AGENDA

 

Ordinary Council meeting

Monday, 16 October 2023

I hereby give notice that an Ordinary meeting of Council will be held on:

Date:

Monday, 16 October 2023

Time:

9.30am

Location:

Bay of Plenty 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

 


Terms of reference – Council

 

 

Membership

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

Role

·        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.

Scope

 

·        Oversee the work of all committees and subcommittees.

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

·        The powers Council is legally prohibited from delegating include:

       Power to make a rate.

       Power to make a bylaw.

       Power to borrow money, or purchase or dispose of assets, other than in accordance with the long-term plan.

       Power to adopt a long-term plan, annual plan, or annual report

       Power to appoint a chief executive.

       Power to adopt policies required to be adopted and consulted on under the Local Government Act 2002 in association with the long-term plan or developed for the purpose of the local governance statement.

       All final decisions required to be made by resolution of the territorial authority/Council pursuant to relevant legislation (for example: the approval of the City Plan or City Plan changes as per section 34A Resource Management Act 1991).

·        Council has chosen not to delegate the following:

       Power to compulsorily acquire land under the Public Works Act 1981.

·        Make those decisions which are required by legislation to be made by resolution of the local authority.

·        Authorise all expenditure not delegated to officers, Committees or other subordinate decision-making bodies of Council.

·        Make appointments of members to the CCO Boards of Directors/Trustees and representatives of Council to external organisations.

·        Consider any matters referred from any of the Standing or Special Committees, Joint Committees, Chief Executive or General Managers.

Procedural matters

·        Delegation of Council powers to Council’s committees and other subordinate decision-making bodies.

·        Adoption of Standing Orders.

·        Receipt of Joint Committee minutes.

·        Approval of Special Orders.

·        Employment of Chief Executive.

·        Other Delegations of Council’s powers, duties and responsibilities.

Regulatory matters

Administration, monitoring and enforcement of all regulatory matters that have not otherwise been delegated or that are referred to Council for determination (by a committee, subordinate decision-making body, Chief Executive or relevant General Manager).

 


Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 

Order of Business

1         Opening karakia. 7

2         Apologies. 7

3         Public forum.. 7

4         Acceptance of late items. 7

5         Confidential business to be transferred into the open. 7

6         Change to the order of business. 7

7         Confirmation of minutes. 8

7.1            Minutes of the Council meeting held on 11 September 2023. 8

7.2            Minutes of the Council meeting held on 25 September 2023. 27

8         Declaration of conflicts of interest 45

9         Deputations, presentations, petitions. 46

9.1            Gia Nelson of Mount Maunganui High School - Petition on Level Crossing Safety. 46

10       Recommendations from other committees. 47

Nil

11       Business. 48

11.1         Adoption of draft Development Contributions Policy 2024/25. 48

11.2         City Centre Development Incentive Fund Update 2022/2023. 66

11.3         Broader outcomes - social procurement targets. 70

11.4         Traffic & Parking Bylaw Amendment No.47. 76

11.5         Spring St Carpark Strengthening - Unbudgeted Expenditure. 87

11.6         Parking Management Plan Roll Out Adjustment. 90

11.7         Hearings on the Options to Fund the Civic Precinct - Te Manawataki o Te Papa. 95

12       Discussion of late items. 98

13       Public excluded session. 99

13.1         Public Excluded Minutes of the Council meeting held on 11 September 2023. 99

13.2         Public Excluded Minutes of the Council meeting held on 25 September 2023. 99

13.3         Exemption to Open Competition - Subdivisional Hard Fitout 99

13.4         Cameron Road Stage 2 Progression of Procurement 99

14       Closing karakia. 101

 

 


1          Opening karakia

2          Apologies

3          Public forum

4          Acceptance of late items

5          Confidential business to be transferred into the open

6          Change to the order of business


Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 

7          Confirmation of minutes

7.1         Minutes of the Council meeting held on 11 September 2023

File Number:           A15132540

Author:                    Anahera Dinsdale, Governance  Advisor

Authoriser:              Anahera Dinsdale, Governance  Advisor

 

Recommendations

That the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 11 September 2023 be confirmed as a true and correct record.

 

 

 

Attachments

1.      Minutes of the Council meeting held on 11 September 2023 

 

 


UNCONFIRMEDOrdinary Council meeting minutes

11 September 2023

 

 

 

MINUTES

Ordinary Council meeting

Monday, 11 September 2023

 


 

Order of Business

1         Opening karakia. 4

2         Apologies. 4

3         Public forum.. 4

4         Acceptance of late items. 4

5         Confidential business to be transferred into the open. 4

5.1            Infrasturcture Funding and Financial Act (IFF) for funding Te Manawatahi o Te Papa - Adoption of Consultation Document 4

6         Change to the order of business. 5

7         Confirmation of minutes. 5

7.1            Minutes of the Council meeting held on 21 August 2023. 5

8         Declaration of conflicts of interest 5

9         Deputations, presentations, petitions. 5

Nil

10       Recommendations from other committees. 5

Nil

11       Business. 5

13.3         Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act (IFFA) for funding Te Manawataki o Te Papa – Adoption of Consultation Document 5

11.1         Mount Maunganui Parking Strategy. 6

11.2         Significant Forecasting Assumptions. 7

11.3         2024-2034 Long-Term Plan - Adoption for Audit of the Draft Infrastructure Strategy. 8

11.4         Draft User Fees and Charges Schedule for the draft 2024-34 Long-term Plan. 9

11.5         2024-2034 Long-term Plan - Adoption for Audit of Draft Groups of Activities and Performance Measures sections. 10

11.6         Papamoa East / Wairakei / Te Tumu Investments: Strategic Considerations and Funding Approaches. 11

11.7         Draft Financial Information for the 2024-34 Long term Plan. 13

11.8         2024-2034 - Long-term Plan - Adoption for Audit of draft Long-term Plan Consultation Document 15

12       Discussion of late items. 16

13       Public excluded session. 16

13.1         Papamoa East Interchange – Contract Award. 16

13.2         Opal Dr Wastewater Pump Station Budget Approval 16

Confidential Attachment 1     11.6 - Papamoa East / Wairakei / Te Tumu Investments: Strategic Considerations and Funding Approaches. 17

Confidential Attachment 2     11.6 - Papamoa East / Wairakei / Te Tumu Investments: Strategic Considerations and Funding Approaches. 17

Confidential Attachment 3     11.6 - Papamoa East / Wairakei / Te Tumu Investments: Strategic Considerations and Funding Approaches. 17

Confidential Attachment 5     11.6 - Papamoa East / Wairakei / Te Tumu Investments: Strategic Considerations and Funding Approaches. 17

14       Closing karakia. 17

 

 


 

MINUTES OF Tauranga City Council

Ordinary Council meeting

HELD AT THE Bay of Plenty Regional Council Chambers, Regional House

1 Elizabeth Street, Tauranga

ON Monday, 11 September 2023 AT 9.30am

 

 

PRESENT:                     Commission Chair Anne Tolley, Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston, Commissioner Stephen Selwood, 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), Christine Jones (General Manager: Strategy, Growth & Governance), Sarah Omundsen (General Manager: Regulatory and Compliance), Reece Wilkinson (Parking Strategy Manager), Sarah Holmes (Corporate Planner), Fiona Nalder (Principal Strategic Advisor), Kathryn Sharplin (Manager: Finance), Josh Logan (Team Leader: Corporate Planning), Andy Mead (Manager: City Planning & Growth), Frazer Smith (Manager: Strategic Finance & Growth), Tracey Hughes (Financial Insights & Reporting Manager), Alison Law (Manager: Spaces and Places), Coral Hair (Manager: Democracy & Governance Services), Sarah Drummond (Governance Advisor), Anahera Dinsdale (Governance Advisor), Janie Storey (Governance Advisor)

 

1          Opening karakia

Commissioner Shad Rolleston opened the meeting with a karakia.

2          Apologies

Nil

3          Public forum

Nil

4          Acceptance of late items

Nil

5          Confidential business to be transferred into the open

5.1  Infrasturcture Funding and Financial Act (IFF) for funding Te Manawatahi o Te Papa Adoption of Consultation Document

Resolution  CO16/23/1

Moved:       Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded:  Commissioner Stephen Selwood

That the report Infrasturcture Funding and Financial Act (IFFA) for funding Te Manawatahi o Te Papa - Adoption of Consultation Document be transferred to the public part of the meeting and as a change to the order of business it would be taken first.

Carried

 

6          Change to the order of business

Item 13.3 – Infrastructure Funding and Financial Act (IFFA) for funding Te Manawataki o Te Papa – Adoption of Consultation Document would be held as the first item in 11 Business.

7          Confirmation of minutes

7.1         Minutes of the Council meeting held on 21 August 2023

Resolution  CO16/23/2

Moved:       Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded:  Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

That the minutes of the Council meeting held on 21 August 2023 be confirmed as a true and correct record.

Carried

 

8          Declaration of conflicts of interest

Commisioner Wasley noted that he was a pool owner in in relation to Item 11.4 which included a potential targeted rate for pool owners.

9          Deputations, presentations, petitions

Nil

10        Recommendations from other committees

Nil

11        Business

13.3       Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act (IFFA) for funding Te Manawataki o Te Papa – Adoption of Consultation Document

Staff          Paul Davidson , Chief Financial Officer 

 

Tabled document “Updated consultation document with track changes”

 

Key points

·        Consultation document to raise the ratepayer funding for Te Manawataki o Te Papa, with the options of a levy or by way of a rating mechanism.

·        The information was continuing to be updated, with the figures reflecting the financial markets as of 8 September 2023.

·        Based on the current information the cost for an average residential property would range between $107-$128 and $369 $440 for a commercial property.

·        The model was sensitive to growth assumptions and lowering in growth would flatten the curve of the graph but increased the amount that came in earlier timeframes and this was reflected in the consultation document.

 

 

In response to questions

·        The transport levy was based on a 50% split for residential and commercial, whereas this was based on 70% residential and 30% commercial. 

 

Discussion points raised

·        The benefits of an IFFA levy were in the intergenerational equity as to who pays, with 1.5 generations over 30 years contributing to these costs, the transparency of a separate charge, certainty of funding and removing the loan funding from the Council’s balance sheet

·        The Council was demonstrating that it was making use of all available funding sources and the public now had the opportunity to have their say on the options for funding Te Manawataki o Te Papa.

·        Recommendation (d) was removed as the matter was being discussed in the public part of the meeting.

Resolution  CO16/23/3

Moved:       Commissioner Stephen Selwood

Seconded:  Commissioner Bill Wasley

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act (IFFA) for funding Te Manawataki o Te Papa - Adoption of Consultation Document".

(b)     Approves to continue with the IFFA process and for consultation on the proposal to commence on the 14th September and finish on the 6th October 2023.

(c)     Adopts the attached draft Consultation Document in Attachment 1 which summarises the proposal and an alternative option.

Carried

Attachments

1       Tabled document "Updated consultation document with track changes"

 

11.1       Mount Maunganui Parking Strategy

Staff          Nic Johansson, General Manager: Infrastructure Services

Reece Wilkinson, Parking Strategy Manager

 

Key points

·        Parking Management Plan for Mount Maunganui had been commissioned as it was needed especially during summer.

·        There was some anxiety in the community, but no sweeping changes were mooted.  This was the start of the discussion with the community.

·        Mount Maunganui faced issues with high occupancy rates and time limits which were not being followed. 

·        Mount Maunganui would soon become a city centre in its own right, which meant there was a need to work towards better transport choices. 

·        Workers in the area were concerned about what would be available for them to park, but as there had never been an incentive for off street parking, this proposal was an opportunity to slowly start that process. 

·        The preference was to start with a low rate of paid parking to get people used to the idea and to monitor it to see if it resulted in a change of behaviour. 

·        There was an option for separate worker rates which could be implemented with a pay by plate programme, rather than setting aside specific locations.  

 

 

In response to questions

·        There were four different zones suggested for the town centre, high density residential, the beachfront and suburban residential. 

·        One suggestion was to charge for parking along the beachfront during the peak of summer and leave it open during winter as there were people who parked early to keep a space on the beachfront. 

·        The businesses want a sizeable portion for their customers and people walking the Maunga also find it difficult to get a park.  The proposal was to find a balance and a compromise for the variety of users.

·        In relation to a query regarding the provision of high density residential parking not being at the cost of those wanting to use the parks for a short time or residents.  Council was not obligated to provide on street parking for apartments and the plan needed to change that.

