Willis Bond.

70. If Te Manawataki o Te Papa is not built, further work would be required to determine an alternative use for the land where the civic precinct is currently planned.

Risks

Key project risks

71. The different projects are at various stages of design development and therefore may risk being stalled due to various factors e.g. lack of external funds and/or project cost escalation. This risk is further amplified by the interconnected nature of this programme of works, with many projects co-dependent on another through the sharing of spaces and/or facilities. The governance structure that has been developed to oversee the programme and several key gateway decisions points, will ensure appropriate Council oversight is provided throughout the programme.

72. Funding arrangements will need to be investigated and secured. If adequate funding is not secured, this will put the overall benefits to be realised through Te Manawataki o Te Papa at risk. As above, this risk is further amplified by the interconnected nature of the programme of works, with many projects co-dependent on another through the sharing of spaces and/or facilities. Depending on the success or otherwise of potential funding streams, this may require a level of flexibility in the timing and phasing of civic precinct projects. A multi-pronged funding strategy has been developed to help alleviate this risk.

73. For a detailed description of key project risks, please refer to Section 15 of the Preliminary Design and Costings Report.

Key financial risks

74. The projects that make up this programme of works, includes conservative assumptions regarding the level of project contingencies and cost escalation. However, there is always a risk that significant unplanned events may have an impact on overall and eventual project costs.

75. Several of the key projects include a level of external funding. An updated report on the likelihood of achieving this level of external funding will be reported to Council in July 2023.

76. As discussed above, whilst the project costs included in this programme of works include a conservative level of contingency and cost escalation provision, updated project costs will be obtained at the end of the developed and detailed design process. If these revised costs are significantly in excess of those previously consulted upon, but Council wish to proceed with the programme, consideration will be required as to the need for further public consultation.

Key reputational risk

77. Council has consulted on a total project budget of $303.4 million. If that budget changes at this stage of the programme, or if there is cost creep and overspend later in the project, that could have a detrimental impact on the community perception of the Council.

Legal Implications /

78. Lot 45 (Site A) of the civic precinct, being the Council-owned site, is culturally significant to mana whenua of Tauranga Moana. There is a long and complex history associated with the site, with unresolved grievances associated with the land. Following a period of public consultation, Council approved the establishment of a council-controlled organisation (CCO) for the ownership of Site A of the civic precinct with Otamataha Trust. The CCO will own the land and lease it back to the Council for a pepper-corn rent. The Council will retain ownership of any improvements on the land and is entitled to develop and construct further improvements on the land.

79. The purpose of the CCO is to own Site A land and to restore mana of the whenua to hapū and iwi. It also provides certainty for the future development by securing uncontested future use of the land, including for the community in terms of public use.

Significance

80. The Local Government Act 2002 requires an assessment of the significance of matters, issues, proposals and decisions in this report against Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy. Council acknowledges that in some instances a matter, issue, proposal or decision may have a high degree of importance to individuals, groups, or agencies affected by the report.

81. In making this assessment, consideration has been given to the likely impact, and likely consequences for:

(a) The current and future social, economic, environmental, or cultural well-being of the district or region

(b) Any persons who are likely to be particularly affected by, or interested in, the decision.

82. This report is part of a wider process for the development of Te Manawataki o Te Papa. In accordance with the considerations above, and criteria and thresholds in the policy, it is considered that the decision to deliver Te Manawataki o Te Papa is of high significance. As a result, the Council undertook a thorough decision-making process to approve the programme of work, including developing an LTPA and corresponding community consultation using the Special Consultative Procedure.

83. The decision made through this report is materially consistent with the decision made by Council on 24 May 2022. The extensive community feedback received through the LTPA process has been incorporated throughout the design phase of this project, and Council has a thorough understanding of the views of the community and has approved a clear plan for the delivery of the project.

84. Option 1 of this report is considered to be of low significance, in accordance with the considerations above, and criteria and thresholds in the policy, as the decision has a strong and logical flow from a prior decision of Council, and approves expenditure that is within existing budget.

ENGAGEMENT

85. The proposal to implement Te Manawataki o Te Papa required an amendment to the Council’s LTP 2021-31 under section 93(5) of the Local Government Act 2002. As such, a full consultation process has been undertaken from 25 March to 26 April 2022.

86. Taking into consideration the above information, if Council approves Option 1, further community consultation is assessed as not being required at this stage of the project.

Next Steps

87. This diagram summarises the key gateways and approval processes outlined in the Tauranga City Council / Willis Bond Partnering Agreement and will be followed for Site A. The red diamond identifies where this report fits into the wider process.

88. At each significant approval stage/gateway, the programme steering groups will make recommendations to Council. This provides the opportunity for Council oversight of final design phases, and provides for further consideration of incorporating submitter recommendations into future stages of the project.

89. This report is one of the gateways identified in the above diagram and seeks approval to progress to the developed and detailed design phases. In progressing, Council is committing to further work, with a cost estimate of $21.35 million, to complete the developed and detailed design phases of the Te Manawataki o Te Papa project.

90. Preliminary design and costings for Site C will be brought to future Council meetings at various stages for approval.

91. Developed and detailed design, and updated cost estimates, will be presented to Council for approval in 2023. It is expected that the library and community hub will be brought to Council in May 2023, and the CWEM will be brought to Council in July 2023.

Attachments

1. Appendix 1 - Te Manawataki o Te Papa - Preliminary Design and Cost Report 7.12.2022 - A14278344 ⇩

2. Appendix 2 - Te Manawataki o Te Papa Governance Group - Report to Council - A14278556 ⇩

Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

12 December 2022

11.2 Establishment of a council-controlled organisation to lead the delivery of Te Manawataki o Te Papa projects

File Number: A14241174

Author: Alastair McNeil, General Manager: Corporate Services

Authoriser: Marty Grenfell, Chief Executive

Purpose of the Report

1. To consider submissions received and recommend the adoption of a Council-controlled organisation to deliver the Te Manawataki o Te Papa development project.

Recommendations

That the Council:

(a) Receives the report "Establishment of a council-controlled organisation to lead the delivery of Te Manawataki o Te Papa projects ".

(i) Considers the issues raised by the submitters when determining the scope and terms of reference of the CCO.

(b) Adopts the proposal to create a Council-controlled organisation to deliver the Te Manawataki o Te Papa development project, subject to funding decisions in sections (c) (i) and (ii) in the 14 November report.

Executive Summary

2. On 14 November 2022, a report titled “Establishment of a council-controlled organisation to lead the delivery of Te Manawataki o Te Papa projects ” was submitted to Council.

3. The purpose of this report was to consider the establishment of a council-controlled organisation (“CCO”) to lead delivery of Te Manawataki o Te Papa projects.

4. Consultation ran from 21 November to 2 December, with 24 submissions were received. A summary of the feedback provided is included in this report.

Background

5. As a masterplan, Te Manawataki o Te Papa strongly or partially helps to advance each of council’s community outcomes:

· An inclusive city

· A well-planned city

· A city that supports business and education

· A city that values, protects and enhances our environment

· A city we can move around easily.

6. However, until the masterplan is delivered, and delivered well, the strategic benefits will not be realised.

7. The proposed establishment of a CCO to drive the project implementation is intended to ensure that delivery of the Te Manawataki o Te Papa projects is exemplary and maximises the benefits for Tauranga residents and visitors.

8. The November 2022 Pedersen report^{^[2]} made a clear recommendation – that a governance-only CCO leads the delivery of the civic development projects (option 1 per that report). Paragraph 27 of that report provides extensive reasoning behind that recommendation.

community feedback

9. The community was asked for its views on the proposal to establish a new Council Controlled Organisation.

10. In the consultation process, the Council proposed to establish a new Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) to ensure that the redevelopment of the civic precinct provides the best community outcomes possible.

11. The redevelopment of the civic precinct in Tauranga’s city centre is a once-in-a-generation project that will see this area transformed into a vibrant community space over the coming years, breathing new life into what will become a key cultural, heritage and economic driver for the region.

12. Community feedback was sought on a proposal to establish a new CCO that will govern and lead the delivery of the civic precinct redevelopment, Te Manawataki o Te Papa - the heartbeat of Te Papa.

13. Having considered potential governance approaches, Council indicated that it believes a CCO model offers significant advantages which will help ensure the best possible project outcomes can be achieved for everyone involved. This formal governance structure would include a Board and at least one employee with experience in delivering similar large-scale projects.

14. The following tables outline the key themes and rationale provided by submitters for and against the proposal.

15. A Summary of Submissions in Favour of a CCO

Appoint appropriate qualified experienced professionals with civic experience. No council staff.

Don’t believe there is experienced locals. Need to seek specialists from outside Tauranga. Must get references showing successful examples of engaging waterfront/ city projects.

Many locals with great experience that don’t work for TCC but can lend their experience.

Great idea and right step to take.

When Commissioners leave the CCO is an excellent option to protect the progress and completion of the project without interference. Too many U-turns by previous elected councils.

Transparent & financial accountability and will meet project deadlines on time within budget. A board of expertise and a staff member to oversee the project is absolute and appropriate.

Specialists in delivery of large projects in a city are very important.

Significant funding input from funding sources outside council will add to the stability of the project to have control with an entity somewhat separate from TCC. If CCO works well can be used for other upcoming projects. High and continuing engagement with Mana Whenua required.

Gives specific focus to the project and removes it partially from the politics of local government. These can be uncertain to say the least as the history of the Museum will attest.

Allows for separation between a project that requires expertise and daily council tasks that both demand different structural cognisance. I’m interested in how mana whenua vs tangata whenua interests will be determined? Ensure the most skill collaborations with respect to visual competency and embeds excellence of expedience.

Specialist team representing Māori architecture, environmental and landscape design, public art, curatorship and project management should drive the participation of hapū and iwi to be represented. To not do so would be divisive in nature.

16. A Summary Submissions Against CCO

Too many decisions being made by old boys’ club. Those who want to spend money because they have money themselves. Tauranga needs sprucing up but money is being spent wrongly.

No! More rich people getting ratepayers money. Budget will blowout. If you can’t manage the project internally then why propose the CCO in the first place.

Waste of money, are there not people already employed by the council that it is their job to do this type of work?

Stop wasting ratepayer money. Stop projects and let us all catch up from Covid.

Not until we have an elected council so we can have the right to vote on these and other matters.

No. Enough spending money you don’t have when ratepayers are being asked to front up more money each year. We don’t need this too

Times are tough and inflation is biting into what one can spend money on. We cannot afford rates increases especially on a project like this.

Commissioners are government appointments and don’t represent the wishes of Tauranga ratepayers. Cost of living is increasing. Now is not the time to be building unnecessary nice to haves.

Wellington City Council’s new exhibition centre is being built under the supervision of a council in-house business with no overspends but Christchurch Council has used a CCO for their multi-use stadium and it is overbudget and delayed.

The Papamoa Residents and Ratepayers Association is against the establishment of a CCO.

Should be kept in-house by creating a project team with the right skills to allow control, supervision and guided by elected councillors. Looks like your removing public input and locking the build to a small group of vested interests appointed with their own agenda. High ratepayer costs and removes accountability for council.

Council employees should project manage the proposed civic centre and be held accountable for mistakes and cost overruns.

Summary of Feedback

17. We received a total of 24 submissions. Three submissions did not directly comment on the CCO proposal, two submissions used the channel to comment more generally about city improvement opportunities, while one submission contained no text.

18. Of the remaining 21 submissions, 10 (48%) support the proposal to establish a CCO. And 11 (52%) did not support the proposal.

Hearings

19. No hearings have been scheduled.

Strategic / Statutory Context

20. The use of a CCO as a structure requires compliance with the Local Government Act 2002 (“LGA”). This includes preparation of a Statement of Intent (SOI). Further details are outlined in Appendix 3.

Options Analysis

21. Two options are available to the Council:

(a) either set-up the CCO in accordance with the LGA and the details outlined across the various reports; or

(b) decline to establish a CCO and rely on existing governance capabilities.

Financial Considerations

22. As previously reported, the estimated cost of establishing this CCO is $100k. This will include costs of establishment, board set-up and recruitment, and legal costs. Given that there is no asset ownership within the proposed CCO, minimum equity will be used for its establishment.

23. Annual costs of the proposed CCO have not been fully-evaluated, but are expected to be approximately $600k, predominately relating to remuneration and related costs for the board and senior executive.

24. It is recommended that these costs be met by a loan-funded grant from Council to the CCO, given both the nature of the CCO and its sole focus on governance of the delivery of long-term capital expenditure. This has not been included in the overall budget of Te Manawataki o Te Papa and would therefore be additional budget, which would be funded through a ratepayer funded charge over a maximum ten-year time period.

25. Existing governance costs are approximately $130k per annum, plus internal staff costs, which would not be incurred once this CCO is established and operating.

26. Any current year costs are estimated to fall within the Chief Executive’s delegated authority, consistent with the funding methodology proposed above.

Legal Implications / Risks

27. The establishment and operation of a CCO is subject to a number of provisions in the LGA. These provisions primarily relate to the governance of the CCO and its accountability back to council, and ultimately to the community.

28. Key among the provisions in the Act are that:

(a) directors of the CCO need to be appointed in accordance with council’s Appointment of Directors to Council Organisations policy^{^[3]}

(b) council may prepare a ‘statement of expectations’ outlining its expectations of the CCO

(d) the CCO must prepare, and provide to council, six-monthly and annual reports on its operations.

Consultation / Engagement

29. In accordance with the Act, an online feedback form was used to consult on the draft establishment of a CCO, the results of which are appended to this report.

Significance

30. The Local Government Act 2002 requires an assessment of the significance of matters, issues, proposals, and decisions in this report against Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy. Council acknowledges that in some instances a matter, issue, proposal or decision may have a high degree of importance to individuals, groups, or agencies affected by the report.

31. In making this assessment, consideration has been given to the likely impact, and likely consequences for:

(a) the current and future social, economic, environmental, or cultural well-being of the district or region

(b) any persons who are likely to be particularly affected by, or interested in, the matter.

32. In accordance with the considerations above, criteria and thresholds in the policy, it is considered that the proposal is of medium significance.

ENGAGEMENT

33. Taking into consideration the above assessment, that the decision is of medium significance, officers are of the opinion that no further engagement is required prior to Council making a decision.

Next Steps

34. If, following consultation, Council determines not to proceed with the creation of a CCO, then existing governance processes will remain in place.