·        There was a thought to seek approval to start working on a permit system trial for longer term residents within the town centre where these would become less users over time.  It would need to be implemented in such a way that it only applied to people in the area before the parking plan, so that anyone buying a property would know that they were not be able to park on the street.

·        In answer to a query ensuring that workers, shoppers, tourists and recreation users were accommodated within the contestable spaces it was noted that the area was growing so quickly, something needed to be done and it was anticipated that the plan would integrate all users.

·        There were private parking spaces within the commercial area that businesses could lease to generate income. 

·        While the engagement of the plan could not be part of the Long Term Plan consultation document, it was part of the concept setting and would run concurrently.

 

Discussion points raised

·        Commissioners noted that framing the engagement was important, as was the need to reach out to all stakeholders.  

·        Resolution (b) was amended to incorporate the points noted.

Resolution  CO16/23/4

Moved:       Commissioner Stephen Selwood

Seconded:  Commissioner Bill Wasley

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "Mount Maunganui Parking Strategy".

(b)     Approves engagement for development and implementation of the Mount Maunganui Parking Management Plan to be undertaken concurrently with the LTP with the affected community (Mount Maunganui and users of the Mount) and that the results be reported back to Council.

Carried

 

11.2       Significant Forecasting Assumptions

Staff          Paul Davidson, Chief Financial Officer

Sarah Holmes, Corporate Planner

Josh Logan, Team Leader: Corporate Planning

 

Tabled – Attachment 1 – corrected table on pages 23-24 of the agenda Capital and maintenance cumulative cost inflation assumptions provided in a more readable format.

 

Key points

·        The figures provided in the tabled information was as up to date as possible and included inflation assumptions.

Resolution  CO16/23/5

Moved:       Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded:  Commissioner Stephen Selwood

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "Significant Forecasting Assumptions".

(b)     Approves the Recommendation from the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee that Council:

(i)      Adopts the full updated Draft Significant Forecasting Assumptions (Attachment 1) to form part of the supporting documentation for the purpose of public consultation for the proposed Long-term Plan 2024-2034 in November 2023.

(ii)     Authorises the Chief Executive to make minor amendments to the documentation to ensure accuracy and correct minor drafting errors.

(c)     Approves the Significant Forecasting Assumptions and associated mitigation actions for audit as set out in Attachment 1.

Carried

Attachments

1       Attachment 1 corrected table

 

11.3       2024-2034 Long-Term Plan - Adoption for Audit of the Draft Infrastructure Strategy

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

Fiona Nalder, Principal Strategic Advisor

 

Key points

·        The information was a key part of the Long Term Plan package along with the Financial Strategy setting out Council’s intent for infrastructure over the next 30 years.

·        There was a key focus on population growth, greenfield developments, climate change and resilience and delivering for our communities within the scope and timeframes for the delivery of these.

 

Discussion points raised

·        Commissioner Selwood stated that the intention of introducing Infrastructure Strategy’s for local government was to provide greater long term certainty of the investment pathway, consider how infrastructure would support land use change over time and develop a culture around long term and robust asset management.

·        Commissioners expressed their concern that the Infrastructure Strategy was almost too high level and strategic and they expected more content that one would see in the Infrastructure Development Code or at least the relationship between the Strategy and the Code and how the Infrastructure Strategy would support the long term urban development planning for the city.  There was more work to be done on the Strategy.

·        It was agreed that while it was too late to change the Strategy now, in three years’ time when the next Long Term Plan was being reviewed, a better relationship would have developed between the Strategy and other plans.

 

In response to questions

·        It was noted that the test of the Strategy and what could be delivered would be through the audit process with any further iterations coming through that process.  The Strategy was compliant with legislation and had been purposefully kept readable.  The comments and concerns of the Commissioners would be noted to work on in the future. 

·        A maintenance strategy could be included as an improvement to the document.

·        It was noted that all of the information requested was available, but staff were trying to keep a balance to ensure the document was readable and not too detailed. The Asset Management Plans were audited regularly and Council could gain a level of assurance from that. 

·        In response to a query as to whether any changes would need to go through a separate process, it was noted that only changes that significantly impact either the services or the Long Term Plan would need to be done separately.  

Resolution  CO16/23/6

Moved:       Commissioner Stephen Selwood

Seconded:  Commissioner Bill Wasley

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "2024-2034 Long-Term Plan - Adoption for Audit of the Draft Infrastructure Strategy".

(b)     Adopts the draft Infrastructure Strategy, as set out in Attachment 1, as a supporting document for the draft 2024-2034 Long-Term Plan, for submission to Audit New Zealand.

(c)     Delegates authority to the Chief Executive to make editorial amendments to the draft Infrastructure Strategy, if required, prior to it being submitted to Audit New Zealand.

(d)     Notes a revised version of the Infrastructure Strategy, following any amendments required by Audit New Zealand and for graphic design purposes, will be provided to Council for its approval in early November 2023.

Carried

 

11.4       Draft User Fees and Charges Schedule for the draft 2024-34 Long-term Plan

Staff          Paul Davidson, Chief Financial Officer

Sarah Holmes, Corporate Planner

Alison Law, Manager: Spaces and Places 

 

Key points

·        The information was bringing together directions from Council for Year 1 of the Long Term Plan.

·        The document was included in the statement of proposals for consultation with the changes and a full schedule of these highlighted.

 

In response to questions

·        In response to a query regarding the long term prime spot leases at the Mount Holiday Park and having these made available to more than one group, it was noted that the team were working to reduce the number of long term lesees with the intention of phasing them out.

·        Further information would be provided on the future use of The Strand carpark and carparks attached to moorings as over time these would be phased out. This was the new site for the Wharewaka.

 

Discussion points raised

·        Commissioners acknowledged that the fees were being lifted to catchup for years of underinvestment in roading and community facilities and to manage and invest in growth, where they were looking at the commercial and industrial sectors to pay their fair share, as well as the users of Council facilities.

·        A mixture of charges was being implemented, including recognising an amount of general public good in having these facilities available and the cost to maintain them. 

 

·        Staff were acknowledged for working through the issues and providing a fair and transparent way of introducing the new charges, getting the balance right and ensuring that the levels of service were maintained.

·        It was important to keep up with inflation, keep up with the costs incurred and to be informed by benchmarking the fees with what other authorities were charging.

Resolution  CO16/23/7

Moved:       Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded:  Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report ‘Draft User Fees and Charges Schedule for the draft 2024-34 Long-term Plan’.

(b)     Adopts the draft user fees and charges in Attachment 2, for audit purposes, incorporating any amendments as approved by Council at this meeting.

(c)     Delegates the Chief Financial Officer to approve the final wording of amendments (as per Council direction) prior to public consultation.

Carried

 

11.5       2024-2034 Long-term Plan - Adoption for Audit of Draft Groups of Activities and Performance Measures sections

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

Paul Davidson, Chief Financial Officer

Josh Logan, Team Leader: Corporate Planning

 

Key points

·        The groups of activities and performance summary information for each group was reported on per measure with the change process aligning to tell a better story and noting the challenges and focus areas for the next 10 years. Outcome levels were reported in other documents.

·        The changes had gone through a quality assurance process noting inflation and impacts.

·        An additional resolution (f) was sought to reflect a change to the inflation numbers of around a 1% range for later years.  The impact of this on the amount of debt retirement and debt to revenue ratios would be higher than shown in the agenda. This would impact on items 11.7 and 11.8 of the agenda and additional resolutions would be requested to be added to those items.

 

In response to questions

·        Year 1 – 2024-25 would be the test of the new systems and the measure for those, with information being provided to the Strategy, Revenue and Finance Committee.

 

Discussion points raised

·        Commissioners acknowledged that the Long Term Plan was being compiled well ahead of the normal process and that they had asked for a lot of changes.  They noted their appreciation for the extraordinary effort that staff were putting into this process. 

Resolution  CO16/23/8

Moved:       Commissioner Stephen Selwood

Seconded:  Commissioner Bill Wasley

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "2024-2034 Long-term Plan - Adoption for Audit of Draft Groups of Activities and Performance Measures sections".

(b)     Adopts the draft Groups of Activities Plans, as set out in Attachment 1, for submission to Audit New Zealand, as they form part of the supporting information for the Draft 2024-2034 Long-term Plan.

(c)     Adopts the draft Performance Measures, as set out in Attachment 2, for submission to Audit New Zealand, as they form part of the supporting information for the Draft 2024-2034 Long-term Plan.

(d)     Delegates authority to the Chief Executive to make editorial amendments to the draft Groups of Activities Plans and draft Performance Measures, if required, prior to it being submitted to Audit New Zealand.

(e)     Notes a revised version of the Groups of Activities Plans and Performance Measures, following any amendments required by Audit New Zealand and for graphic design purposes, will be provided to Council for its approval in early November 2023.

(f)      Approves the inclusion of changes to the funding impact statements by groups of activity to reflect the impact of inflation.

Carried

 

11.6       Papamoa East / Wairakei / Te Tumu Investments: Strategic Considerations and Funding Approaches

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

Andy Mead, Manager: City Planning & Growth

Frazer Smith, Manager: Strategic Finance & Growth

 

Key points

·        The report had expanded to support decision making on the Pāpāmoa East Interchange, Opal Drive Wastewater Pump Station, the transport and three waters investment programme for the next 10 years for Pāpāmoa East, a set of projects to support existing and future growth and the Te Tumu urban growth area.

·        The set of projects supported the growth of Pāpāmoa, Wairakei and Te Tumuareas collectively and could not be individually developed as they were intertwined with the significant retail, office and residential investment within those areas.

·        Staff were engaging with the National Transition Unit for Three Waters to ensure the entity was aware of the issues with debt funding that would become their responsibility.. 

·        The funding model includes the $300M of investment going on the Council’s debt to begin with and assumes that once Te Tumu development came forward development contributions would repay the debt. The draft Long Term Plan 2024-34 does not include critical infrastructure for Te Tumu to commence.

·        Given the uncertainty around the Te Tumu funding share being available for the Pāpāmoa East Interchange (PEI) and the Opal Drive projects as well as other projects, it was considered an appropriate time to review  the  funding model for Te Tumu and determine if it was suitable to deal with the issues. 

·        Three issues in relation to Te Tumu included timing of capital expenditure around the Kaituna stormwater overflow, planning risks, as Te Tumu was not zoned for urban development, and a new policy environment for freshwater management and indigenous biodiversity and implications for the structure plan. 

·        Staff were working with tangata whenua, some of whom had opposition around the development of that area, and were taking independent planning and legal advice.

·        Access and infrastructure with multiple owners in the Kaituna 14 Māori land trust block (TK14) was a risk.  Staff were in negotiations with the Trust and slowly proceeding as there were significant process steps that needed to be undertaken. Once the infrastructure corridor had been concluded, it still needed to be voted upon by beneficial owners and then move through to the Māori Land Court.  As there was little in the way of precedent, the process was challenging and time consuming. 

·        A correction was requested by the TK14 Trustees to paragraph 21 of the report changing - A majority of TK14 beneficiaries who voted, supported these negotiations proceeding, to The majority of trust owners who have been engaged, supported the negotiations proceeding.

·        Options for potential general and targeted rate funding were assessed in the report and it was recommended that 50% of the Te Tumu funding risk share relating to transport projects be transferred to a mix of general rates (flat charge across the city), double the rate for those in the wider benefit area of Pāpāmoa East and triple the rate for those in the full benefit area of Pāpāmoa East.

·        Transport projects only were recommended to be funded given the uncertainty around the timing of the proposed waters reform.  Should this be significantly delayed staff would look at options to include future water charges.

 

In response to questions

·        Council was building a strong centre around Pāpāmoa East with high density housing that was more sustainable with people working there rather than travelling into the city, thereby taking some pressure off the roading network. 

·        In response to a query in relation to apportionment of the costs, it was noted that if Te Tumu was to proceed the share would be $700M before growth commenced which would limit everything else that needed to be done across the whole city  It was therefore considered fair that the whole city should contribute towards the cost. 

·        There was a timeframe for Council to act to get zoning in place., There were still some uncertainties and staff would report back with an analysis and timeframe. 

·        In answer to a query as to whether the funding proposal was part of a rethink of how to look at funding growth, it was noted that these costs were not related to growth. In the past the Council has traditionally made rates spreading decisions to fund the costs across the city,  but were now looking at  a more targeted approach. 

·        From an infrastructure planning perspective, Council was trying to take a future proofing and staging approach.  Wherever possible the Council was requiring the developer to put in infrastructure in place that traditionally Council would have built and collected over time from development contributions. The tools in the legislation were not enabling enough to deal with the level and complexity of growth to reduce the risk on Council.  This was a complex web and staff were continuing to explore techniques to reduce these risks.   

·        In relation to a question as to whether there was a plan B if the three waters did not proceed it was noted that the Council would be consulting with that in mind and would make changes through the final Long Term Plan if needed.  It was not possible to put a targeted three waters rates for Year 1 if it was not consulted on, but it could be signalled and introduced in Year 2 with consultation as part of the annual plan. 

 

Discussion points raised

·        The Commission had focused on providing infrastructure for the existing population and the Opal Drive wastewater plant and the PEI were two ciritical pieces of infrastructure required for the existing population,

·        The PEI should have been constructed at the time the Eastern Link was built as this would have been more cost effective.

·        The funding system for paying for growth was so broken that the ratepayer took the risks and underwrote the costs and central government reaped the benefits and the Commission would continue to advocate for change.

·        There were significant risks in terms of the new planning frameworks and Te Tumu development had become more difficult under these.

·        The issue was how to deal with the debt in a fair and equitable way and it was appropriate that those communities who had been identified as reaping the higher benefits should pay a higher cost.

·        It would be a useful exercise to condense the complexity, the risks and liability for ratepayers relating to this level of providing and funding growth into a briefing for the incoming Minister of Local Government to assist understanding at both ministerial and official levels.

Resolution  CO16/23/9

Moved:       Commissioner Stephen Selwood

Seconded:  Commissioner Bill Wasley

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "Papamoa East / Wairakei / Te Tumu Investments: Strategic Considerations and Funding Approaches", subject to the paragraph 21 changes being noted.

(b)     Notes for consideration the range of strategic issues relevant to progressing construction of infrastructure in the Eastern Corridor and specifically the Papamoa East Interchange and Opal Drive Wastewater Pump Station.

(c)     Agrees that Te Tumu transport funding risks will be proposed to be managed by a targeted rate based on:

(i)         50% of the Te Tumu portion of the transport projects which have the majority of their expenditure in the first 3 years of the Long-Term Plan (including the Papamoa East Interchange).

(ii)        A flat charge (i.e. not based on CV) per ratepayer across the city with a higher charge (double) in the wider benefit area in Papamoa East and (triple) for those in the full benefit area in Papamoa East.

(iii)       A 20-year repayment period starting in Year 1 of the 2024-34 Long Term Plan period. 

(d)     Consults with the community on the proposed Te Tumu transport related targeted rate through the draft 2024-2034 Long Term Plan.

(e)     Agrees not to propose a targeted rate for waters projects due to the proposed three waters reform and exclusion of waters activities after Year 2 of the 2024-34 Long Term Plan. 

(f)      Retains attachments 1 and 2 in public excluded under section 7(2)(ii) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.

(g)     Retains attachment 3 in public excluded under section 7(2)(g) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.

(h)     Retains attachment 5 in public excluded under s7(2)(i) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act until the contractual negotiations associated with the Papamoa East Interchange construction contract are complete.

Carried

 

At 11.32am the meeting adjourned.

At 11.45am the meeting reconvened.

 

11.7       Draft Financial Information for the 2024-34 Long term Plan

Staff          Paul Davidson, Chief Financial Officer

Kathryn Sharplin, Manager: Finance

Tracey Hughes, Financial Insights & Reporting Manager

 

Information was tabled outlining changes to the key financials in the consultation document and Infrastructure Strategy.

 

 

Key points

·        The key financials were updated to reflect the decision of a new rating category.  The Financial Strategy flows from all of the work done to date and in the information tabled the orange shaded lines noted the changes to some of these.

·        As Council had an A+ credit rating, borrowing was an appropriate way to fund growth.

·        Two graphs were replaced, graph 2, the Annual Debt Profile, which showed total debt peaking at $1.8B by 2034.The changes reflected a review of debt profile after transferring the three waters  debt to the new entity.. Most of the water debt was growth debt and once it was removed beyond 2027 most was in non-growth debt .

·        The second graph 3 Debt to revenue ratio against proposed borrowing limit was replaced and some of debt retirement has been moved.  Not all the financials had been flowed through the model and the graph represented conservative estimates. Further updated information would be provided to Council.

·        The Finance Strategy was focused on paying a fair share and telling the story of who pays for what, and these were represented in graphs on pages 190 and 191.

·        Recommendation changes were made to reflect the tabled amendments to the financials and to approve the Financial Strategy, funding needs analysis and revenue and the revenue and financing policy. 

 

In response to questions

·        Waters would be transferred to the new entity with the debt taken away and the assets lost.  As government guidance of how to treat this had not been received as yet it would be reiterated with a note advising this under the graph.

·        A comparison had not been made with other metros at this stage on the percentage of costs paid by rates but would be done.

·        It was noted in the pie graph charts that the expense sits all at once, but the revenue was spread over a longer time than the 10 year programme.

Resolution  CO16/23/10

Moved:       Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

Seconded:  Commissioner Bill Wasley

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "Draft Financial Information for the 2024-34 Long term Plan".

(b)     Approves for submission to Audit the following material:

(i)      Funding Needs analysis

(ii)     Revenue and Financing Policy

(iii)     Financial Strategy

(iv)    Supporting Financial Information

(c)     Accepts the tabled amendments to the financials which are included in the consultation document and financial strategy to show:

(i)           the estimated impact of inflation and

(ii)         to recognise the correction in amount of growth debt repaid as part of waters reform

(d)     Agrees that further refinement of the financials will be completed to reflect this detail in all financial documents including groups of activities and supporting documentation before they are provided to audit later in the week.  These will be reported to council in future meetings.

(e)     Approves the draft 2024-34 Long-term Plan financial strategy funding needs analysis and revenue, revenue and financial policy and supporting financial information for the purposes of submitting it to Audit New Zealand for the audit process with amendments to reflect the decisions made at this 11 September Council meeting with respect to the following reports:

(i)      Draft User Fees and Charges Schedule for the Draft 2024-2034 Long Term Plan

(ii)     Mount Maunganui Parking Strategy

(iii)        Papamoa East / Wairakei / Te Tumu Investments Strategic Considerations and Funding Approaches.

(iv)        the estimated impact of inflation and to recognise the correction in amount of growth debt repaid as part of waters reform.

Carried

Attachments

1       Tabled - Amendments to Financials in Consultation Document, Infrastructure Strategy

 

11.8       2024-2034 - Long-term Plan - Adoption for Audit of draft Long-term Plan Consultation Document

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

Josh Logan, Team Leader: Corporate Planning

 

Tabled replacement pages 28 and 29 of the draft consultation document (pages 31 and 32 of Attachment 2).

 

Key points

·        The tabled replacement pages note that the targeted rate for pool inspections had been updated to better reflect the staff time for this activity.

·        An additional recommendation was included b (iv) to note the estimated impact of inflation and recognise a correction in the amount of growth debt repaid as part of the waters reform.

Resolution  CO16/23/11

Moved:       Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded:  Commissioner Stephen Selwood

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "2024-2034 - Long-term Plan - Adoption for Audit of draft Long-term Plan Consultation Document" with the tabled amendment to pages 28 and 29 of the Consultation Document and noted an update to the targeted rate for pool inspections from $58.33 to $107.65.

(b)     Approves the draft 2024-34 Long-term Plan Consultation Document (Attachment 1) for the purposes of submitting it to Audit New Zealand for the audit process with amendments to reflect the decisions made at this 11 September Council meeting with respect to the following reports:

(i)      Draft User Fees and Charges Schedule for the Draft 2024-2034 Long Term Plan

(ii)     Mount Maunganui Parking Strategy

(iii)        Papamoa East / Wairakei / Te Tumu Investments Strategic Considerations and Funding Approaches.

(iv)        The estimated impact of inflation and to recogniser the correction in amount of growth debt repaid as part of waters reform.

(c)     Delegates authority to the Chief Executive to make editorial amendments to the draft 2024-34 Long-term Plan Consultation Document, if required, prior to it being submitted to Audit New Zealand.

(d)     Notes the final version of the 2024-34 Long-term Plan Consultation Document, following any amendments required by Audit New Zealand and for graphic design purposes, will be provided to Council for its approval at the meeting in early November 2023.

Carried

Attachments

1       Tabled - Targeted Rates Changes

 

12        Discussion of late items

Nil

13        Public excluded session

Resolution to exclude the public

Resolution  CO16/23/12

Moved:         Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded:    Commissioner Stephen Selwood

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 - Papamoa East Interchange – Contract Award

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 - Opal Dr Wastewater Pump Station Budget Approval

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)(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

Confidential Attachment 1 - 11.6 - Papamoa East / Wairakei / Te Tumu Investments: Strategic Considerations and Funding Approaches

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

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

Confidential Attachment 2 - 11.6 - Papamoa East / Wairakei / Te Tumu Investments: Strategic Considerations and Funding Approaches

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

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

Confidential Attachment 3 - 11.6 - Papamoa East / Wairakei / Te Tumu Investments: Strategic Considerations and Funding Approaches

s7(2)(g) - The withholding of the information is necessary to maintain legal professional privilege

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

Confidential Attachment 5 - 11.6 - Papamoa East / Wairakei / Te Tumu Investments: Strategic Considerations and Funding Approaches

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

 

Carried

 

Commissioners acknowledged the additional pressure put on staff and noted their appreciation for completing the mammoth job to get the Long Term Plan to this stage so early in the year, and to include the number of additions that had been sought.  

 

14        Closing karakia

Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston closed the meeting with a karakia.

 


 

 

The meeting closed at 12.36 pm.

 

 

The minutes of this meeting were confirmed as a true and correct record at the Ordinary Council meeting held on 16 October 2023.

 

 

 

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

CHAIRPERSON

 


Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 

7.2         Minutes of the Council meeting held on 25 September 2023

File Number:           A15175541

Author:                    Anahera Dinsdale, Governance  Advisor

Authoriser:              Anahera Dinsdale, Governance  Advisor

 

Recommendations

That the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 25 September 2023 be confirmed as a true and correct record.

 

 

 

Attachments

1.      Minutes of the Council meeting held on 25 September 2023 

 

 


UNCONFIRMEDOrdinary Council meeting minutes

25 September 2023

 

 

 

MINUTES

Ordinary Council meeting

Monday, 25 September 2023

 


 

Order of Business

1         Opening karakia. 3

2         Apologies. 3

3         Public forum.. 3

4         Acceptance of late items. 3

5         Confidential business to be transferred into the open. 3

6         Change to the order of business. 3

7         Confirmation of minutes. 4

7.1            Minutes of the Council meeting held on 4 September 2023. 4

8         Declaration of conflicts of interest 4

9         Deputations, presentations, petitions. 4

10       Recommendations from other committees. 4

11       Business. 4

11.1         Council-controlled organisations' draft and final Annual Reports for 2022-23. 4

11.2         The Historic Village Complex 2 Project – Unbudgeted Expenditure. 9

11.3         Water Management Plan Update. 10

11.4         Executive Report 12

12       Discussion of late items. 15

13       Public excluded session. 15

13.1         Public Excluded Minutes of the Council meeting held on 4 September 2023. 15

13.2         Deputy Chair and Trustee Appointments to the Tourism Bay of Plenty Board. 16

13.3         Disposal of Smiths Farm and Housing Equity Fund Affordable Housing Proposed Arrangement 16

14       Closing karakia. 16

 

 


 

MINUTES OF Tauranga City Council

Ordinary Council meeting

HELD AT THE Bay of Plenty Regional Council Chambers, Regional House

1 Elizabeth Street, Tauranga

ON Monday, 25 September 2023 AT 9.30am

 

 

PRESENT:                     Commission Chair Anne Tolley, Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston, Commissioner Stephen Selwood, 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), Christine Jones (General Manager: Strategy, Growth & Governance), Alastair McNeill (General Manager: Corporate Services), Steve Pearce (Acting General Manager: Regulatory and Compliance and Manager Building Services), Anne Blakeway (Acting General Manager: City Development & Partnerships and Manager: City Partnerships), Sanjana France (CCO Specialist), Blair Graham (Historical Village Manager), Peter Bahrs (Manager: Water Services), Coral Hair (Manager: Democracy & Governance Services), Shaleen Narayan (Team Leader: Governance Services), Anahera Dinsdale (Governance Advisor), Janie Storey (Governance Advisor)

 

 

1          Opening karakia

Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston opened the meeting with a karakia.