35. If, following consultation, Council determines to proceed with the creation of a CCO, a project plan is included in Appendix 3, including the following steps:

(a) incorporate the CCO company and adopt a constitution (this may have one initial director for the purposes of establishment)

(b) identify the skills required for the Board and prepare an information pack for potential directors, including a briefing on the objectives and status of the project, the role of the CCO and its relationship with Council, other parties and organisations involved, funding streams, time commitment, remuneration, directors' and officers' insurance cover, etc.

(d) issue a Statement of Expectations to the CCO

(e) delegate powers and functions to the CCO and identify reporting requirements of the CCO back to Council

(f) receive and consider the draft Statement of Intent produced by the CCO.

Attachments

1. Appendix 1 - Proposal to establish a new Council Controlled Organisation Feedback - A14263587 ⇩

2. Appendix 2 - Timeline - Te Manawataki o Te Papa Preliminary Design & Cost Report - 28 November 2022 - A14263583 ⇩

3. Appendix 3 - Draft Project Plan for CCO Establishment - A14268350 ⇩

Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

12 December 2022

11.3 Smiths Farm - Disposal Classification and Hapu Engagement

File Number: A14222001

Author: Jo Stone, Senior Strategic Advisor

Authoriser: Christine Jones, General Manager: Strategy, Growth & Governance

Purpose of the Report

Disposal Classification and Mana Whenua Engagement

1. To inform Council of engagement activities with Mana Whenua on the divestment of the Smiths Farm SHA site (“The Property”).

2. To seek a Council decision on:

(a) The disposal classification for the properties under the Property Acquisition and Disposals Policy; and

(b) Progressing the method of disposal following Mana Whenua engagement

Recommendations

That the Council:

(d) Considers the requirements of the Property Acquisitions and Disposal Policy have been satisfied insofar as it relates to Mana Whenua Engagement.

(e) Classifies the divestment of the Smiths Farm SHA site as a Strategic Disposal under the Property Acquisitions and Disposal Policy, with the strategic objectives of:

(i) Enabling housing development at the earliest opportunity

(ii) Delivering medium density residential development with a mix of housing typologies, and a mix of affordable and market housing

(iii) Providing a range of housing tenure and ownership arrangements.

(iv) Maximising the financial return from the market housing to enable reinvestment into affordable housing outcomes.

(f) Progresses the disposal of the Smiths Farm site via an open market process. Advises Ngāi Tamarawaho Hapū that Council will not enter into a direct exclusive negotiation with the Hapū and that the Hapū can participate in the open market process.

Executive Summary

3. This report follows an earlier confidential report presented to Council on 3 October 2022, with regards to potential sale and / or redevelopment of the Smiths Farm Property. At this time Council confirmed the Strategic Objectives and resolved a preliminary disposal classification of Strategic Disposal in accordance with the Strategic Disposals and Acquisitions Policy (the A&D Policy), subject to completion of Mana Whenua engagement.

4. The Council resolution included:

(b) Approves the strategic divestment objectives/outcomes with respect to the disposal of the Smiths Farm property of:

(i) Enabling housing development at the earliest opportunity

(ii) Delivering medium density residential development with a mix of housing typologies, and a mix of affordable and market housing

(iii) Providing a range of housing tenure and ownership arrangements.

(iv) Maximising the financial return from the market housing to enable reinvestment into affordable housing outcomes.

(c) Agrees that the divestment of the Property will likely be classified as Strategic Disposal under the Property Acquisitions and Disposal Policy, noting that the appropriate classification can only be confirmed upon completion of Mana Whenua Engagement.

(d) Endorses staff continuing, in parallel with engagement with Tangata Whenua, to develop a divestment strategy (including identification of how the strategic divestment objectives can be achieved), to be reported back to Council for decision making.

5. With respect to the resolution above:

(a) In accordance with resolution (c), and as per the A&D Policy, notice of Councils intention to dispose of the Property was sent on 12 October 22 to Mana Whenua associated with the area, Ngāi Tamarawaho Hapū.

(b) Ngāi Tamarawaho provided Council with a document outlining Ngai Tamarawaho Cultural links with the land and property 14 November 22, and a hui was held on 15 November 22 to discuss this information. Further detail outlining these links is discussed in the following section ‘Tangata Whenua Engagement’.

(c) In accordance with resolution (d), staff have continued with the planning for disposal, and this is addressed in a separate report on this agenda. If Council does not resolve that the disposal is a strategic disposal, then the Right of Refusal to Mana Whenua will apply and the separate report would not be relevant.

6. This report asks Council to:

· Confirm the requirements of the Property Acquisitions and Disposal Policy have been satisfied insofar as it relates to Mana Whenua Engagement,

· Confirm the Disposal Classification as a Strategic Disposal

· Respond to the hapu request for a direct exclusive negotiation for the disposal of the land.

key issues

Disposal Classification

7. Council has reached a preliminary position that this divestment be classified as a Strategic Disposal under the Property Acquisitions and Disposal Policy (“the Policy”). That preliminary position is subject to the outcome of Mana Whenua engagement, which is required by the Policy when Council is making a decision of the disposal classification for a particular divestment. The Policy asks Mana Whenua to provide information on “Cultural Matters” relating to the divestment.

8. Council needs to be satisfied that the requirements of the Policy have been met insofar as it relates to Mana Whenua Engagement. The requirements are:

Step 2: Engagement with Mana Whenua on cultural matters

5.6.3.2 Council staff will notify Mana Whenua of the details of the property being considered and a summary of the assessment undertaken in 5.6.3.1 above.

5.6.3.3 If a property is not subject to pre-existing statutory or other legal obligations, council staff will meet with Mana Whenua within 30 days of giving notice as per 5.6.3.2 and engage in good faith to ensure any cultural matters have been appropriately identified and considered in the assessment.

Method of Disposal

9. The request from the hapu for direct negotiation via a non-open market process is not a relevant consideration in the context of the “disposal classification” decisions sought by this report.

10. The direct negotiation is however relevant to the “method of disposal”. The direct negotiation process would be a non-open market process.

11. Section 5.6.5 of the Policy provides Council with full discretion over the method of disposal (refer to Section 5.6.5 of the Policy) and informed by property market conditions and the characteristics of the property being disposed of.

Tangata whenua engagement

12. With respect to the Mana Whenua engagement, staff consider sufficient notice and opportunity to engage has been provided for the following reasons:

· Mana Whenua as noted in Council’s contact database include Ngāi Tamarawaho Hapū;

· On advice from the Takawaenga Māori Unit, notice of the divestment was provided to Ngāi Tamarawaho Hapū.

· In accordance with the Property Acquisitions and Disposal Policy (Section 5.6, Step 2), Policy, formal Notice of Councils intention to dispose of the Property was sent to Mana Whenua associated with the area, Ngāi Tamarawaho Hapū following Council meeting on the 3 October 22.

· Within the notice being provided to Mana Whenua, Council provided information on the property and Council’s decision on strategic objectives associated with the divestment;

· The notice further requested Mana Whenua confirm whether there were any “cultural matters” that may require consideration in this divestment.

· In accordance with Section 5.6, Step 2 of the Policy the notice also proposed to meet with Mana Whenua within 30 days of the notice. Meeting times were reserved for the 15, 22 and 28 November 2022.

· A meeting was held on 15 November with mana whenua and Council.

· Regular communications by staff to Hapū contacts has occurred via email, and discussions outside of the pre-arranged dates/times. A record of engagement outcomes identifying cultural and other issues is included within Appendix 1.

13. Through verbal discussions and correspondence, Mana Whenua have signalled to staff that there is a strong desire to acquire the land via direct negotiation (or a non-open market process) and have previously provided Council with offers to purchase this property. There are various reasons for this interest, but key points include reference to historical land confiscations, utilising the land for housing opportunities (incl. social) and related outcomes, a desire to establish a physical presence in the Valley of Te Auetu and the Kopurererua Valley, a desire to create a commercially viable asset.

14. In reply, staff have verbally advised:

· Council is signalling this divestment will likely be classified as a Strategic Disposal and an open market method of disposal is looking preferable.

· If Council confirmed the divestment as a strategic disposal subject to the outcome of Council meeting 12^th Dec 2022, no Right of First Refusal applies

· It is at the discretion of Council as to whether Council considers any proposal including considering using a non-open market process.

Ngāi Tamarawaho Report - Cultural Links

15. Ngāi Tamarawaho provided Council with a document outlining Ngai Tamarawaho Cultural links with the land and property on 14 November 22; ‘Ngāi Tamarawaho Report - Cultural Links’, Buddy Mikaere, Nov 22, and a hui was held on 15 November 22 to discuss this information. At the hui the Hapu representative advised that previous correspondence also outlined the hapu position.

16. A summary of key points include:

· Outline of the history of the site including descendants, important access routes, look out points, a pa site and food gathering / gardens, confirmation that the land is within Ngāi Tamarawaho Rohe

· References to historical discussions on Route K project and aspirations relating to a cultural centre and utilisation of Council sites, that hapū had given up aspirations for Smiths Farm Cultural Centre and Well-being Centre at Councils request

· Notes iwi interest in purchasing this land on commercial terms / market value.

17. Ngai Tamarawaho has also drawn our attention to a Submission to Council in 2015 which outlined the following:

· An offer to purchase Smiths Farm for housing development on agreed commercial terms, development in conjunction with hapū housing developer partners.

· Proposal that hapū’s share of income from the development be used for the development of a cultural centre

· Proposal that there be a provision for Kaumatua and whanau housing on the site

· Proposal that a share will fund the cultural centre relative to finding a suitable site; this would include jobs and training and a site for continuation of traditional arts

Hui / Discussion 15 November 22

18. On the 15 November, a meeting was held with Council staff and Buddy Mikaere representative of Ngāi Tamarawaho. This discussion occurred in accordance with Section 5.6 mana whenua engagement. Key points raised included;

· Notes broader cultural significance and Ngai Tamawaraho aspirations for the future of the site.

· Buddy Mikaere confirmed there are no cultural sites of significance on this land (that would affect the land being used for housing).

· Mana Whenua support housing on this site.

· Any future development of the site to include cultural monitoring.

· Notes iwi interest in purchasing this land on commercial terms.

Plan Change 33

19. In addition, Iwi engagement has also occurred as part of Council Plan Change 33 (PC33), this is addressed within the PC 33 - Section 32 report, 7. Site Specific Rezoning (Smiths Farm), pg 26:

Item 7.6.3 - Ngai Tamarawaho

Ngai Tamarawaho have previously been consulted on the SHA and resource consent applications for this site. Council staff met with Ngai Tamarawaho on 27 May 2022 to discuss the proposed rezoning of the site. There were no specific concerns raised during that meeting regarding the proposal.

HASHA Resource Consent RC25595/6*01

20. A review of Cultural and Archaeological Effects was made under HASHA land use consent in 2016, amended 2021. The NZ Archaeological database and Council records confirmed at this time there are no intact archaeological or heritage sties on the land. In addition, the Tauranga City Plan does not identify any significant Māori areas or significant archaeological areas as being recorded on the site.

Other Matters

Pukehinahina Cultural Centre

21. Of note, an obligation on Council was established in 1999 via a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Transit NZ, Council and Ngai Tamarāwaho regarding the State Highway 2, Route J Expressway, Route K and the PJ Link. The purpose of the MOU was to record the understandings between Council, Transit NZ and Ngai Tamarāwaho about the measures to avoid, remedy or mitigate the potential adverse effects of the project on the ancestral landscape and interests of Ngai Tamarāwaho.

22. The MOU created an obligation on Council to investigate opportunities to enable Ngai Tamarāwaho to establish a physical presence in the Valley of Te Auetu and the Kopurererua Valley (K Valley).

23. Discussions have continued between Council and Ngai Tamarāwaho on possible alternative sites for a Cultural and Historic Centre, as such, at Council meeting 25 July 22, Council confirmed in principle a proposal to establish a Cultural and Historic Centre on part of the Gate Pa Recreation Reserve. Subsequently, it is considered (subject to reclassification of the Reserve), that Council will have met its obligation to investigate options pursuant to the MOU entered into in 1999 and has delivered on the commitment to provide Ngai Tamawaraho a place for a Cultural and Historic Centre, refer Resolution CO14/22/4. Council has recently resolved to proceed with the reclassification of the reserve.

Options and recommendations

Mana Whenua Engagement

24. Council needs to be satisfied sufficient engagement opportunity has been provided to Mana Whenua. The options available to Council include:

Mana Whenua Engagement Options

Option 1	Defers any disposal classification decision on the basis that while the requirements of the Property Acquisitions and Disposal Policy have been satisfied insofar as it relates to Mana Whenua Engagement, response from Mana Whenua has been received and directs staff to continue further engagement with Mana Whenua.
Option 2	Considers the requirements of the Property Acquisitions and Disposal Policy have been satisfied insofar as it relates to Mana Whenua Engagement with hapū feedback having been received.
Recommendation	Option 2

Disposal Classification

25. The below disposal classification options have been previously reported to Council within the 3 October report. Council considered Option 2 to be the most appropriate. Following engagement, it is considered the classification remains appropriate.

Property - Classification Options

OPTION 1.	Classify the disposal of the Property as Atypical, on the basis that the property is unique and there is a lack of similar and reliable sales data to inform market value.
OPTION 2.	Classify the disposal of the Property as a Strategic Disposal, based on strategic objective of at least medium density redevelopment and seeking to secure a market premium to maximise available funds for reinvestment into housing outcomes (including social, public and affordable housing).
Recommendation	Option 2

Method of Disposal

26. It is requested Council provide direction on the hapū request to directly negotiate with the hapu for the disposal of the land. Options available:

OPTION 1.

Progresses an open market approach to achieve the strategic objectives.

Pros

· Market approach will test viability in the current market to deliver on the identified strategic objectives.

· Likely to result in a broader range of options to enable Council to achieve the desired strategic objectives, including innovative and partnership approaches.

· Ability to partner with reliable delivery partners who hold development expertise.

· Land value will be influenced by the state of the property market and future market expectations. If the council was able to bring the land to market in positive market conditions, it is likely to secure a premium.

· Consistent with application of the Acquisitions and Disposal policy process.

· Hapū may be able to participate in the process (although will not have any exclusivity).

Cons

· May compromise relationship with hapū.

· Current financial conditions of the market may impact on breadth/range of market response.

OPTION 2.	Acknowledge and agree to the request from the hapū for a direct exclusive negotiation at market value.
*Pros*	· Positive impact on relationship with iwi. · Addresses long standing requests by hapū to procure/develop land.
*Cons*	· Ability to deliver Council Strategic Objectives likely to be reduced. · Potential to alienate other development partnerships in future. · Basis to engage in direct negotiation wholly with hapū not consistent with Acquisitions and Disposal Policy i.e., RFR does not apply.
Recommendation	Option 2 (Hapū can participate in a market process).

Summary

27. Cultural information to consider has been outlined in the section ‘Tangata Whenua Engagement’ and Engagement, Option 2 - ‘Requirements of the Property Acquisitions and Disposal Policy have been satisfied insofar as it relates to Mana Whenua Engagement’ is recommended, and no changes to the earlier strategic objectives appear necessary.

28. Council may therefore continue to rely on the identified strategic objectives in their decisions and confirm its preliminary position that the most appropriate Disposal Classification for this divestment is Strategic Disposal, Option 2.

29. It is considered the Policy requirements have been satisfied.

30. Regarding the Method of Disposal, Option 2 – ‘Progresses an open market approach to achieve the strategic objectives’ is recommended, noting that hapū can participate in a market process.

next steps

31. Communicate decision of Council to the hapū representatives.

Attachments

1. Smiths Farm Cultural Issues Engagement Record - A14116002 ⇩

Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

12 December 2022

11.4 Adoption of Council's Strategic Framework

File Number: A14063156

Author: Anne Payne, Principal Strategic Advisor

Authoriser: Christine Jones, General Manager: Strategy, Growth & Governance

Purpose of the Report

1. This report presents Our Direction – Tauranga 2050, which summarises Council’s strategic framework and high-level direction, for adoption.

Recommendations

That the Council:

(a) Receives the report "Adoption of Council's Strategic Framework".

(b) Adopts Our Direction – Tauranga 2050 (Attachment 1), summarising Council’s strategic framework and high-level direction which guide Council’s decision-making on future investment and delivery for our communities.

(c) Delegates the General Manager: Strategy, Growth & Governance to approve minor amendments if required prior to publication.

(d) Notes the proposed next steps for the strategic framework refresh project.

Executive Summary

2. Our Direction – Tauranga 2050 was adopted as a draft for consultation in June 2022, and community feedback was provided to the Council on 5 September.

3. This report provides an updated version of Our Direction – Tauranga 2050 for adoption (Attachment 1) and notes the key changes proposed.

4. Most of the feedback is to be reflected in the two new strategies and / or the action and investment plans currently under development.

5. Council will provide input to the new action and investment plans through the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee early in the New Year, as outlined in the next steps section of this report.

6. Development is underway for the online framework, which will be part of Council’s website, and for the monitoring, reporting and review processes that will ensure Council delivers on its strategic direction over time.

7. A summary of the Our Direction – Tauranga 2050 will be prepared and placed on the website. This will be a short reference document which encapsulates the key elements in easy to understand language.

Background

8. The strategic framework refresh project aligns Council’s strategies and plans so that Council’s strategic direction is clear, coherent, and has a visible pathway to delivery.

9. Our Direction – Tauranga 2050 was adopted as a draft for public consultation on 27 June. Consultation feedback was provided to Council on 5 September 2022, with no decisions being sought at that time. Council requested that staff report back with the revised strategic framework, incorporating changes arising from submissions received, for adoption this calendar year.

10. The framework itself is not anticipated to require further amendment during this project, other than to include the diagram currently under development. However, minor changes to the narrative describing Council’s high-level direction may be required to ensure consistency with Council’s new action and investment plans as they are finalised.

11. Our Direction – Tauranga 2050 is envisaged as a point-in-time document, to be reviewed and updated at least every three years to reflect progress towards Council’s goals and to clarify direction for each upcoming long-term planning process.

12. Council’s strategic framework, including its strategies and action and investment plans, is intended to be primarily navigated online. The draft framework is under construction and will be available on Council’s website early in the New Year.

13. Strategy and plan monitoring, reporting and review processes will also be put in place as part of this project. These will include clear timeframes, accountabilities, and responsibilities.

Strategic / Statutory Context

14. Tauranga City Council’s strategic framework provides a framework of strategies, and action and investment plans to support Council’s contribution to the vision for Tauranga.

15. The strategic framework comprises Council’s five community outcomes interwoven with Council’s three approaches to Te Ao Māori, sustainability, and working beyond Tauranga. Together these eight ‘strands’ of the framework articulate Council’s current and future contribution to the vision for Tauranga.

16. Council’s strategies, and action and investment plans are aligned within this strategic framework. They clearly articulate Council’s strategic goals and the actions required to deliver on them. These are Council’s roadmaps for future delivery, providing key actions for prioritisation during each long-term planning round.

17. A number of new or updated action and investment plans are currently being developed to fill identified gaps in the new framework. The plans include a mix of Council-led actions and actions that others can deliver. Council and others will not be able to fully fund all action and investment plans right away, but the plans identify the best pathway to our longer-term goals. The plans will be reviewed for effectiveness at least every three years, to inform each long-term planning process.

18. Council’s strategic framework and high-level direction are summarised in Our Direction – Tauranga 2050, included at Attachment 1 to this report.

proposed updates to our direction – tauranga 2050

19. Community feedback has been considered for inclusion in Our Direction – Tauranga 2050. Key points are:

(a) Most of the specific feedback will be more relevantly incorporated into the strategies, and new action and investment plans. This is underway and we will check that the matters raised are suitably addressed as these plans are developed.

(b) Complexity – to better show how things fit together, the strategic priorities are now shown in text boxes (refer pages 8 – 11). This is to clarify that these are specific focus areas for delivery at this time, and that they contribute across the enduring framework.

(c) Equity and diversity – Council was asked to consider equity and diversity when delivering, recognising that Tauranga’s diverse population is increasingly diverse and doesn’t have the same opportunities and advantages. This is a major focus for the framework and the strategies and plans within it and is firstly evidenced through how we have defined an inclusive city (‘where people of all ages, beliefs, abilities, and backgrounds are included and feel safe, connected and healthy’, ref pages 6 and 15). Then, applying our framework principle that all eight ‘strands’ of the framework impact each other, an inclusive city lens (or equity lens) is being applied across all strategies, plans and actions within them. This drives through to improving our internal processes so that an inclusive city lens is applied to all our projects and activities. This is an example of where the framework will drive improvement within our organisation, to improved delivery for our communities.

(d) Monitoring – with many strategies, plans and outcomes to achieve, it was suggested that a monitoring advisory group that included community members from outside of the council might be beneficial. This aligns with staff thinking and is in the mix as we turn our minds to monitoring, reporting and review processes.

20. Some edits have also been made to reflect progress on Council’s priority projects since June. These are not specifically identified in this report, but can be provided if required.

21. The diagram identifying the eight elements of the framework (page 6) will be replaced with our framework diagram which will shortly be completed. This diagram will better show that these eight elements are inter-related and must work together for Council to successfully contribute to the vision for Tauranga.

Options Analysis

22. The option analysis below considers the adoption of Our Direction – Tauranga 2050, which summarises Council’s strategic framework and high-level direction.

Option 1 (RECOMMENDED)

23. Council adopts Our Direction – Tauranga 2050.

24. Key risk: The high-level direction summarised in this document may need to be amended slightly for consistency with the action and investments plans and two new strategies currently under development. Version control and clearly dating the document, as well as clear communication should mitigate this risk to some extent.

Advantages

Disadvantages

· The framework is adopted, providing clarity and certainty for planning and delivery – for both Council and its partners in delivery. This is particularly relevant for the action and investment plans underway, and the upcoming annual and long-term plan processes.

· Council’s high-level direction is clearly and succinctly articulated, providing clarity for Council staff, our delivery partners, and our communities.

· The framework is given meaning and greater clarity through the high-level direction provided within this document, they most logically sit together.

· Potential for confusion if the document is subsequently amended to better reflect action and investment plans, mitigation as outlined above.

Option 2 (NOT RECOMMENDED)

25. Council does not adopt Our Direction – Tauranga 2050.

26. Key risk: Lack of certainty of and clarity about the council’s strategic direction, for our communities, delivery partners, and for our staff. Potentially resulting in unclear priorities for future funding and delivery through our annual and long-term plans, and reputational damage with our communities and delivery partners.

Advantages

Disadvantages

· If the document is adopted at a later time, with the action and investment plans and two new strategies, then consistency across the documents would be ensured at the outset.

· Continued lack of clarity and certainty for planning and delivery, for our staff, delivery partners, and wider communities.

· Greater potential for ad-hoc prioritisation of Council’s limited funding.

· No ‘one source of truth’ for Council’s high-level direction, including how the council contributes to the vision for Tauranga.

Financial Considerations

27. The direct costs of adopting Our Direction – Tauranga 2050 are minimal and have been anticipated within the project budget. The potential costs of implementing the strategies, and action and investment plans will be addressed at a project level for each action and investment plan, and during the development of subsequent long-term plans and annual plans.

Legal Implications / Risks

28. Our Direction – Tauranga 2050 provides clarity about Council’s strategic direction and priorities, and how Council is delivering, and intends in the future to deliver, on them.

29. This clarity provides a platform for ongoing discussion with our communities, including our partners and those we work together with to achieve the vision for Tauranga – reducing Council’s potential risk of being out of step with our communities.

30. There are no known legal implications from this report or its recommendations.

Consultation / Engagement

31. Following approval of the strategic framework concept in June 2021, the community outcome and approach summaries included in Our Direction – Tauranga 2050 were drafted by council staff. In late 2021 and early 2022, these draft ‘At A Glance’ summaries were then tested with groups of people working in or with knowledge about each area and updated accordingly.

32. Community feedback about the vision for Tauranga was incorporated as it became available, to ensure the ‘At A Glance’ summaries align with what our communities have told us is important to them.

33. Council’s proposed new strategic framework and high-level direction was consolidated into the draft Our Direction – Tauranga 2050 document, reported to Council in June. This was open for public consultation for four weeks 11 June to 5 August, along with our two new draft strategies. The feedback received was provided to Council on 5 September, along with a summary of key feedback themes and initial responses.

34. The feedback has been considered for inclusion in Our Direction – Tauranga 2050, and key points are noted in the ‘Proposed updates to Our Direction – Tauranga 2050’ section of this report.

35. Further engagement is outlined in the ‘Next Steps’ section below.

Significance

36. The Local Government Act 2002 requires an assessment of the significance of matters, issues, proposals and decisions in this report against Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy. Council acknowledges that in some instances a matter, issue, proposal or decision may have a high degree of importance to individuals, groups, or agencies affected by the report.

37. In making this assessment, consideration has been given to the likely impact, and likely consequences for:

(a) the current and future social, economic, environmental, or cultural well-being of the district or region

(b) any persons who are likely to be particularly affected by, or interested in, the decision.

38. In accordance with the considerations above, criteria and thresholds in the policy, it is considered that the matter (of Council’s strategic framework and high level direction) is of medium significance, however the decision (to adopt Our Direction – Tauranga 2050) is of low significance.

ENGAGEMENT

39. Taking into consideration the above assessment, that the decision is of medium significance and that public consultation has already occurred on the draft, officers are of the opinion that no further engagement is required prior to Council making a decision.

Next Steps

40. The adopted Our Direction – Tauranga 2050 will be made available on the council’s website, and communicated with the people, groups and organisations that have been involved to date, as well as with our wider communities.

41. Staff will also prepare a summary of the Our Direction – Tauranga 2050 which will be placed on the website. This will be a short reference document which encapsulates the key elements in easy to understand language.

42. The Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee will review the proposed set of prioritised actions for each action and investment plan under development in the New Year. This is currently scheduled for 31 January, 14 February, and 21 February.

43. Committee feedback will be worked through with the internal and external people involved to date, including Te Rangapū Mana Whenua o Tauranga Moana, and the draft plans updated accordingly.

44. The process for wider community engagement/consultation on the draft plans is still being developed, but may take the form of a series of LTP preparation workshops and/or online engagements in 2023.

45. During this time, the online framework and monitoring, reporting and review processes will continue to be developed.

Attachments

1. 'Our Direction - Tauranga 2050' - updated Dec 2022 Word version - Changes - A14262929 ⇩

Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

12 December 2022

11.5 Executive Report

File Number: A14174210

Author: Nic Johansson, General Manager: Infrastructure

Barbara Dempsey, General Manager: Community Services

Paul Davidson, Chief Financial Officer

Christine Jones, General Manager: Strategy, Growth & Governance

Alastair McNeil, General Manager: Corporate Services

Sarah Omundsen, General Manager: Regulatory and Compliance

Gareth Wallis, General Manager: City Development & Partnerships

Authoriser: Marty Grenfell, Chief Executive

Purpose of the Report

1. To provide updates on key projects and activities.

Recommendations

That the Council:

(a) Receives the "Executive Report".

Infrastructure Group

Corporate Sustainability Plan progress

2. We are developing a Corporate Sustainability Plan which will assist Tauranga City Council’s efforts to become a more sustainable organisation and align with the work we are doing with our communities.

3. The Corporate Sustainability Plan will be finalised by late-2023, with priority work completed for inclusion in the draft LTP early next year and updates brought to the commission quarterly through the Strategy Finance and Risk Committee.

4. Members of the Corporate Sustainability Team and Finance Team attended a three-day practical course on Climate-Related Disclosures for Corporates. This was a valuable exercise ahead of reporting to XRB (the External Reporting Board, tasked with developing climate reporting standards for New Zealand corporates). Managing and publicly disclosing climate-related risk is a priority area of the Corporate Sustainability Plan and will provide important information to meet future Local Government Funding Agency reporting requirements.

Summer Waste Campaign

5. We have launched a Summer Waste campaign that aims to keep our kerbside collections running smoothly over the summer months by targeting holiday makers with ‘kerbside 101’ information, making it easier for them to understand how to use the council bins and when to put them out. The influx of tourists in our community over the summer holidays is great for our city, but does pose a challenge for kerbside collections, with more cross-contamination from items being put in the incorrect bins; bins being placed incorrectly or put out on the wrong days; and issues with broken glass.

6. The campaign will also target existing residents to let them know what to do with excess rubbish and recycling this summer. It will let residents know they can get an extra glass recycling bin if they would find this useful.