2          Apologies

Nil

3          Public forum

Nil

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 4 September 2023

Resolution  CO17/23/1

Moved:       Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded:  Commissioner Stephen Selwood

That the minutes of the Council meeting held on 4 September 2023 be confirmed as a true and correct record.

 Carried

 

8          Declaration of conflicts of interest

Nil

9          Deputations, presentations, petitions

Nil

10        Recommendations from other committees

Nil

11        Business

11.1       Council-controlled organisations' draft and final Annual Reports for 2022-23

Staff          Gareth Wallis, General Manager: City Development & Partnerships

Sanjana France, CCO Specialist

Anne Blakeway, Manager: City Partnerships

 

External    Chad Hooker, Bay Venues Limited

Simon Clark, Bay Venues Limited

Sonya Korohina, Tauranga Art Gallery

Rosemary Protheroe, Tauranga Art Gallery

Russ Browne, Tourism Bay of Plenty

Oscar Nathan, Tourism Bay of Plenty

 

Presentations from the three organisations are attached.

 

Bay Venues

Key points

·        The report celebrates a successful year despite being on the rebound from Covid which had shown through in the numbers presented. Time was taken to think about a reset for the organisation and to ensure that they were well positioned to move forward.

·        Appreciation to the Commissioners for their support and assisting them to move forward and also to the Chief Executive and Council team for their support.

·        The financial statements were currently unaudited, but the green light had been given for them to be signed off at the Board meeting on 26 September 2023.

·        Highlights included the return of visitations with over 2M visitors to the various facilities participating in a range of activities with an 88% customer satisfaction rate.

·        The Board’s motto was community at heart and commercial in mind.  An example included recent liaison with a Muslim Women’s group which resulted in them being able to use one of the swimming facilities exclusively at off peak times.

·        Bay Venues was well set up financially for the future which was achieved by getting a team in place, a structure set up to support the strategies, a focus on strategic delivery to support the community and building capability moving forward including in sustainable spaces.

·        Challenges included being at maximum capacity around many of the venues and they were working closely with the Council around the Memorial Park project which would deliver more capacity going forward along with the master plans and opportunities for Baypark.

·        In the short term there would be some challenges with Baypark as more netball courts were been built.

·        Another challenge was the anti-social and aggressive behaviour that staff received from time to time.  This was a significant risk to staff and customers and they were working hard to mitigate it.  

·        Appreciation was given to Council for allowing Bay Venues to be able to move to paying a living wage to staff.  This had helped with a reduction of staff turnover in the past 12 months from 40% to 25%.

·        The Governance Board from two years ago had been retained and the inclusion of Dr Wayne Beilby as Mana Whenua representative and Saima Hussein-Anis as Future Director were positive.

·        Council had engaged Governance 365 for a review of the Board and this would be carried out in the next month.

·        There were a number of key projects being focused on by the team to deliver the best customer focus and to keep improving.  They were also looking at venue capacity and how potential space and time could be created within some venues and to ensure the right spaces were available for staff.

·        Continuing investment was being made in systems and the people to grow them.

·        Working on delivery of the Baypark master plan and to keep building relationships with the netball and speedway entities.

·        The Board was well positioned to take up opportunities as they arose within the city.

·        Changes to the summer delivery included some of the Baypark events and concerts being moved to the Tauranga Domain. 

·        Appreciation to Simon Clark, the Board, Bay Venues staff and the community for their support of the facilities.

 

In response to questions

·        The commercial catering activities were based on market price and they would continue to monitor them so they kept pace with the market. 

·        Community facilities pricing increases for general admission had increased now and user groups would be from 1 January 2024.  The Board would continue to use the benchmark model as a guideline going forward and would continue to look for other revenue opportunities to offset operating costs. 

·        In response to a query as to how to measure progression with sustainability, it was noted that they were working with Council around the Toitu certification for the first time this year and were due to start again.  They would also be looking within the carbon space to understand what they were doing and looking at projects to see what they could achieve such as replacing lighting with LED’s.

·        The level of satisfaction remained reasonably stable, this was one of the concerns coming out of Covid with more people using the facilities, but they had held up.  There had been some trend slightly downwards with the satisfaction of facilities in respect of the age, quality and demand on them, but were monitoring that and investing back into the facilities all of the time with better and more efficient technology.

 

·        In answer to a question relating to the right level of renewal funding going forward, it was noted that they worked closely with the Council and were comfortable that they had the right levels included into the budget moving forward. 

·        Several school lunches contracts had been lost from schools at Whakatāne as they wanted to provide for their own community.  Bay Venues was now focused around Tauranga with 11 schools being serviced.  As the programme was based on a decile system, the ability to increase capacity depended on whether the government extended the service.  Staff were also looking at leveraging the team to service other markets.

·        Bay Venues was trying to focus on the core portfolio and to ensure that the network got up to speed but this would take some time to do.  They were short on recreational water space and while the next 10 years was adequate, being able to cater in the next 30 years it was a challenge to have facilities built that had the flexibility to respond to changing trends in the leisure and recreation space as the growth continued.

 

Discussion points raised

·        Congratulations was offered to Chad Hooker for the recent article in The Sun and for his part in Priority One which was critical for the Bay of Plenty.

·        Appreciation for the work for the environment, inclusivity and vibrancy that were achieved in the community and making all parts of it connected.

·        It was important to keep investing in the facilities and to ensure that the appropriate level of maintenance renewal continued to occur.

·        Commissioners congratulated Bay Venues for a great year and their support and the way they managed the big sporting events such as the World Squash Championships and AIMs Games which were huge successes and promotions for the city and managed well.  

 

Tauranga Art Gallery

Key points

·        There had been a number of governance changes, with the inclusion of Wayne Werder stepping into the role of Deputy Chair and the appointment of two new Board Members, one of which was a mana whenua representative.  They were confident about their ability to meet the challenges going forward despite the headwinds in from of them.

·        Covid had an impact on revenue in the education activity, venue hire, sponsorship and donors, but they had worked hard to make this up over the year. 

·        The team had worked hard within the education space to bring more schools in and catch up from the Covid times.  There had been great engagement through the schools programme which had also seen an increase in the number of secondary schools from outside Tauranga participating.  Feedback from the students was that they were now able to see creative pathways when working with these top artists. 

·        The work of Stephen Cleland, the previous Director was acknowledged.

·        The Gallery’s vision was to create lifelong engagements with art.

·        Over 50,000 people engaged with the gallery exhibition experience around New Zealand.   

·        Ayesha Green, a recipient of the Rydal Art Prize sponsored by the Gallery and Seeds Trust, was able to take six months off work to develop a significant body of work which was shown at the Gallery.  She had sold works in Auckland and Christchurch and was now exhibiting at the City Gallery in Wellington. This was one way to demonstrate that the Tauranga Art Gallery contributed to a wider discourse within the country.

·        Visitor satisfaction was at 76%, and with the borders opening this year they were looking forward to welcoming more domestic and international visitors over summer to the pop-up space on Devonport Road.

·        The financials were currently unaudited and there was a $200,000 deficit, mostly due to lower revenue generation as a result of Covid. It was not as an attractive proposition during that time for the private and public sectors who were also experiencing supply chain issues, pressures and ongoing overhead costs. 

·        The main building would close on 1 October 2023 as Masonic Park was developed.  The Gallery were excited to become part of the Te Manawataki o Te Papa development. 

·        Education programmes would still be at the same level at the pop-up gallery.

·        The closure would allow the team to undertake a review of the programmes and visitor experiences so when they reopen the gallery next year they would be able to service future generations through exceptional art experiences. 

 

In response to questions

·        In response to a question as to what the development of a sustainable business model meant, it was noted that as a gallery there were a range of funding sources including significant funding from Council, community trusts, donors and corporate sponsors. A full business team had been appointed which would focus on revenue generation.  The reopening of the Gallery would also add opportunities for revenue generation as a venue for hire within the city centre.

·        The Gallery would be looking at opportunities when it reopened to charge national and international visitors, as people expected to make a contribution when visiting such facilities. 

·        In answer to a query in relation to the sponsorship received being much lower than the budget projection, it was noted that there were challenges in securing corporate sponsorship in the current environment.  The Gallery had developed excellent relationships and were already underway with corporate partnerships and expected to improve in that space over coming 12 months.  It was noted that while sponsorship was down, the Gallery had been successful in gaining other revenue such as non-government grants and additional donations. 

·        In response to a query in relation to a change in the way expenses were recorded, it was noted that there had been increased costs in the delivery of exhibitions and changes were made on how they structured payments by introducing a tiered system.  What used to be invoiced at the conclusion of an exhibition was now phased across the time which was reflected in the costs.  There were also specialist expertise requirements reflected for some of the exhibitions.

·        It was agreed that a more focused and rationalised set of targets and non-financial measures would be beneficial for the team to work towards.  It was noted that Council staff could help with the reduction of the estimated 20 targets.

 

Discussion points raised

·        Inclusion of a key note 13 explaining the variances in the revenue and expenses would make the information better understood. The ability to capture revenue for admission to special events was also suggested.

·        Commissioners noted that they wished to understand the changes to the financial processes for the Gallery and look at revenue to be accumulated.

 

Tourism Bay of Plenty

Key points

·        Acknowledged support from the Commissioners, Council and staff across the programmes to get as many people on board by working together, not crossing each other’s lanes or getting in each other’s way.

·        Confident in the role and leading the prosperity of our people and place through tourism.

·        Rationale of the KPI’s was useful and to be able to accurately report on the top ten with 8.5 being achieved. Positive outcomes included economic wellbeing, cultural wellbeing and organisation wellbeing. 

·        The cycle proposition was a juggling act with the city boundaries, Western Bay of Plenty District Council and a few aspects from Whakatāne included to provide a coastal offering.

·        Achieved capability building and support with operators exceeding the business targets.

·        Keeping up with all of the digital campaigns and programmes, including the timing of advertising, continuing with the Green Room programme, working with Bay Venues and supporting their programmes.

·        Social wellbeing was set at a 70% level but as they only reached 64% they would continue to drive that.

·        International visitors were returning and were back to 60% of what it was.  With the recent lifting of Covid restrictions and isolation visitors were slowly increasing and the Chinese market was also starting to come back.

·        A lot of innovative things happening within the cultural market. Tauranga needed to look at what was different to other regions and much of this was around story-telling and the bespoke nature of the city concentrating on the smaller activities rather than large attractions.

·        Flavours of Plenty was in its second year and had increased from 4 to 10 days and 20 events to 34, with revenue increasing from $200,000 to $500,000 provided to Tauranga and Coastal Bay of Plenty horticultural and providence operators.  The festival was also nominated as a finalist in several categories of the New Zealand Event Awards.

·        The cruise season went extremely well with 91 arrivals of the 105 expected, with the non-summer weather having an impact.  Good partnerships had been developed with the Port and they were looking at repeating that again next season.

·        A group meeting would be held in early October 2023 to discuss what was to be expected next season.  76% of local residents supported the cruise market.

·        Developing a cruise value proposition plan and partnering with Priority One and others to deliver it.

·        Cash reserves were being reduced.  The government, during Covid, enabled regions to be supported by a regional events fund and a strategic tourism asset protection programme.  Both of these had now come to the end of their funding periods and the cash reserves would be used over the next three years returning to business as usual.

·        Overall it was a great year and the next steps included building confidence in other areas including brand work for the destination, playing a role in the smart city development with digital kiosks and way finding and evolving propositions around the wellness of oceans and beaches. 

·        Two new Trustees had been appointed and the Board was meeting with a mana whenua candidate on 29 September 2023.

·        The Board had taken on the hosting of the Emerging Directors Awards.

 

In response to questions

·        In response to a query in relation to the social wellbeing target and the positive impact on the city, it was noted that this related to a general question being asked by Council.  Mr Nathan suggested that he review the question and how it was posed to give it more scope so that people could get a better understanding that what was good for them was good for visitors. The general 76% support was a result of specific independent review by Tourism Bay of Plenty. Commissioners agreed that reviewing the question would be beneficial.

·        The key in growing the communities appreciation and value of the positive impact of tourism included refocusing and direction with good commentary from operations on what had occurred in the last year

·        With a change in government likely, there was already a group talking to Statistics and others with a focus on robust statistics within the region and to make sure there was rigour in the cruise sector as it was the second biggest visitor market at present.