7. The Summer Waste campaign will run primarily on TCC websites, email lists and social media, but will be supported with print, radio and digital advertising in local media. A flyer will also be going into 18,000 letterboxes in Mount Maunganui and Papamoa, where the highest number of tourists will be located.

8. We have increased our public bin collections during the peak period and will use the Summer Campaign to ask residents to help fight litter in Tauranga by reporting any full or overflowing bins.

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Te Maunga Transfer Station redevelopment design update

9. The preliminary design stage of the Te Maunga redevelopment project has been completed and this project is now entering the detailed design stage. The procurement plan for a main contractor has also been completed and a registration of Interest (ROI) will go out in December. We will be looking for companies that have a track record of delivering this type of project.

New waste options at the Te Maunga Transfer Station

10. In May, we introduced recycling of batteries, e-waste and timber at the Te Maunga Transfer Station. Previously, all this material would have gone to landfill. From May to September, we have diverted:

(a) 14.79 tonnes of batteries

(b) 34.78 tonnes of e-waste

Water Supply

11. Commissioning of all the individual process elements at the Waiāri Water Treatment Plant is complete and we are now moving to whole-of-system commissioning. System testing is essential to ensure that the end-to-end processes are functioning as intended. We are looking to have a blessing for the site prior to summer production.

12. The Water Safety Plan has been submitted to Taumata Arowai. The safety plan is a requirement of the new regulations, and our submission is one of the first in NZ. The plan provides the framework for how we operate: regulatory compliance, detailed operational procedures, incident response, and any corrective actions that the regulator will audit us against.

Drainage Services

13. The Te Maunga outfall upgrade is almost complete. All the new pipe has been laid up to Maranui Street and the final section, from Maranui Street to the beach manhole, will be completed in February (weather dependent).

14. Core samples have been taken from the piles at the Te Maunga bioreactor works site, to check that the completed structure will survive an earthquake. We are awaiting analysis of the results.

15. Wairakei waterway planting in the Palm Beach area has been completed and planting will soon progress to eastern Papamoa. Letters are going to residents in eastern Papamoa in the next two weeks, providing information about the planting programme.

Central corridor water supply study

16. This project covers five large, interconnected water supply network upgrade projects linking Oropi treatment plant with Te Papa, the western corridor (Kennedy Road water reservoir), and Tauranga West (Cambridge Road water reservoir). The aim of the study is to upgrade the system to enable intensification and ensure that water can more easily be directed to various parts of the city in the event of a disruption of one of our water supply sources.

17. Planning for this project is progressing well and results of the feasibility study will be incorporated in the upcoming draft Long-term Plan.

Te Papa and Tauranga West Stormwater Management Plans

18. Stormwater Management Plans are currently being developed for our intensification areas in Te Papa and Tauranga West. These plans are complementary to the Spatial Plans developed for these areas and will focus on stormwater improvement projects to reduce the extent of flooding; and increase pipe capacities to enable intensification, in line with the amended city plan provisions for medium- and high-density zoning. Water quality improvement opportunities are also being identified to address known contaminant issues. The projects identified through these plans will form the basis of the budgets set aside for stormwater network upgrades and stormwater improvement projects from the 2021-2031 LTP. These budgets will be refined as part of the draft LTP update next year. A report on this matter is going to Strategy Finance and Risk Committee in December.

Community Services

Community Development

19. Fluro Fest (a celebration of Mental Health Awareness week) was held on Sunday 9 October at Jordan Field Memorial Park and was delivered collaboratively by the Tauranga Youth Development Team, Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand) and the Community Development team. The event was well-attended by over 1,300 community members, a considerable increase from the previous year.

This community-based event was an afternoon of free, family-friendly activities, live entertainment, local community performances and wellbeing workshops. Its aim is to encourage people to improve their own mental health and wellbeing through connection with the wider community and encouraging the 5 Ways to Wellbeing - Be Active, Connect, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give.

20. The Western Bay of Plenty Homelessness and Housing Dashboards launched on 24 November and represent a significant milestone which will allow access to key data and insights across the full housing spectrum. Following the launch, training opportunities will be provided to help users engage effectively with the dashboards.

21. Most of our eligible schools participate in the nationally funded and recognised Swim for Life and Water Safety programmes for students between years 0-8. These programmes provide essential foundational skills to ensure our kids are safe, and are able to swim and thrive in the water. Unfortunately, some of our kura Māori have not participated due to significant access issues and the inability of current providers to deliver these programmes in Te Reo Māori, with a Matauranga Māori lens. With Whakawhanaungatanga as the vehicle, we are successfully collaborating with Water Safety NZ, the primary facilitators, and five kura to train teachers (and sponsored rangatahi), to deliver these services to their tamariki. Water Safety NZ has agreed to compensate teachers for their time and effort in the delivering the service, which is a great outcome. The hope is that this kaupapa will bridge the gaping hole in this space and provide a culturally inclusive pathway for our tamariki (who have never had access to these programmes) to thrive in the water, safely.

22. Our Connected Communities advisor supported a community-led activation event at Anzac Park which saw around 300 Gate Pā residents attend. The experience of emerging from isolation after a pandemic is new to some people, and some are coping better than others. With support from Good Neighbour, Envirohub, Sport BOP, NZ Police, Neighbourhood Support, Accessible Properties, and our local community champions, we were able to deliver an event where neighbours, families and friends could begin to reconnect. The event featured lawn games, face painting, a sausage sizzle and live DJ.

23. The Community Development team spent a day supporting Special Olympics New Zealand at their regional event at Wharepai Domain. Hundreds of students from schools across the region came together to compete in track and field events and showcase their skills and talents. Despite the events being fiercely competitive at times, we saw plenty of smiles, good sportsmanship and camaraderie.

24. Our Inclusive Cities advisor worked alongside the Sustainability team to consult with the Disability Special Interest Group on climate change risks and impacts on the disabled community. The group identified that during heatwaves and severe storms, disabled people are more likely to suffer health problems or be vulnerable to power outages that disrupt life-supporting equipment. People with physical disabilities and limited mobility will also need accessible housing and facilities if a community needs to evacuate. Climate-related events and changes can also disrupt vital social networks and support services. The conversations from this engagement will help shape the Tauranga Climate Action & Investment Plan.

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25. Our Rangatahi advisor has been re-elected to Korowai Tupu Ropu (Youth Work Professional Association Governance) as co-chair. He (along with Tauranga City Council’s Natural Environment Advisor and Team Leader of Design) went to visit year 11 graphic design students at Ōtūmoetai College to see some of the work they have done based on a project brief of Kopurererua Valley. This was a great opportunity for students to share their work and hear about career pathways at Tauranga City Council.

26. Welcoming Planting Day - New kiwis receiving their citizenship in Tauranga now receive a voucher for a native plant and an invitation to join a planting day at Gordon Carmichael Reserve in Bethlehem. Our 2nd planting day was held on Friday, 28 October with around 70 new kiwis from a diverse range of cultures, faiths and backgrounds attending. Following is feedback from two of the new citizens who participated:

“Trees and caring for the environment are close to our hearts and this ceremony just embraced our values and therefore holds a deep symbolic significance for us.”

“We very much enjoyed the event, especially as we missed out on the Citizenship Ceremony due to COVID. We had been disappointed not to have celebrated what we felt was a pretty important milestone in our lives, and the tree planting more than made up for it. It felt like a very appropriate way to mark the change in our status in New Zealand.”

This project is a successful collaboration between Tauranga City Council teams (Community Development/ Spaces and Places) and Envirohub.

27. Migrant Pōhiri event - The Community Development team supported the 2nd Migrant Pōhiri, held at Whareroa Marae on Saturday 12 November, which approximately 200 people attended, including NZ Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon. The event was led by Multicultural Tauranga and Ngāi Te Rangi iwi, with the goal of this welcoming event being to support and build stronger bonds and understanding between the indigenous people of Aotearoa and newcomers to Tauranga. For some newcomers, this was their first experience visiting a marae, and the opportunity to share their own cultures and be formally welcomed through a pōhiri was a very significant and powerful occasion.

Emergency Management

28. Shake Out 2022 – Working closely with our Health & Safety team, we were all encouraged to participate in the annual Shake Out Exercise. There were some great levels of engagement and participation across the business, with the Infrastructure Administration team taking out best team photo, while Deborah Flowers was the individual winner, taking this delightful photo with her pet dog.

29. Community feedback on the Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Plan Review closed on 20 November, with the next stage being to review and update the Region’s Risk Profile and help establish the core work to be delivered by each local authority within the region.

Libraries

30. Libraries is continuing to expand their World Languages Collection, with the addition of a children’s picture book collection. Picture books in a range of languages, including Samoan and Tongan, will be made available at all branches. The languages included in this collection were selected in conjunction with the Community Development team, with other languages added, based on customer feedback.

31. Libraries is celebrating 10 years of its ‘Stories at Your Place’ programme - a library outreach programme for junior school students. A celebration, complete with giant birthday cake to mark the occasion, was held at Welcome Bay School. Stories at Your Place is designed to promote both the library and a love of books. Up to 17 schools are visited each year. In 2021-22, there were 91 sessions, with books read to 1,689 children.

32. Over the last few months the libraries team has been working to connect with Tauranga’s LGBTTIQA+ community. This included “Out on the Shelves”, a New Zealand-wide initiative that aims to highlight LGBT literary voices and stories; a Rainbow Reads book club; and participation in two community events - You be You and Trans Pride Picnic. The result of these engagements has been more use of the wide range of LGBTTIQA+ resources in the Library collection.

33. The Elms Foundation Archives Collection has now moved to the Tauranga City Libraries Archives. This partnership means over 1,000 historical items, including the Alfred Nesbit Brown diaries, Maxwell family diaries, rare books and rare photos, are now physically accessible. Some digitised items are already available to be viewed on Pae Korokī. This was recently featured in the media: https://www.tauranga.govt.nz/council/council-news-and-updates/latest-news/artmid/456/articleid/8300

34. Thanks to a recent collaboration with Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, a number of 16mm and 8mm video reels from our collection have been digitised. The majority of these are now online and have already garnered some attention. The footage ranges from a major upgrade to Cameron Road in 1950, the 100th Commemoration of the Battle at Pukehinahina in 1964, and the launching of Te Awanui in 1972. The Cameron Road footage of the road workers highlights the lack of health and safety precautions compared to today’s work practices. https://paekoroki.tauranga.govt.nz/nodes/view/77112

Space and Places

35. Eden Crescent Connection - The bridge and boardwalk structure installation, as part of the Eden Crescent Connection project, will be completed in December. Finishing touches are being completed onsite, with reinstatement and final installation of the cultural art elements also expected to be completed this month. An Iwi blessing is planned for early-2023, with a small opening ceremony to acknowledge the contribution some of the surrounding schools have made to the cultural artworks.

36. Fire Station (The Historic Village) - The Fire Station building has been extensively renewed, including a new roof and flashings, new internal wall linings, new lighting, refurbished entrance doors and improved external drainage. The improvements provide a much better working environment for the tenant and extend the asset life for one of the Village’s iconic buildings. The building is currently being used as an artist’s studio.

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37. Coronation Park Toilets - The toilets from Masonic Park in Tauranga were uplifted and transported to Coronation Park. The toilets were then refurbished and connected to local infrastructure to replace the existing Coronation Park toilets, which were damaged in a fire in January. A collective effort from the property, project and parks operational teams saw this work completed in time for the arrival of the first cruise ships of the summer season.

38. Marine Parade Walkway - A significant milestone was reached for the Marine Parade Walkway project with a blessing held at Te Ngaio Reserve on Tuesday, 15 November. Local mana whenua Ngāi Tūkairangi and Ngāti Kuku met commissioners, council staff, contractors, and key stakeholders to bless the commencement of the delivery phase of the project. The first works will be the installation of a small play area, which is anticipated to be completed before Christmas. The construction of the path will commence in January, with completion envisaged in the middle of 2023.

39. New Accessibility Changing Facility at Mount Drury – The city’s first accessibility changing facility was opened at Mount Drury recently. The facility is equipped with a hot shower, a height-adjustable sink, toilet, an adult changing table, and a hoist to help with lifting. The facility doors are automated, with voice guidance to inform users of doors opening and closing. Special attention was given to the design of the decals incorporating the fauna and flora of the area.

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New trees planted at Maunganui Road – Fifteen new trees have been planted along Maunganui Road, as part of the road upgrade. Successfully transplanting trees of this size, then having them establish themselves in their new environment, does pose a number of challenges. A further eight trees will be planted in the next stages of the Maunganui Road project.

40. Pine felling Omanawa Falls - Contractors working on the Omanawa Falls project identified a high-risk pine tree sitting precariously on the edge of a cliff-face. The tree was highly likely to fail, placing significant infrastructure at risk, including the Omanawa power station. Removing the tree posed quite a few challenges due to the unstable nature of the cliff-face and normal removal methods such as rigging or sectional felling were ruled out. Paul Kenny Contracting had to use abseil access methods to reach the tree and then expertly felled it in a way that avoided all of the infrastructure below.

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Positive Feedback

(a) After receiving feedback on concerns about damage along sections of Papamoa Beach Road, as well as drug dealing, fly-tipping, and general anti-social behaviour, two sections of Papamoa Beach Reserve have been fenced off and had turf renovations carried out. These areas are recovering well and are now functioning as vehicle-free areas for users. Feedback from neighbours and the wider community has been positive. We will look to add furniture and other reserve amenities in the future.

(b) Mowing of the Rangataua and Judea Sports Clubs fields has started. The feedback thus far has been positive, and it is good to be building stronger relationships with these long-standing clubs.

41. Mount Beachside Holiday Park - The kerb and channelling project at the park is almost complete, with just site spray mark numbering to be finished. The photo below shows two of the five ensuite cabins that have been in use since June. In the period 24 June-20 November, 1,408 guests have stayed in the cabins. Occupancy is 82.6% for that period and the next available weekend booking is in March 2023.

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Venues and Events

42. Stage one of Baycourt’s exterior paint renewal project was completed in September and stage two (the remaining 30% of the exterior façade) is scheduled for February 2023.

43. Baycourt recently partnered with Opus Orchestra to present the orchestra’s first sign language interpreted performance, as part of their ‘Storytime’ concert on 8 October. This was a positive step for the organisation in making its events more inclusive. Baycourt is also investigating supporting Opus with the design and production of a ‘large print’ programme for visually impaired patrons – the first of its kind for both organisations. Baycourt is motivated to grow and expand its accessibility services portfolio (e.g. audio-described performances, touch tours, relaxed performances) and will continue to find ways to collaborate with local and national groups to achieve this goal.

44. Baycourt is on a journey to embrace and integrate Te Ao Māori into its kaupapa, to make it a more inclusive space for both staff and the community. One of the first positive steps is the introduction of bilingual signage across the venue. Mr Ngairo Eruera was engaged to undertake the translation mahi, which was informed by the outcomes of a values-based wānanga facilitated by Te Pou Takawaenga in April. The design and installation of the bilingual signage is scheduled to be completed by the end of March 2023.

45. Radio and paid digital ads are currently promoting Historic Village visitation and venues for hire. A customised google map was launched on The Village website to improve visitor experience and lessen disruption to The Village management office. The Historic Village Facebook page reach is up 48% and new likes are up 54% since the start of 2022.

46. A contract has been awarded to upgrade the interiors for The Historic Village Complex 2 project. Works commenced on 24 November and are expected to finish in July 2023.

(a) The first stage of the project is the construction of a temporary kitchen facility behind The Village Cinema for The Whipped Baker to operate from throughout the works.

(b) The project will result in a new 60pax café, commercial kitchen, upstairs kitchenette, and a bookable 120pax venue space and bar. The Whipped Baker will move into the new café space once works are complete.

(c) The Historic Village team acknowledges the huge amount of work the Spaces and Places team, with support Frequency Projects, has done over the last four years to get to this important milestone.

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Figure 1 Complex 2, The Historic Village Figure 2 Drawings of the new Complex 2 café space

47. A new licenced hospitality tenant has been secured for Building 18 at The Historic Village. A new South African restaurant, called “A’si’dle” (which means ‘let’s eat’ in Zulu) will be established. The restaurant is currently being setup ready for the summer trade and is expected to become a destination restaurant.

48. The Event Facilitation team has facilitated 52 events and bookings on public open spaces in the first quarter of 2022/23, compared with 37 in the same quarter of 2021/22. This increase reflects the return to post-COVID 19 levels for our events in our public open spaces. Quarter two event bookings are also tracking ahead of expectations.

49. From 3-13 November, Tauranga hosted the inaugural New Zealand Festival of Squash, a major new event comprised of the Nations Cup and the NZ Squash Open, at Trustpower Baypark Arena. The event highlighted New Zealand’s prominence in world squash, with Joelle King and Paul Coll both reaching the finals of the NZ Open. Council collaborated with Bay Venues Limited to create greeting cards to welcome the international athletes to our city and provide free Mount Hot Pool vouchers. Council also supported a programme to introduce squash to schools.

50. On Saturday 19 November, a pōhiri took place at Bay Oval to welcome visitors to Tauranga Moana for the BLACKCAPS v India T20 cricket match the following day. Performed by kapa haka roopu, Tūtara Kauika, the pōhiri marked the start of an ongoing partnership between the Takawaenga Māori Unit, Venues and Events team and mana whenua to enhance manaakitanga at events. This feeds into Goal 5 of the Tauranga Events Action and Investment Plan - to become the best host city in Aotearoa. Images captured at the pōhiri were shared across social media, with over 57,000 people ‘liking’ the content on the Indian Cricket Team’s page alone. The Venues and Events team had also planned a Blackcaps promotional beach cricket activation with NZ Cricket, but this had to be cancelled due to team flight delays.

51. Planning is in its final stages for Tauranga City Council’s New Year’s Eve Community Celebrations and fireworks across the city. The Event Facilitation team is looking forward to delivering this event for the community again, after the cancelled of the 2021 event.

52. The delivery of the City Centre Events and Activation plan is tracking well, with lots of activity planned in the coming summer months. To date, the outdoor movie nights, sunrise yoga and light installations have been well-received by the public and more activities, such as a 'bombing competition' and music events, are in the pipeline. Led by City Development & Partnerships, with support from the Venues and Events team, the marketing campaign launched on 28 November with a bold graphic approach promoting the summer events schedule across the city.

53. The collaborative Tauranga Western Bay Community Events Fund (TWBCEF) was launched in July with our partners the Acorn Foundation, BayTrust, TECT and Western Bay of Plenty District Council. The fund’s second funding round, which closed last month, has seen 23 events granted funding. Since opening earlier this year, the TWBCEF has funded 50 community events, with a total of $529,446 being allocated. The third funding round closed on Sunday, 20 November for events taking place from 1 January – 30 June 2023.

54. The Tauranga Events Action and Investment Plan publicly launched on 18 October at a Venues and Events team industry workshop. Work has commenced on reviewing the Event Funding Framework and developing the Major Events Framework, as part of the Tauranga Events Action and Investment Plan.

Customer Services

55. The Local Government Official Information and Meetings Amendment Bill has recently been introduced to parliament. The intention of the bill is to amend the Act to introduce:

(a) clearer requirements to provide natural hazard information in LIMs (including the impacts of climate change);

(b) a statutory responsibility for regional councils to provide natural hazard information (including the impacts of climate change) and support to territorial authorities;

(d) limitation of legal liability for local authorities when disclosing natural hazard information in good faith.

The upcoming changes regarding LIMs are primarily to improve consistency (across all territorial authorities) of natural hazard information disclosure on LIMs and when and how it is presented. It is not intended that these changes will impact hazard modelling, change the type of modelling, or how that is done within councils. There will be an opportunity to submit on the Bill through the select committee process, likely early next year.

Arts & Culture

56. The Escape Festival, presented by the Tauranga Arts Festival Trust, took place in October, the first festival event to be delivered since the beginning of the pandemic. The festival enjoyed strong support, with over 3,500 ticketed attendances at events held at Baycourt, the University of Waikato and Tauranga Art Gallery. The festival team has worked hard to grow audiences for the event, with 65% of participants attending the festival for the first time. Escape also enjoyed significant growth in audience diversity, with 15% of attendees identifying as Māori, as well as an increase in other ethnic groups. The programmed events supported diversity, with 15 speakers identifying as people of colour, including 11 tangata whenua, and three Pasifika speakers. The festival has a strong commitment to inclusion and access, with 12 of the 16 ticketed events offered to the community at $20 or less, alongside four free events and five school workshops. Programming for young people featured prominently at the festival, with a highlight being News, News, News, a live theatre show where students from Mount Maunganui Primary School created a streaming news channel, exploring breaking news across Tauranga Moana. A full report on the festival can be read here, and the News, News, News show can be viewed online here.

57. The Summer lighting activation has recently opened on The Strand Reserve, attracting a wide range of positive feedback through social media. The programme, called Shapes of Summer, runs along the length of The Strand Reserve and includes light sculptures and interactive installations. The sculptures are lit up from dusk until midnight, with the activation running through the summer until Waitangi weekend.

58. Applications have just closed for the first round of the Creative Communities funding programme, a community arts funding scheme delivered in partnership with Creative New Zealand. This is the first time that the funding programme has been delivered ‘in house’, with the programme previously delivered on behalf of Council by Creative Bay of Plenty. The move to bring the programme in house has meant that all applicants are now using the Council’s “SmartyGrants” platform, which enables consistency and clarity across all community funding. We will deliver three rounds of Creative Communities funding per calendar year (November, March and July) distributing $85k in grants to ‘grassroots’ arts projects. The Creative Communities programme supports 30-40 projects annually, with average grants ranging from $2-4k.

59. The Heritage Collection team has continued to reach new audiences, with the “Hands On” collection taking items from the Heritage Collection out to dementia patients in Tauranga rest homes. Our Programme Specialist has developed resources to support discussions about history and memories, using selected items from the collection that are suitable for handling. The outreach programme has been warmly received by rest home residents, who are keen to share stories of Tauranga from days gone by. Radius Althorp asked to follow up its “Hands On” session with a guided tour of the Heritage Collection facility at Newton Street and the team was delighted to share the ‘behind the scenes’ story of the collection.

Chief Financial Officer

Tauranga Airport

60. Air New Zealand’s flight schedule is very close to pre-COVID levels, with strong international and domestic bookings. Over September and October, 91,680 passengers travelled through the Airport, which is 102% of the same months pre-COVID.

61. The terminal precinct development has commenced, which includes further public carparking, a new Rescue Fire Station, relocation of general aviation taxiways, relocation of Z fuel pumps and storage tank, and acquisition of runway lighting and controls, along with visual navigation aids and standby power supply.

A condition assessment of the existing runway lighting and associated equipment has been completed, which shows that most of the equipment is either obsolete or in poor condition. Negotiations with Airways NZ have commenced, along with the procurement of fit-for-purpose replacement equipment and planning for the replacement of most of the airfield lighting cabling.

The first general aviation taxiway relocation has commenced and will be complete prior to Christmas, as an enabler of further work on the project in 2023.

Marine Park Reclassification

62. During May and June, Council engaged with the community on the proposed reclassification of part of Marine Park, with the purpose of eventually leasing it for a Marine Research and Education Facility. The reclassification has now been confirmed by Council, as the administering body, and approved by the Minister of Conservation’s delegate. Council is now required to run a lease tender process and appoint a preferred applicant.

63. The Community Relations team will send out communications on the next steps, which will be to run a public lease tender process under the Public Bodies Lease Act, to stakeholders and submitters and update the website. This is expected to occur during December or January.

64. This proposal offers numerous benefits, including job creation, increased educational opportunities and increased activation of an under-utilised area. There is also an opportunity to integrate the design proposals with the wider Sulphur Point Master Plan workstream.

Strategy Growth And Governance

Rowesdale Drive

65. Negotiations have been completed with the residents of Rowesdale Drive for compensation for the removal of a covenant from their property titles. This enables transport and waters infrastructure access through the end of Rowesdale Drive, to open up land adjoining the end of Rowesdale Drive for housing development. The developers of this land have yet to finalise their plans, but it is estimated that circa. 300 homes can be built on this site.

Democracy & Governance Services

Voter turnout, electoral reviews, and legislation

66. Voter turnout for the 2022 election was 40.44%, not significantly different from other elections, although slightly down on the 42.2% in 2019. Metro councils average was 40.82%, with provincial councils at 44.01% and rural councils at 49.31%. Final election results are on the Vote Local website. The graph below from the website shows the turnout trend for local government elections since 1962 when voter turnout was 44%.

67. Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) stated that low voter turnout requires an overhaul of the entire local government voting process. LGNZ want to work with central government to review the 2022 elections to develop practical recommendations on how to make voting much more accessible in the next local elections. A post-election debrief will be held in early December 2022.

68. Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta has said that central and local government would review the processes around the election, as they did every three years, to make voting more accessible and encourage people to participate. The Minister has said there was potential for the existing Future for Local Government and parliamentary electoral law reviews to address some of the concerns. She said greater diversity among mayors and councillors was a bright spot in the elections, including 66 new Māori councillors and a slight increase in the number of women elected as mayors.

69. He Arotake Pōtitanga Motuhake – the Independent Electoral Review (IER) has been appointed by the Minister of Local Government to review central government electoral law. The IER released a consultation document which closed to public submissions on 14 November 2022, setting out the areas they will be looking at relating to central government elections, including topics such as the voting age and the parliamentary term. Outside of the scope of the review are local government electoral law and online voting. The IER will go back out for further public feedback before making their final recommendations to the Minister of Justice by the end of 2023. The Government has proposed some changes to electoral law before the 2023 General Election including changes to the Māori Electoral Option, the rules for political donations and loans, and temporary changes to overseas voter eligibility.

70. The Electoral (Strengthening Democracy) Amendment Bill, a Private Members Bill in the name of Golriz Ghahraman, that proposed to lower the voting age to 16, make the Māori Electoral option continuous and allows prisoners to vote was defeated at its first reading on 21 September 2022. These matters will be considered through the election reform process and the Electoral (Māori Option) Legislation Government Bill that will allow Māori voters to switch between the Māori and general electoral rolls at any time and as many times as they wish, with some exceptions relating to a general election period and a local government election period (both 3 months before polling day) and a parliamentary by-election period (from date of notice of vacancy to polling day). The Justice Select Committee considered 121 submissions and reported back on 1 November 2022 that they recommend the Bill be passed with amendments largely relating to the exceptions when the Māori option may not be exercised. The Bill received Royal Assent on 18 November and comes into force on 31 March 2023.

71. Submissions on the Local Government Electoral Legislation Bill closed on 14 September 2022 and will be considered by the Governance and Administration Committee with the report due on 2 February 2023. The Council submitted on this Bill.

Epidemic Preparedness Notice

72. The Epidemic Preparedness Notice expired on 20 October 2022. This means that the current provisions under Clause 25A(4) of Schedule 7 of the Local Government Act 2002 and Standing Orders apply and a person attending remotely is not counted towards the quorum, but they are able to vote.

Greerton Maarawaewae Study

73. The Greerton Maarawaewae Study (GMS) was launched in October 2021 to identify opportunities to support wellbeing as the city continues to grow. Consultation on three options was undertaken during August, with 897 submissions received:

a) Option A: Health and Recreation – 201 submissions in support

b) Option B: Central Park – 128 submissions

c) Option C: Enhanced Status Quo – 548 submissions

d) No option selected / other – 20 submissions

74. Following the submission period, it was agreed to defer the hearing of submissions and deliberations until early-2023. The reason for this delay is that there are a number of outstanding issues Council needs some clarity on to assist in making a fair and robust recommendation to the Crown around the future use of the reserve land. Existing users, mana whenua, submitters and those on Council’s study database have been informed of the decision to defer the hearings and deliberations.

75. In line with matters raised as part of the submissions, we will continue work on the following workstreams to inform the project: sites for a potential relocation of the racecourse (as part of the broader Racing Working Group’s work, led by Thoroughbred Racing New Zealand) and equestrian activities; further understanding opportunities for public access to the golf course and Kopurererua Valley; and further understanding the health provision needs within wider Bay of Plenty strategic context. An update on progress will be provided early in the new year, including proposed dates for the rescheduling of hearings and deliberations.

Takawaenga Māori Unit

Te Manawataki o Te Papa

76. We were pleased to host the Prime Minister at the signing of the joint agreement between Otamataha Trust and Tauranga City Council to underpin the development of the Civic Precinct. Key observations from a Takawaenga point of view were the full turnout of mana whenua, the quality of the speakers and waiata in support, and the authenticity reflected in the location, attendance and proceedings.