 

Discussion points raised

·        Commissioners acknowledged and congratulated Tourism Bay of Plenty on the progress against the KPI’s being easy to understand, as was the data provided and comparisons from the previous years, as it helped to understand the trends and directions headed. 

·        Story telling about how important tourism was to the growth of the city, businesses, community and the creation of jobs was required to help build confidence in the tourism sector and what was being done within the group for future sustainability.

·        In comparison to other cities the result was good and currently sitting at 8.8% tourism to Tauranga’s GDP. 

·        Commissioner Tolley commended Tourism Bay of Plenty on their good work.

 

Local Government Funding Agency

Discussion points raised

·        Commissioner Tolley requested an explanation be given to the public on how the funding agency assisted local government and the differnece it made with the lower borrowing rates offered to councils.  It was noted that this would be provided to the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee noting the interest rate savings over time.

Resolution  CO17/23/2

Moved:       Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded:  Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "Council-controlled organisations' draft and final Annual Reports for 2022-23".

(b)     Receives Bay Venues Limited’s draft annual report on its performance for the year to 30 June 2023.

(c)     Receives Tauranga Art Gallery Trust’s draft annual report on its performance for the year to 30 June 2023.

(d)     Receives Tourism Bay of Plenty’s draft annual report on its performance for the year to 30 June 2023, noting that it will also be provided to Western Bay of Plenty District Council as joint shareholder at their meeting on 26 October 2023.

(e)     Receives Bay of Plenty Local Authority Shared Services Limited’s draft annual report on its performance for the year to 30 June 2023.

(f)      Receives the Local Government Funding Agency’s final annual report on its performance for the year to 30 June 2023.

Carried

Attachments

1       Presentation - FY23 Bay Venues Full Year Update

2       Presentation - Tauranga Art Gallery Trust Annual Report 2022-2023

3       Presentation - TBOP Annual Report PPT (YE June 2023) for 25 Sep 2023

 

11.2       The Historic Village Complex 2 Project – Unbudgeted Expenditure

Staff          Barbara Dempsey, General Manager: Community Services

Blair Graham, Historical Village Manager

 

Key points

·        Complex 2 was an extremely important building supporting the wider operations within the Village. 

·        While the team undertook an invasive investigation, the damage was only revealed when the lining was removed and it now needed a significant structural upgrade.  Funding was not included in the budget and staff were seeking more funding to undertake the repairs.

·        It was suggested that uncommitted funds be used this year and to seek unbudgeted expenditure for the next financial year.  This would also provide an opportunity to step back and look at all of the buildings in the Village to see what savings could be made to either earn more revenue or make tough decisions to close some.

·        A recommendation was also being made to directly appoint the current contractor to carry on with the work and not go out to the market or change builders as better control could be kept of the price on scheduled rates.  Any unbudgeted costs would be quantity surveyed to ensure the right amount was spent. 

 

In response to questions

·        The business case would undertake an assessment of all relevant buildings including invasive investigations where needed as they did not want any more surprises of this quantum. 

·        Staff would engage with the tenants of the Village to ensure they understood the story of what was occurring, the way Council had undertaken the review of fees and charges and to tangibly support the Village Manager to charge the rates with no exception to negotiate on the amount set in the schedule so they were able to achieve the revenue targets. 

 

Discussion points raised

·        Commissioners noted that the business case needed to note that if any of the buildings were not fit for purpose that they be closed rather than letting community groups use an unsafe building.  The peppercorn rentals did not pay for upgrades to be carried out.

·        Add to recommendation (e) with the proviso of a quantity surveyor to ensure the correct amount was allocated.

·         Include a new recommendation (f) noting the items raised in item 16 (c) of the report.

Resolution  CO17/23/3

Moved:       Commission Chair Anne Tolley

Seconded:  Commissioner Bill Wasley

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "The Historic Village Complex 2 Project – Unbudgeted Expenditure

(b)     Approves Option 1 which approves an additional capital budget of $3,442,191 to complete the upgrade to Complex 2 at The Historic Village.

(c)     Transfers $1,400,000 of uncommitted projects within the 2023/2024 Annual Plan Budget to partially offset the increased capital cost of the project.

(d)     Approves unbudgeted expenditure of $2,042,191 to complete the physical works on Complex 2 at The Historic Village.

(e)     Approves the direct appointment of Alaska Construction Interiors to complete the physical works on Complex 2 at The Historic Village, with the proviso of a quantity surveyor to ensure the correct amount was allocated. 

(f)      Notes that there is a capex budget of $8,200,000 in the 2024/2034 LTP and an Opex project budget of $2,400,000. A full business case will be prepared and presented to Commissioners which will ensure that the reliance on ratepayer contributions is not increased from the draft Long Term Plan 2024-2034 and staff take this opportunity to consider the condition of other buildings.

Carried

 

11.3       Water Management Plan Update

Staff          Nic Johansson, General Manager: Infrastructure Services

Peter Bahrs, Manager: Water Services

 

Key points

·        Update of the report on the Water Drought Management Plan which was presented to Council on 7 November 2022.

·        The report was to bring  this work to a conclusion and provide an update on the current state of the water sources and provide a recommendation for further work.

·        There had been double the average rainfall last year which had recharged the aquifers and picked up the source water streams.  Council still needed to prepare for any weather events going forward.

·        NIWA had signalled El Niño which was expected to bring dry conditions, so the forward planning needed to be for unexpected weather events rather than based on what had been done historically. 

·        Two water takes were due for reconsenting and it was unsure how much water Council would be allocated, and there was a need to be seen as a water efficient city.  The initiatives proposed lends itself towards water efficiency as well as the other initiatives already in place to make the resources last longer and keep resilience within the city.  There were still more efficiencies to be gained in the water loss strategy and staff would look at this from a good practice perspective.

·        Extending Waiāri into the Pāpāmoa area via two pipelines could provide a quick turnaround in the event that more water was needed.

·        Preparing a hose pipe ban procedure as a precautionary measure would formalise what it would mean.  The cap on when to introduce a hose pipe ban had been lifted from 50,000m³ per day to 55,000m³ per day in recognition of the Waiāri coming on line and staff wanted to check if that was the right cap without impacting negatively on the community.

·        Planning was being undertaken on the ability to transport water from Waiorohi Stream to the Joyce water treatment plant if needed.

·        A Demand Management Plan was required for the reconsenting process and staff wanted to get a good data on water loss and develop a strategy to gain more efficiencies.

·        A recommendation was included to increase engagement with the community and set up an advisory panel to get input from residents. 

 

In response to questions

·        It was noted that the perception of the value and use of water by the community needed to change and options be provided such as more efficient shower heads and toilets, greywater recycling and rain tanks.  In response to a query as to whether this sat with the Infrastructure Development Code (IDC) it was noted that while it normally would not, it could be investigated from that a building consenting point of view.  It was noted that it was also timely with the review of the Building Act underway and options could be put forward to that process.

·        The Demand Management Plan was temporary at this stage until the requirements for the reconsenting process were known.  Options to make it permanent may be considered following that process.  

·        Waiāri Stage 2 works were included in the 2021-31 Long Term Plan and was an extension of the pipeline where it terminates at the Welcome Bay roundabout to bring water to Mangatawa and Pāpāmoa to cover two-thirds of the coastal strip. Currently water from Waiāri feeds into two reservoirs that feed into the lower Pāpāmoa area.

·        An initiative driven by Council’s sustainability team was being carried out  on the use of rainwater tanks. To date eight rain water workshops had been run with 30-40 attending each session where they were advised of information including consenting requirements and the leeway given.  A student was also employed to look at opportunities within parks and reserves to collect and use tank water.  Options for a subsidy were also being worked on. 

·        The formal process for a planning framework to introduce water conservation measures had not been fully explored, but staff were looking to do that for the new greenfield developments.  This would now be included in the work being undertaken on the District Plan changes which would be reported to Council before the end of the year.

·        There was nothing in the three water reform legislation regarding rain water tanks. The Commissioners had raised this with Minister Mahuta early on as it required a legislative change. It would also be added to the list of items for discussion with the new Minister of Local Government as whatever shape the water entities became, they would want this opportunity.

·        In terms of setting up a community advisory group, the Water Care experience showed it was about getting people up to speed from a technical point of view and understanding the challenges In TCC’s case it was about good water use and water conservation practices, and then getting opinions on what worked and what does not work. Staff would provide information back to Council within three months.

·        A freshwater management tool to establish the correlation between surface water, ground water and the weather events was pending which would give better knowledge of the aquifers feeding the streams.

 

Discussion points raised

·        Commissioners requested investigations be carried out on potential opportunities for the use of grey water. 

·        Support was noted on comments to value the resource, to consider different ways to manage the supply and demand and to think carefully about how to treat and use water.  Setting up an Advisory Panel to change the behaviour, views, perceptions and values would be helpful as many in the community do not understand they paid for highly treated water to wash the car and water the gardens when water could be collected from other sources for these type of activities.

Resolution  CO17/23/4

Moved:       Commissioner Stephen Selwood

Seconded:  Commissioner Bill Wasley

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "Water Management Plan Update".

(b)     Approves the recommendations:

(i)      Any viable options to extend Waiāri Stage 1 into the Papamoa Network are implemented, as part of enabling works for Waiāri Stage 2

(ii)     An implementation plan is developed for a hose pipe ban prior to the summer of 2023/2024.

(iii)     The planning and design of a temporary solution to transfer water from the Waiorohi Stream to the Joyce WTP is progressed.

(iv)    A Demand Management Plan (incorporating the Water Loss Strategy and Loss Reduction Plan) is prepared within the next 6 months.

(v)     Staff report back on the merits of setting up a community advice panel to engage on Tauranga’s water conservation journey, following engagement with Watercare who have a similar panel in place.

Carried

 

At 11.21am the meeting adjourned.

At 11.26am the meeting reconvened.

 

11.4       Executive Report

Staff          Nic Johansson, General Manager: Infrastructure Services

Barbara Dempsey, General Manager: Community Services

Paul Davidson, Chief Financial Officer

Christine Jones, General Manager: Strategy, Growth & Governance

Alastair McNeil, General Manager: Corporate Services

Steven Pearce, Acting General Manager: Regulatory and Compliance

Anne Blakeway, Acting General Manager: City Development & Partnerships

 

Infrastructure

In response to questions

·        1 July 2026 was the expected statutory date for water reform with advice being received to continue with the financials for these activities for two years.

·        Council was given the opportunity from the National Transition Unit to comment on the date and to explain a reason if Council wanted to go earlier.  No response had been received to date, but staff were expecting to hold a meeting with them. 

·        Additional servicing of public refuse bins was normal for long weekends, with Labour Weekend now being added to the schedule.

 

Discussion points raised

·        The transport team were doing good work around basic metrics and Commissioners were looking forward to the report being able to include data with trends of what was working in key areas and what was not.

·        Acknowledged the work done by the transport team with community engagement for the Totara Street works so that road users could plan in advance on how best to manage the traffic flows.

·        The Bureta/Vale roundabout had traffic moving through the intersections more efficiently. 

·        Commissioner Rolleston noted that he had a positive meeting with the Chief Executive of Ngā Potiki regarding waste water and noted that the group were now gaining a better understanding of long term planning and what Council were doing.  

 

Community Services

Key points

·        Highlights of key activities included events being held, training for coaches and the Baycourt tech initiative to extend accessibility services. 

·        Parts of the city were still recovering from weather events, including roading repairs on the road to McLaren Falls.

·        Working on metrics and data for events following the first quarter to see the benefit of these for the community.

 

In response to questions

·        Further information would be provided on the Youth Feasibility Study and whether the facilities such as the new community facitlity at Merivale were being looked at from a youth perspective.  Commissioner Tolley noted that in her experience youth centres did not work and it would be better to consider how the current facilities could provide good services to young people and to find out what they needed from community centres..

·        The feedback and number of people using the customer service centres at the Papamoa and Greerton libraries was good to see.  There would also be kiosks installed at locations and staff would look at what resources were needed in the city in the coming years.

 

Discussion points raised

·        Commend the team for the reuse of the play equipment at Keam Reserve and the initiative being carried out in Welcome Bay.

·        Acknowledged the assistance from the Director Arts, Culture and Heritage and the Heritage Collections Manager with the recent Ministerial visit to the Mt Maunganui museum store. 

·        Acknowledged the recent stormwater and turf renewal works at Shaw Place.

·        Acknowledged the Events team for their part in the recent FIFA World Cup and the AIMs Games.

 

Chief Financial Officer

Key points

·        The work at the Airport was progressing well.

·        The asset divestment project plan was nearing completion.

 

In response to questions

·        Information would be sought from Air New Zealand to obtain data on the extent of the capacity of flights to and from Tauranga. 

 

Strategy, Growth and Governance

In response to questions

·        When the boundary adjustment was carried out between Tauranga City Council and the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, a requirement was made to review all bylaws for that section of land, whereas Council had considered that their existing bylaws would be extended to include the area.  This was an administrative issue which had now been agreed to and would be changed to allow Council’s bylaws to be extended.

 

Discussion points raised

·        In relation to the difference of voting for local and central government, Commissioner Tolley noted that with local government it was critically important to get good representation as much as it was for central government. 

 

Corporate Services

Key points

·        The Drug and Alcohol Policy for staff would be rolled out in October 2023. 

·        There were 15 students in the Summer intern programme where students would spend the summer holidays working on a variety of projects.

·        Staff were looking at intersections within Te Manawataki o Te Papa and considering how to bring students into the city.

·        There were 23,000 followers on Council’s Facebook page with big numbers reached for the engagement on Accessible Streets Otūmoetai and wishing Hairy Maclary a happy birthday..

·        The buying local survey held with local businesses on procurement was successful with 100 responses. 40% of the respondents were indicating they were keen to attend a drop-in session so that Council staff could help them buy local. 

 

In response to questions

·        In response to a question as to whether there were any demographics for the 7,000 subscribers to the Korero Mai – Let’s Talk Tauranga newsletter it was noted that a gap analysis would be done and the information provided. 

·        Staff turnover was at the top quartile in terms of performance where a 1:10 ratio was healthy and overall tracking well.

·        A supplier with nationwide experience had been appointed to provide the technology at Te Manawataki o Te Papa..

 

Regulatory and Compliance

Key points

·        Consent volumes across the city were down and stable from previous years.

·        The volumes of complaints were rising, but this always tended to occur in winter.

·        Staff had been engaging with industries to meet their needs.

 

In response to questions

·        In relation to a concern at the consents stalling at 68%, it was noted that outside assistance had been sought earlier this year with a consultant on hand to come in when staff were away to ensure there was depth in all of the teams.  The backlog had diminished and it was hoped that it would not increase again. 

·        Staff recruitment was now attracting applications from highly professional people who were work ready and did not need an 18 month lead in time. 

·        Alcohol licencing legislation required that the District Licencing Committee made the decision on whether or not there was a hearing.  It was noted that a further discussion point for the incoming Minister of Local Government was that it was process heavy and fees were set that did not cover the cost of the processing.

·        Information would be provided on what happened to the revenue from fines paid by motorists using the bus lane.

·        Information was requested on a graphic representation of the number of code of compliance certificates and those for new dwellings to what was needed at 1,000 a year – e.g. does every 100 consents turn into 50 houses?  It was noted that the extraction of the information was a manual process and they were looking at how to automate the process going forward.  Code of compliance over time, the amount of new houses had dried up by 80% which was 30% overall.  There were a number of commercial applications, housing additions and alternations.

 

City Development and Partnerships

Key points

·        Progress was being made with capital projects and funding.

·        An expression of interest was put forward for the Museum during the recent Minister of Culture and Heritage visit, but no formal application would be made until resource consent had been issued.

 

Discussion points raised

·        Commissioners noted that the Northern carpark had received a number of positive comments and as it was the entrance into the CBD from the harbour bridge it had lifted the quality of urban design in the area.  It was noted that the design group from the Otamataha Trust was valuable to telling the story of what the design was about. 

·        Commissioner Rolleston noted that he had recently met with retailers who had voiced a common theme regarding carparking and being able to load and unload goods into their premises.  Marty’s at Tunks Reserve had advised that with the section of Elizabeth Street being closed off for three months, it would take 12 months to get the customers back.  It was requested that any areas that could be accessed for parking be opened up.

·        Commissioners acknowledged the work done by Paul and Kendell on the ground within the CBD, noting that the benefit of having the constant contact with the businesses and people was worth every cent as it gave them a feeling of being understood and able to talk to someone about their fears.

Resolution  CO17/23/5

Moved:       Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded:  Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "Executive Report".

Carried

 

12        Discussion of late items

Nil

13        Public excluded session

Resolution to exclude the public

Resolution  CO17/23/6

Moved:       Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

Seconded:  Commissioner Stephen Selwood

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 4 September 2023

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)(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)(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

13.2 - Deputy Chair and Trustee Appointments to the Tourism Bay of Plenty Board

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

13.3 - Disposal of Smiths Farm and Housing Equity Fund Affordable Housing Proposed Arrangement

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

 

Carried

 

14        Closing karakia

Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston closed the meeting with a karakia.

 

 

 

The meeting closed at 12.28 pm.

 

The minutes of this meeting were confirmed as a true and correct record at the Ordinary Council meeting held on 16 October 2023.

 

 

 

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

CHAIRPERSON

 


Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 

8          Declaration of conflicts of interest

9          Deputations, presentations, petitions

9.1         Gia Nelson of Mount Maunganui High School - Petition on Level Crossing Safety

 

10        Recommendations from other committees

 


Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 

11        Business

11.1       Adoption of draft Development Contributions Policy 2024/25

File Number:           A15012662

Author:                    Ben Corbett, Team Leader: Growth Funding

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

 

Purpose of the Report

1.      To present the proposed local and citywide development charges to be included in the draft Development Contributions Policy 2024/25.

2.      To report on changes to the proposed Te Papa local development contributions since the report Introduction of Te Papa Local Development Contributions Catchment on 4 September 2023.

3.      To present the rationale for, and financial impact of, introducing a 4+ bedroom citywide development contributions charge to be included in the draft Development Contributions Policy 2024/25.

4.      To present the rationale for, and financial impact of, applying a reduction to the unit of demand applied to certain retirement villages and aged care facilities in the draft Development Contributions Policy 2024/25.

5.      To present the draft Statement of Proposal and Development Contributions Policy 2024/25 for adoption for the purposes of public consultation.

Recommendations

That the Council:

(a)         Receives the report "Adoption of draft Development Contributions Policy 2024/25".

(b)         Agrees to incorporate the proposed updates to local and citywide development contributions in the draft Development Contributions Policy 2024/25.

(c)         Agrees to incorporate a 4+ bedroom charge for citywide development contributions in the draft Development Contributions Policy 2024/25.

(d)         Agrees to incorporate a lower citywide development contribution for transport, community facilities and reserves infrastructure for retirement village and aged care facilities developments in the draft Development Contributions Policy 2024/25.

(e)         Adopts the draft Statement of Proposal and Development Contributions Policy 2024/25 for the purposes of public consultation.

(f)          Delegates authority to the General Manager: Strategy, Growth & Governance to make minor amendments to the draft Development Contributions Policy 2024/25 to correct errors in wording or financial information.

 

Executive Summary

6.      Tauranga City Council (TCC) is proposing to include a number of changes into its draft Development Contributions Policy (draft DCP, attached). 

7.      These changes are primarily to mirror the changes to TCC’s capital programme decided upon through the development of the draft Long-term Plan 24-34 (draft LTP).  The significant increases to project budgets, in particular for waters infrastructure, have resulted in a substantial uplift in some development contribution charges.

8.      TCC has also proposed three changes to improve the equitability of growth funding by:

(a)     Introducing a local development contributions catchment to fund the growth-related portion of a collection of infrastructure projects in the Te Papa peninsula;

(b)     Introduce a charge for 4+ bedroom dwellings, thereby reducing charges for dwellings with fewer bedrooms; and

(c)     Update the charging methodology for certain retirement villages and aged care facilities to better recognise the demand those developments place on council infrastructure.

Background

9.      Council uses development contributions to fund a portion of the cost of growth-related capital expenditure for certain infrastructure projects.  Development contributions are charged in accordance with the operative Development Contributions Policy (DCP).

10.    TCC generally updates its DCP annually.  The amendments proposed in this current draft are aligned with TCC’s draft Long-term Plan 24-34 (draft LTP) and are proposed to be implemented from 1 July 2024 alongside the adopted Long-term Plan 24-34 (LTP).

Discussion

11.    Four substantive changes are proposed in the draft DCP as follows:

(a)     Updates to infrastructure cost estimates, growth projections and inflation and cost of capital assumptions to align with TCC’s draft LTP

(b)     Introduction of a new local development contributions catchment for the Te Papa peninsula

(c)     Introduction of a 4+ bedroom charge for citywide development contributions and updates to underlying assumptions regarding the number of bedrooms in each dwelling developed; and

(d)     Introduction of a reduction in certain citywide development contributions infrastructure charges for ‘aged care’ facilities.

12.    Each of these changes is discussed in more detail below.

 

Updates to reflect the draft LTP

13.    TCC has a statutory obligation under the Local Government Act 2002 to ensure the DCP reflects its LTP (other than for waters assets which can be included in the draft DCP despite Three Waters Reform).  TCC is in the process of developing its draft LTP for consultation.  Staff have incorporated the changes proposed in the LTP into the draft DCP.  At a high level, these changes are to update:

(a)     cost estimates for projects funded through the DCP;

(b)     timing of capital expenditure where projects are being delivered sooner or later than stated in the 23/24 DCP;

(c)     growth assumptions regarding when and where new dwellings and non-residential developments are expected to occur; and

(d)     assumptions regarding expected inflation rates and interest rates on debt and deposits.

14.    Taken together, the amendments described above have resulted in changes to the development contribution charges for all TCC’s 12 existing catchments that have local development contribution charges.  The most substantial percentage changes (those greater than 6%) are set out below.

 

Catchment

Increase ($)

Increase (%)

Draft 24/25 charge

Unit

Citywide (residential)

4,470

15

34,477

Per lot

Citywide

(non-residential)

1,370

22

7,630

Per 100 sqm gross floor area

Wairakei B

36,742

9

436,686

Per hectare

Wairakei C

57,848

9

715,479

Per hectare

Tauranga Infill

321

9

3,997

Per lot

Pyes Pa West

2,284

6

40,404

Per lot

Papamoa

563

8

8,007

Per lot

 

15.    The changes for each catchment are detailed in the attached Draft Statement of Proposal and in the attached draft DCP and the key drivers of change are discussed in the attached table. 

16.    The substantial rises in citywide and several local development contribution charges reflect the increased cost of delivering TCC’s capital programme through the draft LTP.  For example,

(a)     The Waiari Water Main Stage 3 cost estimate has increased from $50m in the operative Development Contributions Policy to $133m.  The scope of this project has not changed. The increase cost estimate relates to (i) updating delivery costs to reflect recent market pricing and (ii) incorporating allowance for risk, contingency and under-assessment in accordance with TCC’s usual practise; and

(b)     Cambridge Road Reservoir No. 4 cost estimate has increased from $6.5m in the operative Development Contributions Policy to $27.5m.  The scope of this project has increased to ensure it is able to service greater population density anticipated in its catchment.  The increased cost relates to (i) greater land requirements, (ii) updating delivery costs to reflect recent market pricing and (iii) incorporating allowance for risk, contingency and under-assessment in accordance with TCC’s usual practise.

17.    Note, the citywide non-residential charges have increased by a greater proportion than the citywide residential as the increase in residential charges has been partially offset by a decrease in budgeted costs for certain community infrastructure assets (which are not charged for non-residential development).

18.    These significant rises in budget costs have flowed through into the draft DCP charges.

19.    TCC will collect development contributions for these assets in the 24/25 financial year until such time as TCC no longer has the right to collect development contributions for these assets.  At that time, waters assets will be removed from TCC’s Development Contributions Policy and growth funding charges will be administered by the Water Services Entity. 

20.    Given the substantial increase to a number of catchments, Council should consider:

(a)     These increases are likely to make development less affordable in a difficult economic climate

(b)     Development contribution price volatility, especially when fees may be subject to significant change in future through the water reform process, is likely to encourage behaviour by developers to reduce their costs.  This can create substantial increases in work volume for TCC’s Environmental Regulation teams. 

(c)     Any delay in collection moves away from the ‘growth pays for growth’ principle.

(d)     Any partial implementation of development contribution increases will create an undercollection of development contributions.

Introduction of a Te Papa local development contributions catchment

21.    On 4 September 2023, Council resolved to:

“… create a local development contributions catchment for the Te Papa catchment in the draft Development Contributions Policy 24/25 to be reported to Council in September 2023 for consideration and approval”

22.    While preparing amendments to the draft policy, staff have continued to refine the proposed local development contributions charges calculations.  The table below shows the draft charges presented in supplementary materials on 4 September and the charges proposed in this report (all numbers are approximate).