Change of Leadership – Ngati Ranginui

77. We note that Ngāti Ranginui held its AGM in November and elected a new Chair, Charlie Rahiri, and a new Deputy Chair, Suaree Borell.

Cultural Competency Training

78. Over the past few years, we have seen an increasing requirement for tangata whenua input into projects and this has only accelerated with the work programme currently in place. With pace comes pressure on us and tangata whenua alike, but the ultimate objective is high-quality input that leads to enhanced community outcomes. Te Pou Takawaenga is seeing increasing demand for very basic advice from staff members who have been recruited and placed into projects with multiple iwi and hapu involved. Work is underway internally on developing guidelines for cultural competency training in high-risk positions (e.g. all project managers).

Pōteriwhi Memorandum of Understanding Signed

79. We are pleased to note that after nearly two years of discussions, a Memorandum of Understanding with Ngati Kahu has now been signed, providing a foundation for discussions on how the Pōteriwhi site might be utilised in a culturally appropriate manner.

Corporate Services

Community Relations

80. The general TCC Media Impact Score (MIS) for October was 1.5, largely due to a rise in neutral local election-focused reporting and higher levels of negative coverage, mainly on transport themes. Recreation & environment remained the most positive major theme of reporting. Reports on the stained-glass panels recovered from the Willow Street library, proactive coverage of plans to upgrade the three major reserves and the Events Action and Investment Plan all featured positively too. The city centre again had a very positive month with the MIS on this theme going up to 4.7.

81. There was extensive positive media coverage, across mainstream and Māori media, following the Prime Minister’s visit to observe the signing of Te Manawataki o Te Papa Charitable Trust Deed. A video depicting the Civic Centre transformation was also shown for the first time.

Digital Services

82. The Digital Services satisfaction survey went out to the organisation in September, with an overall survey completion rate of 30%. The survey was last carried out in 2020. It was pleasing to see that our high standard of satisfaction (78%) has remained consistent and that overall, we have a 9% higher level of satisfaction than other local authorities. There was a good amount of feedback in the survey that we can use to make further improvements.

83. The team attended a workshop run by the Department of Internal Affairs focusing on proposed changes to three waters services. The workshop covered the high-level timeline before changes are effective on 1 July 2024. The team is now working closely with the transition manager for our area to understand the requirements and the subsequent resourcing model that will be required to support this.

84. Digital Services continued its engagement on shaping the technology element of Local Government reform through a number of workshops across Aotearoa, and meetings with the Association of Local Government Information Management, Department of Internal Affairs and NZTech. The goal of these efforts is to champion proactive changes in the technology domain ahead of reform.

85. The International Digital in Local Government conference was held in Christchurch this week. Tauranga’s leadership role in the sector was on show, with our Chief Digital Officer presenting on how digital can enable Local Government Reform and Enterprise Resource Planning Implementation Best Practice, and our Information Manager presenting on Records Management Best Practice. The Chief Financial Officer was also the New Zealand representative on the International CIO panel.

86. Global supply chain issues continue to be a challenge. Lead times are even more unpredictable, with issues easing in some spaces and worsening in others. Leveraging relationships with our vendors has been key to securing stock in a timely manner, however forecasting needs 6-12 months in advance is what most suppliers are recommending. We are also seeing cost increases, predominantly in the software space, with an average of 15-30% across the board.

87. The digital team continues to work on the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Programme with the wider organisation, to move from our legacy technology environment to a modern environment that better supports our needs.

Over the last month, a number of new initiatives have been launched within the programme including:

· TCC property team leveraging the leasing capability of SAP to manage our property portfolio and move away from spreadsheets.

· Human Resources Information Systems. This initiative will modernise our HR Information Systems, moving to a centralised platform to support our workforce, our managers and our HR Team.

· Customer Data Migration, which will see our Customer records migrated to SAP and provide a key foundation to the ERP environment to support our business processes.

These initiatives will support the modernisation of our ERP environment, ensuring we have fit-for-purpose technology to support our business processes.

The team has also continued its strong collaboration with Auckland and Christchurch councils to share and reuse technology investments.

88. The digital team is investigating the use of augmented reality technology to help tell some of our stories. This has the potential to bring artifacts we have located around the city to life by enabling their story to be told using mobile devices as people walk past. We are currently working with the Takawaenga Unit to identify stories suitable for a small-scale trial.

89. We are currently investigating the use of digital playgrounds for Tauranga. Digital playgrounds utilise augmented reality gaming technology through mobile devices, in geo-fenced open spaces, to provide a safe virtual playground for children. A range of environmentally themed games are available. This type of technology has been deployed by several councils around the country. Community events can be created around these playgrounds, providing a fantastic way to encourage kids to ‘get off the couch’.

90. Most major cities have a degree of free Wi-Fi available for the public. Free Wi-Fi contributes to a connected community and is an enabler for interactions between businesses, organisations and events with the community and our visitors.

Digital services ran a successful free Wi-Fi trial along the Mount main beach in 2019/20, utilising our council-owned fibre network. We are investigating whether a similar approach could work for providing free Wi-Fi in the central city.

91. The Digital GIS, City Planning and Strategic Māori Engagement (Te Pou Takawaenga) teams have been collaborating to support a stakeholder on options for additional housing within a Rural Zone. Leveraging our mapping systems and latest aerial photography, we were able to show options for both 800m2 and 2000m2 lots and the associated impact on density, giving stakeholders a good understanding of impacts of the options.

Human Resources

92. Staff Turnover is calculated on a 12-month rolling basis. The employment market remains challenging, so it is positive that our turnover is remaining steady. For context, the current public sector average is 15.3% (Lawson & Williams Turnover report). Our aspirational staff turnover range is 10-12%.

93. Tauranga City Council has launched a new Cadet programme, in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development. The programme - known as Piki Ake (to ascend) – commenced with four cadets and aims to reduce local youth unemployment and improve social and economic wellbeing in our communities.

94. Tauranga Moana Futures is a new programme, partnering with University of Waikato and Priority One, to invest in our workforce of the future. Tauranga City Council is offering scholarships for students studying in defined programmes of study, helping with the practical application of studies as well as developing and building the skills that Tauranga needs in the future.

95. Recruitment remains a strong focus for the Council and is critical to our ability to deliver the community outcomes in the Long-term Plan. We have adopted a more flexible recruitment approach to meet the current labour market, which is showing positive results.

96. MyTeamPulse is a new employee engagement survey which will be rolled-out over the coming months. This survey is an important part of listening to our employees and ensuring that the Council is a great place to work.

Health & Safety

97. The Health & Safety Representative programme continues to build, with all groups having had their initial meetings and offered “How to facilitate effective meetings” training. This is a training module run internally that will help representative in their roles, while maintaining business as usual. The general feedback and engagement from the working groups has been extremely positive and most representatives are progressing well on their training pathway.

98. The Health, Safety & Wellbeing (HSW) team had a successful planning day recently, with a new Strategy and HSW Pathway established. The HSW strategy is aligned with the International Standard ISO45001, which is a reliable standard that can help reduce work-related risks, such as occupational accidents and diseases, when properly implemented and maintained. It also provides a clear pathway, with progress and compliance very auditable.

99. A wellbeing strategy has also been created, which will encompass all wellbeing initiatives within TCC. A portal is available that will provide a one-stop shop for all wellbeing information available, including our employee assistance programme, health and nutritional information, physical and mental well-being promotions and activities, a wellbeing calendar that highlights specific focus points throughout the year, and much more.

Procurement

100. The Low-Cost Low Risk panel proposal which was presented to Waka Kotahi has now been approved. The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the panel is now being constructed and will go out to the market prior to Christmas, with a closing date in early-February, to allow a good response time for suitable suppliers.

101. Training sessions have started for introducing the new Procurement Manual and the team is planning monthly sessions over the next six months for new and existing staff.

Regulatory and Compliance

Key Account Management

102. Our Key Account Manager is now well-embedded in the business and is supporting the delivery of good regulatory outcomes. We are receiving excellent feedback on the service and value being delivered to customers involved in complex, or multiple regulatory processes.

103. The role primarily operates across the Environmental Planning and Building Services teams, while working closely with Infrastructure, providing a single point of contact for engagement and communication. This has supported resolution of some long-standing issues.

104. Key projects include the Civic Centre redevelopment, 2 Devonport Road, Haumoana private hospital, Bethlehem Shores, MetlifeCare, Northern Quarter, Kainga Ora, Ministry of Education, Bluehaven developments, and Group Home Builders.

Regulatory Events

105. A total of 22 events have been hosted in 2022 by Regulatory and Compliance, with a focus on engaging and educating through information sessions, networking and collaborating, celebrating industries and sharing information with our community. These have included the Canvas Careers Expo, Tauranga Home Show, Tessa’s Treasure Hunt and Bark in the Park.

106. These events allow us to build relationships with the community and are an opportunity for people to ask questions and raise concerns directly with teams. We receive great feedback, with common themes being that it is great to have a public presence; that enjoyable community events were needed; that connection and feeling seen/heard by Council is valued. Looking ahead to 2023, we will focus on increasing the number of events hosted and creating opportunities to collaborate more across Council.

Building Services

107. We received 222 Building Consent and Amendment applications in September and 219 in October. This continues to be lower than previous years. While the first half of the calendar year was roughly on par with 2019 and 2020, application numbers have been lower since mid-year. For the four months from July to October, volumes are down 15% compared with 2019 and 2020.

108. We granted 247 consents and amendments in September and 201 in October. The tapering off of numbers mirrors the reduced number of applications received and also the reduction in use of external contractors now that we have got through our backlog of consents. Applications continued to be allocated for processing within a week of lodgement.

109. Compliance with statutory timeframes has continued to increase, with 73% of consents and amendments being issued within 20 working days in September and 82% in October. Resourcing challenges in the Environmental Planning team, coupled with additional complexity as a result of PC33, has affected some timeframes. We are working to juggle some of this work around, to minimise the impact on both building and resource consent timeframes.

110. Inspection wait times for standard (45 minute) inspections have remained low, generally around 1-2 days. The wait time for our most complex inspection types has risen slightly and is now sitting at an average of 15 days. We typically see an increase in requests for final inspections in the lead up to Christmas, as owners push to get into their new (or newly renovated) house before the holidays. Final inspections, particularly those in the more complex areas, take longer than a standard inspection and also include the review of documentation and issuing of a Code of Compliance Certificate.

111. While there is no statutory timeframe for inspection wait times, these are significantly better than they have been in the past and appear to be much more workable for the industry. One side effect of reduced inspection wait times is that the uptake of our inspection alternatives (such as remote inspections and self-certification) has reduced. This suggests that the industry prefers a standard inspection, provided they can book them in a reasonable timeframe.

112. Our next cohort of seven Trainee Building Consent Officers have just finished their six-week course at the Auckland Council Building Control Training School. Our previous cohort, which started in February, are on track to complete competency assessments late this year or early next year. We are starting the process to advertise for another cohort to start early in the new year.

113. While the number of vacancies is comparatively low at the moment, we are still heavily reliant on external contractors (roughly half of our consents are being processed by external contractors), which brings challenges in quality control and staff management. As such, we are still on the lookout for experienced staff and will continue to grow and develop our team internally.

Environmental Regulation

Regulation Monitoring

114. Work is underway in preparation for 1 December, when paid parking returns to the CBD. A warning system will be implemented to educate drivers who are unaware of the payment requirement and also the introduction of new ‘no parking behind the kerb’ restrictions. Infringements will then be issued for further offences, both manually and using the Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) vehicle.

We have successfully secured $25,000 funding from MBIE to support the transition from the existing freedom camping system to the new freedom camping rules. This funding will support additional education and enforcement patrols and a communication campaign targeting visitors and event attendees.

Animal Services

115. The inaugural Bark in the Park event was held at Memorial Park on Saturday, 15 October. It was a great success with an estimated 400 people and their dogs attending. There were many free give-aways, thanks to some very generous donors, together with free face painting, a dog agility course and food trucks. Stands were staffed by the Animal Services team, together with a few volunteers. The SPCA and Emergency Management team also attended. Many of those who attended also commented on our Facebook page in the following days, thanking us for the wonderful event and saying how much fun they had. We are looking to hold this event again in 2023.

A picture containing grass, outdoor, mammal, person

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116. Tessa’s Treasure Hunt event/campaign was held during the October school holidays. TESSA also known as - Tauranga Education Services Safety Ambassador - was created to have a recognisable brand for Animal Services. The treasure hunt involved 17 TESSA signs distributed around various Tauranga parks and reserves, with dog owners able to win prizes by finding the signs and scanning a QR code. This resulted in 474 entries, which was a great response to a new event. Out of all the locations, the most popular was The Strand/Waterfront. Again, many of our Facebook followers commented and messaged us, thanking us for putting on a fun campaign. We are also looking at holding this event in 2023.

117. Due to our Bark in the Park and Tessa’s Treasure Hunt events, Facebook page visits and reach are continuing to grow. We are currently reaching over 20,000 people each month and rapidly approaching 2,000 followers, five months after the page went live. The page is used to promote dogs up for adoption, discussion forums about points of interest or contention, and to promote our events.

118. A total of 107 infringements were issued in October, with the majority (75%) being for failing to register a dog and the remainder relating to failing to microchip dogs, and/or failing to keep a dog under control. At the end of October, there were still nearly 1400 dogs (out of 15,470 ‘known dogs’) unregistered, and we continue to make it a priority to locate and infringe the dog owners. 41 dogs were impounded for various reasons (roaming, seized, etc). A total of 413 complaints were assigned to us, of which 359 (87%) were completed, and the remainder were still under investigation.

Environmental Health

119. The Environmental Health team processed the following applications in the last six weeks:

· Approximately 22 new food businesses registered in the last six weeks, with half being new operators and half businesses changing hands

· Approximately 24 renewals of food registrations

· Approximately 169 renewals of health registrations, (the bulk of all of these are due for re-registration in October).

120. The team conducted approximately 50 verifications of food businesses.

Alcohol Licensing

121. The team has experienced the normal increase in applications for special events prior to the Christmas/New Year break. With covid restrictions no longer having an impact on larger events, Tauranga is set to have a very busy summer concert season. The alcohol licensing team and external agencies (Police and Medical Officer of Health) will closely monitor these events to ensure they are managed correctly and there are no incidents of alcohol-related harm.