Development contribution charge

Draft charge (4 September)

Draft charge including inflation and cost of capital

Transport – residential

$6,300

per dwelling

$5,400

per dwelling

Transport – non-residential

$8,200

per 100 sqm of gross floor area

$6,700

per 100 sqm of gross floor area

Reserves - residential

$2,200

per dwelling

$2,900

per dwelling

 

23.    Estimates have changed since the 4 September 2023 report for the following reasons:

(a)     Updates to financing costs.  Inflation and cost of capital were assumed to be 80% of capital expenditure costs for transport projects and 40% of capital expenditure costs for reserves projects.  This has been updated to align with inflation and interest cost assumptions in the LTP.  This has increased the transport charge and decreased the reserves charge.

(b)     Lower than assumed growth between 2024 and 2034.  Staff had assumed annual growth would occur evenly in Te Papa over 30 years.  This has now been updated to reflect draft LTP growth assumptions with lower growth in the period 2024 -2034 and higher growth in the following 20 years.  This has increased the reserves charges (more than offsetting the decrease discussed at point (a) above) as this is funded over the period 2024-34.  Consequently, there are fewer developments to share in the costs of growth in this period.

(c)     Revising the method of allocating costs between residential and non-residential properties to align with the existing catchment methodologies.  Further, following initial advice from an independent economist, staff have increased non-residential growth assumptions thereby reducing the cost allocation to residential development.

24.    It is noted the Te Papa peninsula is a part of the existing Tauranga Infill local development contribution catchment.  This catchment collects development contributions for the Southern Pipeline (wastewater infrastructure).  This charge amounts to $3,987 per lot for residential development and $411 per 100 sqm of gross floor area for a non-residential development.  While TCC continue to collect development contributions charges for water infrastructure, these amounts will be charged to Te Papa developments as well as the Te Papa catchment charges.

 

Introduction of a 4+ bedroom charge

25.    TCC’s operative Development Contributions Policy has differentiated citywide development contribution charges for 1, 2 and 3+ bedroom dwellings on the basis that they generate different levels of demand for infrastructure.  Larger dwellings, on average, have more people living in them and generate more demand for infrastructure eg use more water.

26.    To ensure the lower charges for smaller dwellings do not result in development contribution under-collection, the charges for all properties are ‘grossed up’ to ensure TCC receives the same amount of development contributions revenue as if all dwellings paid the same development contribution amount.

27.    Over several years, the development community has requested TCC introduce a 4+ bedroom charge to reflect the greater infrastructure demand that these homes generate on average. 

28.    In order to introduce a 4+ bedroom charge staff have:

(a)     Confirmed that 4+ bedroom properties generally create more demand than a 3-bedroom property; and

(b)     Revisited the existing assumptions in the operative Development Contributions Policy regarding how many dwellings are expected to be delivered with 1, 2, 3 or 4+ bedrooms.

Demand from 4+ bedroom properties

29.    Staff have used the latest available census data to assess demand from 4+ bedroom properties.  There is a clear correlation between the number of bedrooms per dwelling and the number of occupants per dwelling.

30.    Dwellings in Tauranga have an average occupancy rate of 2.5 persons per dwelling. 3-bedroom dwellings in Tauranga also have an average occupancy rate of 2.5 persons.  4+ bedroom dwellings have an average occupancy rate of 3.26 persons.

31.    This means the average 4+ bedroom dwelling has 1.3 times the occupancy levels of the average 3-bedroom dwelling.  TCC’s Development Contributions Policy assumes the standard Household Unit Equivalent (HUE) has 2.5 occupants.  Consequently, the average 4+ bedroom dwelling should create 1.3 times the demand of a standard HUE and so contribute 1.3 times the citywide development contribution.

Bedrooms per dwelling assumptions

32.    When TCC introduced lower citywide development contributions for 1- and 2-bedroom dwellings, it included assumptions around how many 1 and 2 bedroom dwellings would be developed each year.  Staff were aware that as the property market, and the types of properties delivered to market, changed these assumptions would need to be updated.  The market has now moved significantly, with many more 2 bedroom dwellings being developed than assumed in the operative Development Contributions Policy.

33.    It is proposed to update the assumption in the Policy on the expected proportion of dwellings in each bedroom category to reflect the trend over the past five years of annual data.  This has been averaged in the following table and a comparison provided against assumptions in the operative Policy.  Staff will continue to refine this assumption to incorporate development projections. 

34.    The table below shows:

(a)     There are significantly more 2-bedroom dwellings being delivered than assumed (25% as compared to 9%).  This means TCC has not been sufficiently grossing up its 3+ bedroom charge.  This has created an under-collection of development contributions (this undercollection has not been addressed through recent council reporting regarding development contribution undercollection); and

(b)     There is a significant percentage of 4+ bedroom dwellings developed each year (25%) which justifies creation of a new 4+ bedroom category for citywide development contributions. 

Financial impact of 4+ bedroom charge on citywide development contributions

35.    Introducing a 4+ bedroom charge, and maintaining the same anticipated development contributions revenue, means the revenue required from properties with fewer bedrooms must decrease.

36.    The table below shows:

(a)     The charges that would be applied if no updates were made to the bedroom assumption (in the row titled Current Approach)

(b)     The impact of adjusting the assumed percentage of properties delivered with 1, 2 and 3+ bedrooms (in the row titled Updated Bedroom Assumptions); and

(c)     The impact of introducing a 4+ bedroom charge after updating the bedroom assumptions (in the row titled Introduction of 4+ Bedroom Charge).  This has created a 3% decrease in the draft charges for 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom dwellings.

Introduction of lower development contributions charged for aged care facilities

37.    Staff are recommending that the 2024/25 draft DCP be updated to reflect lower demand profiles by households in Retirement Villages for certain types of citywide funded infrastructure. The recommended changes are:

(a)     Reduce the citywide development contribution charge for the transport, reserves, and community facilities activities from 0.5 Household Unit Equivalents (HUE) to 0.3 HUE for all units within registered Retirement Villages

(b)     Reduce the citywide development contribution applicable for Aged Care Facilities (which provide 24/7 medical care and are constructed within registered Retirement Villages) so that charges for Transport, Reserves and Community Facilities are based on 0.15 HUE. This is a reduction from a current charge based on 0.4HUE.

38.    This proposed change comes in response to several submissions from the Retirement Village community and a subsequent analysis undertaken by staff. Specifically, TCC commissioned a review and report from Insight Economics. The report was based on publicly available data for Retirement Villages and aged care units and recommended the following conversions compared to a standard 1 HUE development.

Table 1: Conversion Ratios for Citywide DCs

Asset Types

RV units

Aged Care units

Water

0.50

0.40

Wastewater

0.50

0.40

Stormwater

0.50

0.40

Transport

0.20

0.10

Reserves

0.10

0.05

Community facilities

0.10

0.05

 

39.    The current policy already treats all units in retirement villages as 1-bedroom units when assessing citywide development contributions and therefore already charges a 0.5HUE charge for water, wastewater and stormwater. No further discounts are recommended for these activities.

40.    Reductions for transport, reserves and community facilities intuitively makes sense as villages often provide their own on-site facilities which results in less demand for Council provided services. There is strong evidence that supports this – particularly in relation to the aged care units which typically provide for a much older population. It should also be noted that these charges more closely align with charges by other Councils for similar activities.

41.    Staff are not recommending any changes in relation to local development contributions. The primary reasons for this is that the policy already has mechanisms in place to limit or cap local DCs based on the higher densities achieved in retirement village developments.

42.    Also, the cost of local infrastructure is typically driven by the need to construct urban infrastructure networks in greenfield environments rather than by the capacity of that infrastructure.

Options Analysis

Option 1: Approve the proposed changes to the draft DCP 24/25 (recommended)

Advantages

Disadvantages

·    Complies with legislative requirement to ensure the development contributions policy aligns with TCC’s Long-term Plan

·    Ensures TCC is maximising development contributions revenue using up to date information

·    Improves the equitable application of the growth pays for growth principles by ensuring charges more closely match the cause and benefit of growth funded infrastructure

·    Increases the cost of many development contribution charges which will make development more expensive overall

 

Option 2: Do not approve some or all of the proposed changes

43.    The advantages and disadvantages of this approach are inverse to those of option 1.

Financial Considerations

44.    The changes proposed to the Development Contributions Policy 24/25 will provide financial benefits to Council and ratepayers while ensuring the cost of growth are shared more equitably among developers. 

45.    Council is provided with a new catchment and associated development contributions revenue to fund growth projects.  It will also ensure development contributions are calculated with reference to the latest cost estimates to minimise the risk of under collecting based on lower, outdated cost estimates.

46.    Funding the growth share of capital expenditure through development contributions ensures that those who cause and benefit from growth infrastructure are contributing equitably towards the associated expenditure and thereby minimises reliance on debt funded by general rates. 

Legal Implications / Risks

47.    There are no particular legal implication or risks associated with the decision to incorporate these changes into the draft DCP for consultation.

Significance

48.    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.

49.    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.

(c)   the capacity of the local authority to perform its role, and the financial and other costs of doing so.

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

ENGAGEMENT

51.    Taking into consideration the above assessment, that the matter is of medium significance, significant engagement will be undertaken through Council’s usual channels alongside the draft LTP consultation process.

Next Steps

52.    Staff will implement a communications plan to ensure stakeholders have an opportunity to learn of the proposed increase to development contribution charges in advance of consultation.

53.    The draft DCP is proposed to be open for formal consultation at the same time as the draft LTP consultation document.

Attachments

1.      Draft Statement of Proposal - A15066500

2.      Table of Key Drivers to DC Funded Projects - A15157451

3.      Draft Development Contributions Policy 24/25 - A15176609 (Separate Attachments 1)   

 


Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 








Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 



 


Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 

11.2       City Centre Development Incentive Fund Update 2022/2023

File Number:           A14939429

Author:                    Lisa Gilmour, City Partnership Specialist

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

 

Purpose of the Report

1.      To report to Council on the progress made and activities funded by the City Centre Development and Incentive Fund to 30 June 2023.

Recommendations

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "City Centre Development Incentive Fund Update 2022/2023".

 

Executive Summary

2.      Council approved the re-purposing of the City Centre Development Incentive Fund [the Fund] on 3 April 2023 to enable a broader range of initiatives that will support the ongoing growth and development of the city centre.

3.      This report provides a six-monthly update on progress against the objectives of the Fund, as agreed in the 3 April 2023 report.

4.      To date, $610,796 of the Fund has been used to enable a wide range of initiatives that will support the growth and development of the city centre in the short-, medium- and longer-term.

5.      A balance of $300,000 remains in the Fund to support further initiatives in the current financial year, through to 30 June 2024.

Background

6.      The Fund was originally approved by Council to facilitate an increase in the supply of residential accommodation in the city centre, by supporting feasibility assessments of possible residential accommodation developments.

7.      The Fund was allocated $500,000 per annum (for three years) as part of the 2021-2031 Long-term Plan.

8.      On 3 April 2023, recognising that the decline in prosperity of the city centre is unlikely to be rectified by focusing on one particular solution, the scope of the Fund was broadened to enable a wider range of initiatives that will support the ongoing growth, development, and prosperity of the city centre. This wider range of initiatives was approved by Council specifically to:

(a)     attract and incentivise the development of residential and in particular, student accommodation;

(b)     support short- to medium-term tactical parking interventions that will increase the availability of car parking;

(c)     generate initiatives that will support city centre businesses that are severely impacted by the current period of construction disruption; and

(d)     support increased activation and vibrancy.

9.      Staff subsequently worked on a transparent and equitable process for the implementation and distribution of the Fund and continue to develop tools to allow us to report, where possible, on the Return on Investment for this Fund.

Stakeholder engagement and events

10.    Proactive stakeholder engagement has been undertaken over the last 12 months, with engagement purposefully increasing since the Commission provided the mandate to proceed with Te Manawataki o Te Papa at the Council meeting on 24 July 2023.

11.    Over 50 engagement opportunities and events have been held, facilitating a direct connection with over 2,000 people. These engagement opportunities have been undertaken to inform and reassure businesses that Council is committed to supporting them during the city centre development period.