122. The team received 48 special licence applications in the last month, and more are expected prior to Christmas, even though the cut-off date for processing these applications has passed. Messaging has gone out to these customers that their licences may not be granted in time for their event, as a result of them submitting their application outside our cut-off date.

123. We conducted 37 alcohol licensing premises inspections. Of those, seven premises were either new premises or current licensed premises changing hands. The balance were current licensed premises renewing alcohol licences.

124. In conjunction with Police and representatives of the Medical Officer of Health, alcohol licensing inspectors visited seven licensed premises in one evening, checking on food availability during their trading hours and also ensuring licensees were complying with the conditions of their licences. With Police assistance, our inspectors issued three infringement notices to two premises in the Mount Maunganui area - one infringement notice for not having food available and two infringement notices to a second premise for duty manager breaches.

125. There were no hearings held in this latest period, but there are likely to be at least four scheduled for the beginning of next year.

Environmental Planning

126. The Environmental Planning team recently completed the Making Good Decisions Commissioner training. To support the capacity of local Iwi and hapu engaged in resource management issues, the attendance cost of the Ngati Rangatihi representative was covered, an approach we intend to continue in the future.

127. The last period has been challenging. While the number of resource consent applications has remained steady (a slight dip near the end of the quarter), implementation issues associated with Plan Change 33 have been complex, together with staff turnover have meant affected our ability to continue to improve timeliness, with overall timeframes compliance dropping to 68%. In response to high staff turnover, additional consultant and commissioner support has been brought-in, along with several graduates.

128. There were 27 general incidents received in October by the Environmental Monitoring team. The team resolved 18 incidents during the month, including some outstanding incidents. There are currently 17 incidents still open and undergoing investigation. The team is now fully resourced, with three new members coming onboard in the last month.

129. Most complaints received were about businesses in rural and residential zones, continuing the upward trend the team has seen in this area, closely followed by reports of breaches of resource consent conditions and sediment control issues. Earthworks, setbacks, and temporary accommodation also featured.

130. A total of 17 individual resource consents were monitored in October. This is lower than in previous months, due to a change in data reporting, with the number now reflecting resource consents that have been actively visited and monitored.

131. Noise incidents had a big increased in October, with 26 incidents reported. This is double the number in September. Residential noise and construction noise remain the biggest issue.

132. The team has been involved in the construction sites associated with the Tauranga Northern Link (TNL). While dealing with a number of complaints, they have been instrumental in resolving these and ensure compliance with relevant conditions. Below some of the team at the piling site as part of their regular monitoring of the TNL-related construction work.

133. The expert panel undertaking three waters and transport reviews on behalf of asset managers is now up and running. Most of the consultants on the panel have reviewed multiple consents, with positive feedback received. Reviews have been completed within five days, which greatly assists the processing of consents.

134. October saw the Development Engineering team receive 20 resource consent referrals and 13 s223/s224 applications for review. This is a drop from last year and slightly below average. The team is continuing to utilise consultant support to assist with reviews while resourcing is an issue.

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Resource Consent Referrals

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s223/s224 applications for review

135. The Development Contributions team completed 154 development contribution assessments across building consents in October, with an assessment value of approx. $2.2million. They also undertook assessments across 53 resource consents in the same month. The Team has also commenced some minor policy review changes aimed at improving clarity for customers.

City Development and Partnerships

City Partnerships

136. We have developed our funding strategy for Te Manawataki o Te Papa civic precinct project, which identifies three distinct workstreams, along with dedicated resourcing to raise the required $150m+ funding, other than by rating. This includes developing a donor framework that aligns with the main spaces in Te Manawataki o Te Papa, with three categories of sponsorship. Noting that a successful donor programme requires a relationship building phase with potential sponsors, which will take time.

137. Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust (TECT) has very generously granted $1.023m to help fund the construction of our Destination Skatepark project at 1 Hull Road, Mount Maunganui. This is in addition to the $459,370 we recently received from New Zealand Community Trust for the same project. The TECT trustees particularly liked the project’s collaborative community co-design approach, which has involved the local skating and roller sport community and mana whenua, to ensure that this facility delivers the best possible experience for our community.

138. We have continued to explore opportunities to collaborate and provide shared services with our three council-controlled organisations, Bay Venues, Tourism BOP and Tauranga Art Gallery, focusing on finance, digital and human resources. This will provide better alignment and enable the council-controlled organisations to focus on their core services and activities. Some small wins have already been achieved and the ‘go live’ date for implementing other collaborative actions is 29 November.

139. We continue to support initiatives around mana whenua appointments on our council-controlled organisation boards, with a paper coming to Council on 28 November for a mana whenua appointment to the board of Tourism Bay of Plenty.

140. Letters of Expectation will go out to our council-controlled organisations following Council approval on 28 November, which will help inform the development of their Statements of Intent for 2023-24.

141. We have caught up with the council-controlled organisations’ Aspiring Board Directors (board interns) and their board mentors to gauge the programme’s success and determine next steps for the new year.

142. Bay Venues has advised that Baywave will close for maintenance from 16 January 2023 and is due to re-open in April, prior to Easter. Clubfit gym and massage services will close for four weeks, re-opening in mid-February. The work programme includes water pipe and skylight replacements, a new accessible changing room fit-out, plus privacy and health and safety improvements. While Baywave is closed, the public can access one of Bay Venues’ four other aquatic facilities in the city, including Memorial Pool, which will be operating with extended hours during the closure. Staff and regular customers will be notified from this week and the general public will be notified in January.

143. The City Partnerships Specialist is providing support to the mainstreet organisations (which are undertaking their Annual General Meetings in November), including helping to set proposed budgets for the next Long-term Plan. Conversations continue with various stakeholders regarding data that can be utilised by mainstreets, both to tell their stories and provide quantifiable results of activities undertaken. There is now a mainstreets page on the Tauranga City Council website, outlining information on each of the four mainstreets, alongside documentation including six-monthly reports, annual plans, and financial information.

144. The Commissioners have been invited to attend the first Board meeting of the new Downtown Tauranga Board on Wednesday, 14 December. In the meantime, a review has been undertaken by the Board of the current organisational structure, with the result that they are going out to tender for the management contract on Thursday, 1 December.

145. A member survey was distributed on 23 November to all businesses within the remit of the four mainstreet organisations, seeking feedback on awareness of the mainstreets and what they do, as well as on their current performance. Our City Partnerships Specialist has also started work on developing an updated policy for the four mainstreets, which will support greater accountability and higher levels of performance.

146. We continue to meet with University of Waikato representatives regarding 12 different projects underway with different TCC departments. They are happy with the relationship and level of collaboration as they continue to develop their footprint in the ‘Knowledge Precinct’ of the city centre.

147. We have also met with the Ministry of Justice on their new High Court project, with the outcome of their Covid Fastrack funding application expected in February 2023. Construction will start shortly afterwards, with completion anticipated at the end of 2026, or early-2027.

148. A City Partners event is planned for 12 December, where Willis Bond will share the latest Civic Precinct designs with key stakeholders.

Te Manawataki o Te Papa – Civic Precinct  

149. Artwork promoting the changes planned for Te Manawataki o Te Papa, and the wider city centre, has been installed onto the hoardings surrounding the Willow Street site.

150. The site-wide preliminary designs for Te Manawataki o Te Papa, together with revised costings, will be presented to Council on 12 December 2022.

151. Greenstar registrations have been submitted for both the Library/Community Hub and Civic Whare, Exhibition and Museum buildings.

152. On 3 November 2022, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern attended the historical signing of the council-controlled organisation (CCO) Charitable Trust Deed between Council and Otamataha Trust. The Trust represents mana whenua from Ngai Tamarāwaho, Ngāti Tapu and Te Materāwaho. As part of the arrangement, the CCO will purchase the land that has recently been referred to as ‘Site A’ of the Civic Precinct from Council for a nominal amount. Council will lease the land back from the CCO on a ‘peppercorn lease’ basis. Council will continue to own and be responsible for any improvements made to the existing buildings on the land, the construction and ownership of any new buildings and structures, as well as the day-to-day operation of the activities on the site.

153. PowerCo is currently undertaking design work for the relocation of the existing high voltage transformer and cabling for the site, and physical works are anticipated to begin in June 2023.

Tauranga Moana Waterfront

The Strand North

154. The Landscape Architect is currently preparing the developed design for The Strand North Reserve.

155. A Registration of Interest for design of the waterfront playground closed on 22 November, with seven submissions received. The submissions are currently being reviewed and assessed.

156. Concept designs for the new Whare Waka, new public conveniences, and the renewal of the seawall with living sea walls, are currently being developed. The concept designs for the Whare Waka and public conveniences will be further developed by an architectural practice.

The Strand South – Te Hononga ki Te Awanui

157. The rail underpass project is progressing well, with the main culvert and adjoining wing walls (pictured below) under construction.

158. The boardwalk has progressed to the developed design stage, with a preferred option for timber supporting piles. The decking timber for the boardwalk has been ordered to ensure material availability for construction in mid-2023, with completion scheduled for October 2023.

159. In-person landowner engagement has commenced in relation to the Memorial Link between Tunks Reserve and Memorial Park, prior to the development of a concept design, which is expected in the first quarter of 2023.

Tunks Reserve/Elizabeth Street East

160. Final construction designs are completed and a request for proposal for the construction works is scheduled to be released in December.

Masonic Park

161. The landscape architect is currently preparing the developed design, with construction scheduled to commence by mid-2023. This forms part of the Te Manawataki o Te Papa masterplan being presented by Willis Bond at the 12 December 2022 Council meeting.

Dive Crescent Carpark 

162. The detailed design work for the carpark is now complete and tender documents for construction have been released to the market. The tender period closed on 2 December 2022. Attempts to bring early contractor involvement into the process did not generate any interest from the first-tier contractors that council approached.

163. A project communications plan is in place. Lessees of existing parks in the southern carpark, and users of the northern carpark, will be notified shortly of the pending works programme. 

164. City Water’s work programme replacing the existing water main along Dive Crescent was due for completion by the end of November.

Beacon Services Wharf 

165. Several concept options and cost estimates for the replacement of the structure has been prepared by Tonkin + Taylor engineers.

166. The preferred design includes: a new pedestrian ramp from Dive Crescent leading to an existing concrete platform. Fixed to this structure will be a new viewing platform that has an aluminium gangway attached to it, connecting to a large concrete pontoon. A new paved/decked viewing area will be created at the top of the existing wharf. The preferred design also sees the entire area being landscaped and the existing seawall treated to mirror the balance of the development along the waterfront.

167. Contractors are currently undertaking cone penetration tests (CPT) along Dive Crescent in the vicinity of the Wharf, to provide confidence about the nature of the harbour floor substrates. In December, a CPT programme encompassing the marine zone running along the waterfront is also planned. The programme will focus on those areas where the proposed wharf developments are located.

168. Work with the University of Waikato Coastal Science Group is occurring on how best to protect the rare blue sponge located in the vicinity of the wharf, as the development takes shape. 

Cargo Shed

169. Work at the Cargo Shed is progressing well. Scaffolding has been erected on the harbour side of the building and recladding of the wall has commenced.

170. Internal wall linings are complete with plastering and painting underway.

171. The completion date for these works is expected to be in early December 2022.

Elizabeth Street Carpark Seismic Strengthening 

172. Naylor Love have completed the seismic strengthening works and a Certificate of Practical Completion has been requested.

173. These works have been completed within budget and with only a minor change to the targeted completion date.

174. Handover to the council Property team is planned for this month, including additional compliance elements to be incorporated into the building maintenance schedule.

175. The Code Compliance inspection is scheduled for early-December.

Spring Street Carpark Seismic Strengthening

176. Structural elements ordered from overseas have now arrived in Tauranga. This provides certainty to the construction programme which, with some earlier re-sequencing of other works within the building, will maintain the targeted completion date at the end of May 2023.

177. With the carpark remaining open, there has been significant rigour around how Health and Safety is implemented and managed. To date, there have been no incidents reported and regular monitoring occurs is continuing.   

90 Devonport Road (Civic Administration Building Fitout) 

178. Warren & Mahoney presented the 100% preliminary design package to the Project Steering Group earlier this month.

179. Notices have been installed to advise carpark users of the pending closure of the 90 Devonport carpark in mid-December.

180. Willis Bond has applied for the Stage 1 Foundation Building Consent.

181. Site hoardings and graphics are being developed for installation early in the new year.

182. A pre-construction karakia is planned to take place early-December.

Memorial Park

183. The project scope, as defined within the completed feasibility study, includes development of new aquatic facilities and an upgrade to the existing indoor court facilities. A delivery plan for the design and construction phases of work is in development.

184. A procurement approach for the designers and construction partner is being planned. This will consider the scale and complexity of the project, along with the challenges currently faced by the construction industry. Early market testing indicates a reasonable level of interest in the project.  

185. At this stage, we anticipate commencing the procurement of the design team early in the new year. There is an opportunity to bring in construction expertise as part of the design process and this is currently being considered.

Communications and Engagement

186. Proactive internal and external communications and engagement plans are being implemented for each of the city centre projects.

187. These plans will continue to evolve as each project reaches key milestones, and more details and timelines are confirmed.

188. We continue to implement and explore efficient and effective ways of communicating with different groups in our community, so they are made aware of and feel part of the journey and, at the appropriate time, are engaged in relevant stages of each project.

189. Timelapse cameras are in the process of being set up at key sites so we can capture the historical transformation of the city centre taking place and share that progress with our community.

Attachments

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Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

12 December 2022

11.6 Draft Annual Plan 2023/24

File Number: A14091425

Author: Tracey Hughes, Financial Insights & Reporting Manager

Kathryn Sharplin, Manager: Finance

Authoriser: Paul Davidson, Chief Financial Officer

Purpose of the Report

1. In accordance with the Local Government Act 2002, Council is required to produce and adopt an annual plan, by 30 June 2023.

2. This report seeks approval of the indicative Annual Plan 2023/24 budget identified in this report.

Recommendations

That the Council:

(a) Receives the report "Draft Annual Plan 2023/24".

(b) Endorses the Annual Plan draft budget for capital and operations as summarised in Attachment A – Operational, and Attachment B – capital, including new areas of capital expenditure.

(c) Notes the draft annual plan indicates an overall total rates increase (including water charges) of 7.1%, that equates to a median residential rates increase (excluding water) of 8.7% and a median commercial rates increase of 17%.

(d) Notes the draft annual plan leads to a revised closing net debt figure of $1.1b

(e) Agrees to loan funding of the following identified operational expenditure based on this expenditure providing a benefit across multiple years, accompanied by debt retirement commencing in the following year and recovered over a period of ten years:

(i) Civic project operational costs $1.5m

(ii) Increase in expenditure to bring road marking up to level of service standard $1.4m

(f) Agrees to the extension of debt retirement of existing loan funded opex to be recovered over ten years for existing structure and other planning.

(g) Confirms the second phase of the increase in commercial differential as proposed in the 2022-23 Annual plan to move the commercial differential to 2.1 times for general rates, stormwater, resilience and community targeted rates between the commercial/industrial sector and the residential sector.

(h) Confirms the second phase of the increase in commercial differential on transportation targeted rate as proposed in the 2022-23 Annual plan to move the commercial differential to 5 times the residential sector rate

(i) Agrees to move the city’s rating revaluation into 2023-24 year to apply from July 2023, from the currently programmed 2024-25 financial year.

(j) Notes that local authorities need only consult on annual plans that include significant or material differences from the content of the long-term plan.

(k) Decides not to undergo consultation for the Annual Plan 2023-24.

Executive Summary

3. This report provides a draft budget for the 2023-24 Annual plan which is year 3 of the 2021-31 Long term plan (LTP). The draft budget includes matters outlined at Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee on 14 November 2022 in report 9.3 Draft Annual Plan 2023/24 Approach and Key Financials.

4. The overall financials remain broadly consistent with year 3 of the LTP and the draft revenue and expenditure budget is outlined with variances explained in Attachment A.

5. In order to keep rates increases down, during these challenging economic times of high interest rates and inflation, the draft budget includes loan funding of certain expenditure where it is of a one-off nature to support new areas of planning, design and engagement associated with the capital programme and one-off new initiatives.

6. The ambitious external funding proposals of the LTP are on track, with Infrastructure Funding and Financing (IFF) payments to be received for transportation projects, along with developer contributions and Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF) contributions now funding Tauriko West instead of IFF. The first tranche of three waters better off funding has been approved to contribute to the costs of Civic work.

7. Some new capital projects and increased cost estimates associated with existing capital have been included bringing the total council-delivered capital programme to $352m, and net debt to $1.1b. The capital programme, including variances from the LTP, is outlined in Attachment B.

Background

8. The key financials for the 2023-24 draft annual plan were presented to Strategy Finance and Risk Committee on 14 November 2022 (Report 9.3 – Draft Annual plan 2023/24 – Approach and Key Financials). In the report it was noted that the rates increase would be higher than budgeted in the LTPA due to substantial interest rates increases and inflationary pressures across capital and operational areas of the business as well as specific areas of increased costs across the business.

9. Key financials and variance from year three of the LTP are detailed below:

Operational Budgets

10. Draft revenue and expenditure are summarised as Attachment A with explanations of key movements from the current year.

11. Overall significant movements in expenditure are from:

(a) higher employee costs from an increase in FTE particularly across transportation and spaces and places, which includes in-housing of some maintenance contracts

(b) finance cost increases where interest rate increases account for approx. $11.5m of the total increase in expenditure flowing through into rates.

(c) maintenance budgets in transportation and spaces and places to achieve agreed levels of service, where existing budgets had been set too low.

12. In addition, Tauriko West projects, now delivered by Waka Kotahi (NZTA) have increased operating expenditure by $29m and operating income by $24m in 2024. These projects were formerly disclosed and funded as capital projects, when delivery by council was assumed.

13. To keep rates increases down, during these challenging economic times of high interest rates and inflation, the draft budget includes loan funding of certain expenditure where it is of a one-off nature to support new areas of planning, design and engagement associated with the capital programme and one-off new initiatives which provide benefit over a number of years. This loan funding is proposed to be accompanied by debt retirement commencing in the following year and recovered over a period of ten years.

14. Areas of additional loan funding of operating costs for which council agreement is sought are:

(i) Civic project operational costs $1.5m

(ii) Increase in expenditure to bring road marking up to level of service standard $1.4m

15. Further initiatives to keep rates down have included phasing in of rate funding of additional depreciation arising from asset revaluations across transportation and buildings, and reducing the proposed rate funding of debt retirement. This reduction is enabled by the receipt of IFF funding and the IAF funding (in later years) in the case of Tauriko West. A further approach has been to extend debt retirement on other loan funded opex to ten years where it had previously been agreed to as five years.

Capital Budgets

16. The Capital programme for 2023-24 and key variances from the LTP are included in Attachment B. Overall the council-delivered capital programme totals $352m, after including a capital portfolio adjustment of $50m.

17. Since the November report four projects have included additional budget which is requested to be approved by Council as part of this report approval of Attachment B the capital programme:

(a) Cameron Road Stage 1 an additional $7.7m based on additional costs arising from time delays. Project escalations and other productivity impacts ($7m) and scope enhancements to allow for amenities ($0.7m). Ongoing efforts will be made to reduce this amount if requested. No change to target project completion in late 2023 at this stage.

(b) An additional cremator to be purchased to meet city demand at a budget of $755k

(c) An additional $6m for 90 Devonport Road fitout project ($4.5m in 2024 and $1.5m in 2025), above standard cost inflation adjustment, to reflect revised QS costing of the proposal and the additional 500m2 of floor area for fit out above budgeted area and inclusion of the internal stairwell.

Commercial Differential

18. As part of the review of rating prior to the 2022-23 annual plan, council decided to further increase the commercial differential to 2.1 times the residential rate for general and targeted rates, except transportation targeted rate. For the transportation targeted rate an increase in differential to 5:2 was agreed based on the relative benefits of transportation expenditure to the commercial industrial sector. This rate was to be phased in over two years with the first year increase occurring in 2022-23. For the 2023-24 draft annual plan, the rates movements are based on the second year increases in the commercial differential. The impact is included in the rates tables in Attachment A.

Rating Revaluation Timing

19. The rates distribution is based on the capital value of all rateable properties. The last rating revaluation has applied from the 2022-23 year and in normal circumstances would continue for three years. However, council staff are in discussions with the Valuer General and our valuers Opteon to move Tauranga’s next revaluation forward a year so that the revaluation would be undertaken in the 2023-24 year. This proposal would address a number of issues:

(a) The lack of available revaluation resource as Auckland has adjusted its revaluation year and now clashes with Tauranga’s giving rise to a significant resource shortage with respect to both valuers and auditors

(b) Moving revaluation a year will provide more up to date valuations on which to base the LTP rates

(c) Council is implementing a new SAP rating system in 2023-24 and it would be beneficial to have the revaluation loaded prior to go live on a new system.

20. Annual plan budgets for data maintenance and consultancy will be reprioritised to cover this revaluation as a priority project so no additional operating budget is sought for this change.

The Current Economic Situation

21. Inflation continues to remain high globally, accompanied by continued central bank increases in the official cash rate of respective countries. In NZ the RBNZ has indicated an expectation that the OCR will continue to rise through the next year to 5.5%, in an effort to bring down demand driven inflation and avoid a locked in wage price spiral. This means mortgage interest rates are likely to be over 8-9% which will affect mortgage holders and borrowers.

22. As demand is reduced there will be a negative impact also on business. Anecdotally, we have been told from various financial commentators that the commercial sector is already pulling back on planned investments, noting the cost of capital and also the expectation of ongoing reduction in demand globally. There is a countercyclical opportunity for councils to invest when the private sector is not. This could be helpful to local businesses, but it also comes at a cost to ratepayers being called on to fund this investment at a difficult economic time. It also may contribute to the inflationary cycle we are currently in.

Impact of Budget Recommendations

23. The budget has arisen from decisions around investment and levels of service. The options for these have been considered through separate council decisions and during the LTP. The recommendations for the budget are based around the decisions of SFR committee on 14 November.

24. The recommendations in this report have the following impacts:

Advantages	Disadvantages
Meets council’s level of service requirements and assessment of deliverability of priority capital programme	The increase will impact the community already facing similarly large increases in other costs
Results in an overall rates increase including waters that is close to CPI (currently 7.2%, expected to rise before declining in 2024) and a median residential rates increase that at 8.7% is less than CPI plus 2%, a relatively low increase above CPI noting the costs that come with substantial required infrastructure investment	The movement in commercial differential will provide a significant increase for commercial activities above CPI, with the benefit from council’s capital investment to be experienced in later years

options analysis – annual plan consultation APPROACH

25. Option (i): Do not consult (Recommended)

(a) Council does not consult on AP 2023/2024

(b) Key risk: Council’s assessment of significance and/or materiality, and the resulting decision not to consult, is challenged via the annual report audit process and/or by the community.

Advantages

Disadvantages

· Improved organisational capacity to focus on LTP 2024-2034.

· Reduced workload for corporate teams and activity and project managers, as there is no requirement to manage and respond to AP submissions.

· Eliminates costs of AP consultation.

· Reduced risk of community engagement fatigue.

· Reduced ability to bundle together issues for community engagement.

· Risk of community criticism for a lack of consultation on the AP.

· Loss of opportunity for community input into the AP.

26. Option (ii) – Consultation ‘lite’ (Not recommended)

(a) Council conducts a streamlined or abridged AP consultation process without the need for hearings or deliberations.

(b) Key risk: those that choose to provide a submission feel their views aren’t adequately heard, considered, or responded to.

Advantages

Disadvantages

· Council can consult via the issuance of a consultation document but without the requirement for full special consultative procedure (SCP) requirements.

· No requirement for hearings and potentially a shorter consultation period.

· Council can bundle together issues ready for consultation.

· Moderate risk of community engagement fatigue as LTP consultations will follow very closely on the back of the AP consultation period.

· Cost of AP consultation (approx. $20k-$40k).

· Increased organisational burden as submissions are received, processed and responded to by corporate teams and activity and project managers.

27. Option (iii) – Consultation standard approach (Not recommended)

(a) Council follows the current AP consultation approach and conduct a full special consultative procedure (SCP) AP consultation

(b) Key risk: community engagement fatigue and organisational capacity.

Advantages

Disadvantages

· Community perceives Council as conducting robust and transparent consultation.

· Council can bundle together issues ready for consultation.

· High risk of community engagement fatigue

· Cost of AP consultation (approx. $20k -$40k).

· Additional time required for Council meetings to hold hearings.

· Increased organisational burden as submissions are received, processed and responded to by corporate teams and activity and project managers.

Strategic / Statutory Context

28. The preparation of an annual plan is required under the Local Government Act 2002.

Financial Considerations

29. This report forms part of the process of preparing a draft budget for the 2023/24 financial year. This draft will be refined and adopted in April-May 2023.

Legal Implications / Risks

30. There are no specific legal implications arising from the development of an Annual Plan that is compliant with the relevant legislation.

Consultation /engagement

31. Consultation on the annual plan will be in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act.

32. The last three years have placed increased pressure on Council and the community we engage with. Council prepared and consulted on two annual plans in 2020 (one pre and one post COVID), a long-term plan in 2021, a long-term plan amendment and an annual plan in 2022. Staff have already commenced preparing LTP 2024-2034, as this LTP will be consulted on in late 2023 for adoption mid-April 2024. This accelerated timeframe allows for the LTP to be completed prior to the 2024 Tauranga City Council election. However, bringing forward the LTP development means that work on the AP 2023/2024 and the LTP are occurring concurrently, increasing workloads and potentially community engagement fatigue.

33. The Local Government Act 2002 (LGA) was amended in 2014 with the intent of streamlining consultation requirements for annual plans. As a result, councils are only required to consult when there are significant or material differences between the proposed content of the annual plan and the content of the long term plan for the financial year to which the AP relates (s95(2A), LGA). The changes from Year 3 of the long term plan are primarily driven by external factors: inflation increasing the costs of goods and services, especially for capital projects, and by interest rates increasing the cost of Council’s borrowings. The changes in the annual plan are not a significant or material departure from the long term plan.

34. Taking into consideration the above assessment, officers are of the opinion that no further engagement is required prior to Council deciding and that the Annual Plan be considered by Council for adoption without consultation.

Significance

35. The Local Government Act 2002 requires an assessment of the significance of matters, issues, proposals and decisions in this report against Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy. Council acknowledges that in some instances a matter, issue, proposal or decision may have a high degree of importance to individuals, groups, or agencies affected by the report.

36. In making this assessment, consideration has been given to the likely impact, and likely consequences for:

(a) the current and future social, economic, environmental, or cultural well-being of the district or region

(b) any persons who are likely to be particularly affected by, or interested in, the matter.

37. In accordance with the considerations above, criteria and thresholds in the policy, it is considered that the matter is of medium significance.

Next Steps

38. Further issues and options papers will be presented in February 2023 which may affect the draft budgets. Any decisions would be included in the budgets before presented the final budget for adoption in April-May 2023.

Attachments

1. Attachment A - Operating Income and Expenditure - A14277157 ⇩

2. Attachment B - Capital Programme - A14277321 ⇩

[1] Note: The ‘Performance Arts and Conference Centre, and Hotel’ is not included in the project cost table as the expectation is that this will be privately developed and funded.


AGENDA Ordinary Council meeting Monday, 12 December 2022
I hereby give notice that an Ordinary meeting of Council will be held on:
Date:	Monday, 12 December 2022
Time:	9.30am
Location:	BoP Regional Council Chambers Regional House 1 Elizabeth Street Tauranga
Please note that this meeting will be livestreamed and the recording will be publicly available on Tauranga City Council's website: www.tauranga.govt.nz.
Marty Grenfell Chief Executive

Chairperson	Commission Chair Anne Tolley
Members	Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston Commissioner Stephen Selwood Commissioner Bill Wasley
Quorum	Half of the members physically present, where the number of members (including vacancies) is even; and a majority of the members physically present, where the number of members (including vacancies) is odd.
Meeting frequency	As required

	Tauranga City Council	Tauranga City Group
Surplus before tax	$136m	$130m
Net Debt	$701m	$701m
Debt to Revenue Ratio	204%	196%

· To ensure the effective and efficient governance of the City

· To enable leadership of the City including advocacy and facilitation on behalf of the community.

· Oversee the work of all committees and subcommittees.

· Exercise all non-delegable and non-delegated functions and powers of the Council.