12.    Staff have gathered feedback to understand any concerns, listened to ideas, and gauged community support for a wide variety of issues and opportunities. Feedback from those meetings has included:

          “A good time for change”

          “Great to see investment in city centre and eyes focused on its future”

          “It’s happening at last…very exciting!”

          “Your excellent presentation was comprehensive and reassuringly positive”

Projects undertaken in last 12 months

13.    The following initiatives have been undertaken, in collaboration with our city partners, over the last 12 months:

$30,000

Feasibility Study for the development of student accommodation in Spring St.

$71,437

Feasibility Study, commissioned by Priority One, for Bayleys’ Real Estate investigation into student accommodation development options across the entire city centre.

$20,000

Additional funding has been added to the current Smart Economy Business Advisor (SEBA) contract with Tauranga Business Chamber, to create Business Navigators who will focus on capability building initiatives for city centre businesses – expected reach is up to 150 businesses.

$10,000

Funding Downtown Tauranga for the specific provision of 1:1 mentors for city centre businesses via Mentoring NZ.

$74,458

Provision of support to existing hospitality businesses in the city centre by offering 80% Licence to Occupy relief from 1 July 2023 through 30 June 2024.

$26,233

Report commissioned to identify, source and facilitate suitable spaces for use for short- to medium-term activations. Additional work included investigations into space(s) for a secure public bicycle parking facility, as a result of demand from businesses for alternative transport mode support.

$135,000

FONT is a newly established public art trust committed to enriching Tauranga’s city centre through resourcing, commissioning and gifting contemporary public art works. This funding will kick start the Trust and assist with the delivery of the first significant piece of city centre public artwork in 2023/24. On completion, this is expected to draw visitors into the city centre.

$20,000

Support for the Tauranga Arts Festival (19-29 Oct 2023) to activate key city centre venues and spaces, and create ‘festival routes’ through the city centre. This will help send the message that, even though the city centre is going through a period of disruption and transformation, it is still open for business. 

$194,377

Support for relocation of Tauranga Art Gallery to a temporary “pop-up” location on Devonport Road while construction of the Masonic Park/Art Gallery development project takes place as part of the Te Manawataki o Te Papa Civic Precinct, and to ensure the Art Gallery and education spaces remain within the city centre.


 

$19,291

Contribution towards the “Kowhai Grove” art commission on Grey Street, to add vibrancy, activation and interest to a regularly used public space.

$10,000

Operational support for Tourism Bay of Plenty information kiosks (in Red Square) to help residents and visitors to the city centre find their way comfortably around the city, and to find out what’s going on.

$610,796

TOTAL SPEND 2022/23 (to date)

14.    This initial list of initiatives have been developed in response to feedback from city centre businesses and stakeholders, in order to support them through the period of disruption and to increase foot traffic. Some direct feedback has been received:

The Chamber delivers a wide range of business support contracts; however, the eligibility criteria can sometimes mean established SMEs can slip through the cracks. The City Centre Business Support contract, provided by the Fund, enables established SMEs in the CBD to access free training, tools and resources that they can immediately implement into their business. The demand from SMEs to-date focuses on business strategy (e.g. diversifying revenue), digital marketing, financial planning, and help with negotiating lease renewals.”

          Matt Cowley, Chief Executive, Tauranga Business Chamber

          “Tauranga Art Gallery’s temporary exhibition and learning space opened on at the start of Term 3. We join a new Devonport Road ‘creative hub’ popping up with the Tauranga City Library and Kuwao Gallery across the street, architects and filmmakers alongside. The ability to remain open whilst the main art gallery building is closed, means we are able to continue our fully booked exhibitions, schools education programmes, talks and events, building vibrancy and activating the city centre for the overall benefit of businesses and the community alike.

          Sonya Korohina, Director, Tauranga Art Gallery added:

Projects currently underway in FY 2023/24

15.    Delivery of a secure public bike parking facility in Grey Street as a response to demand from city centre businesses and cycling groups, and in alignment with modal shift initiatives. This is a collaboration between TCC’s City Development and Partnerships and Transportation teams, and a private operator who will manage the day-to-day operations once open.

16.    Vacant shopfront work to activate vacant spaces – a collaboration with landlords, agents and other key partners. A group is being formed to work on initiatives to address the vacant shop situation in the city centre.

17.    A new City Safety and Engagement Advisor role has been established to have an on-the-ground presence in the city centre, to help build relationships, and to support city centre individuals, businesses and other key partners with issues and/or opportunities that have been identified. Some initial feedback about the establishment of this role includes:

“The first time in 11 years that I felt like the Council cares about the safety and wellbeing of the local businesses and their staff. So good work putting your staff member on the street, it is greatly appreciated.”

“Being a resident of the CBD, it is very comforting to know you are looking to have a presence in the streets monitoring. Extremely proactive of the Council – awesome!”

18.    Improved lighting across key areas in the city centre, in particular car parking buildings, is being explored to further alleviate safety concerns.

19.    Staff are investigating a number of options to increase parking capacity in the city centre through the delivery of a variety of short-term and temporary parking initiatives.

20.    A summer programme of city centre events and activations is in the early stages of development.

Strategic / Statutory Context

21.    The Fund enables increased alignment with Te Rapunga Ora ki Te Papa – City Centre Action and Investment Plan. This is seen through an improved ability to streamline projects that could quickly contribute to the strategy’s vision of creating a great place to live, work, learn and play.

options analysis

22.    As this report is providing an update to Council, there are no options.

Financial considerations

23.    The financial considerations are outlined in paragraph 10 of the report (above).

24.    $610,796 of the Fund has been disbursed to date.

25.    A balance of ~$300,000 remains in the Fund to support further initiatives in the current financial year, through to 30 June 2024.

Significance

26.    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.

27.    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; and

(c)   the capacity of the local authority to perform its role, and the financial and other costs of doing so.

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

Click here to view the TCC Significance and Engagement Policy

ENGAGEMENT

29.    Taking into consideration the above assessment, that the matter is of low significance, officers are of the opinion that no further consultation/engagement is required.

Next Steps

30.    The City Partnerships team will continue to collaborate with city centre landlords and business owners to understand and support their concerns, and consider how the remaining funds can be best utilised.

31.    The team continues to work with city partners Priority One, Tauranga Business Chamber and Mainstreet Tauranga to align with this work, and to ensure that there are positive outcomes for our community that will improve vibrancy and increase foot traffic in the city centre.

32.    Further updates will be provided to Council every six months, until such time as all funds have been distributed.

Attachments

Nil

 


Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 

11.3       Broader outcomes - social procurement targets

File Number:           A14980488

Author:                    Melanie Rose, Procurement Contracts Advisor

Authoriser:              Alastair McNeil, General Manager: Corporate Services

 

Purpose of the Report

1.      This report sets out the case to introduce a target for influenceable spend of at least 5% to be awarded to Māori and Pasifika business, to:

(a)     improve diversity of our supplier base and boost our supplier options,

(b)     access untapped resource to help us deliver our capital programme,

(c)     and deliver on the intent of our procurement policy regarding broader outcomes.

 

Recommendations

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "Broader outcomes - social procurement targets".

(b)     Supports a target of at least 5% of the value of all influenceable spend to be awarded to Māori and Pasifika businesses and supports work to significantly increase engagement and support of social enterprises.

(c)     Approves mandating the inclusion of broader outcomes in all tenders going out to market. This can be either incorporating as a mandatory requirement in lowest price conforming tenders or as a compulsory attribute to be included in weighted attributes processes (minimum 10% weighting). 

 

Executive Summary

2.      The concept of broader outcomes in procurement has been gaining momentum over the past few decades, both overseas and relatively more recently in New Zealand; central government has had specific targets in place since 2020.  Broader outcomes can be defined as “the secondary benefits that are generated by the way a good, service or works is produced or delivered”; these benefits can be social, environmental, cultural, or economic and can vary, depending on what good or service is being procured. 

3.      Tangible benefits can be achieved through the targeted engagement of Māori and Pasifika businesses resulting in improved communication, assisting timeframes, and reducing delays, especially in culturally sensitive areas.

4.      Tauranga City Council can and should use its purchasing power or influenceable spend to help achieve positive results for our community.  We want to boost economic prosperity in Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty, and this includes amongst Māori and Pasifika businesses, which we can see are currently underrepresented in our supplier base and in our influenceable spend. 

5.      Influenceable spend refers to all spend TCC can address or control, either through managing our sourcing or supplier process, and through our procurement policy and contracts.  It excludes all fixed costs and staff costs.  TCC’s influenceable spend for the financial year ending 2023 was circa $377m.

6.      In addition to meeting our obligations under the Local Government Act to “promote the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being” of our community, we need to boost and diversify our supplier base to help meet the demands of our capital delivery programme. 

7.      TCC’s capital spend for FYE 2023 was $318m; this was against a target $382m, meaning there was a delivery shortfall of $64m.  We are working hard to close the gap; we need to increase capacity to deliver the programme of work to meet this year’s capital delivery target of $451m.

Background

8.      Social procurement is explicitly listed among the immediate areas of work in our recently adopted Sustainability Approach Implementation Plan (July 2023), under its strategic priority of delivering equitable outcomes. 

9.      One of the key goals put forward in the plan is for TCC to be an inclusive and equitable organisation with a value chain reflecting the diverse mix and needs of our community.  To reach this goal, the Plan commits to promoting sustainable procurement through training and awareness-raising to ensure a consistent, strategic approach to procurement that embeds sustainability and equitable outcomes.

10.    Further, existing TCC procurement policy (2021) shows we are committed to achieving public value and broader outcomes, as indicated in the clauses below:

6.1.3 Broader outcomes to be achieved through the procurement activity are identified early in the project and procurement planning stages.  Procurement assessments will not always default to the cheapest solution at the cost of promoting social, economic, environmental, or cultural outcomes.

6.1.4 Delivering broader outcomes requires consideration of how to effectively involve small to medium-sized business, Māori and Pacific businesses and social enterprises in procurement opportunities. 

11.    While the current procurement policy has been in place since 2021, it was initially unclear whether we had made any meaningful progress against the aims espoused.  To begin with, we had no visibility of how many Māori, Pasifika and Social Enterprise suppliers we were working with.  To gather data on our supplier base, last August we began to collect this information. 

12.    We used the Amotai database and SocialLink web directory, comparing those suppliers listed with what we had in our payment system.   In addition, we updated our new creditor form to allow new suppliers to self-report whether they are a Māori, Pasifika, or Social Enterprise business.  This was done solely for monitoring purposes.

13.    Based upon the above initiatives, we can see that since July 2020 we have engaged and worked with at least 73 Māori businesses, 15 Pasifika businesses and 89 social enterprises. 

14.    By reviewing the industry categories in which Māori and Pasifika businesses are currently working with TCC, we can also see they have a small share of the spend in these categories i.e., 3.38% and 0.03% respectively for financial year ending 2023.  Further, if we compare this with the total influenceable spend (circa $377m), this equates to 2.8% share for Māori business and 0.02% for Pasifika business.

 

Existing initiatives to support Broader Outcomes

15.    To address the low numbers of Māori and Pasifika suppliers and deliver on broader outcomes as stated in our procurement policy, we have undertaken the following actions:

(a)     Developing a broader outcomes toolkit to assist staff to incorporate broader outcomes in their procurement, and run sessions within teams to raise awareness

(b)     Forged relationships with external organisations such as Amotai, Pacific Growth, Toi Kai Rawa and Whāia Charitable Trust to access support and guidance

(c)     Stepped up our engagement with the Tauranga business community at large with a ‘Let’s Talk Tauranga’ survey to find out more about demographics and aspirations of our local suppliers. 

16.    The broader outcomes toolkit, launched in May this year, assists staff by providing broader outcomes questions to include in their tender documents.  Adoption has been good, with 10 RFX tender opportunities with a broader outcome weighting since the toolkit was introduced.   However, making broader outcomes mandatory in our procurement, with at least 10% weighting in weighted attributes, will boost the up-take further and help us deliver against our policy goals by giving the toolkit a meaningful place to connect.

17.    Another approach has been to ensure procurement opportunities are adequately promoted through networks of Māori and Pasifika business, leveraging our relationships with organisations such as Amotai, Pacific Growth, Toi Kai Rawa and Whāia Charitable Trust.  These organisations all work to increase capability of Māori and Pasifika businesses to respond to opportunities for work with national and local government agencies.  TCC is not resourced to be able to provide this service, and so relies upon support from our partners, who have the expertise, capacity and existing trust-based relationships with the Māori and Pasifika business communities. 

18.    Where we can offer support is in facilitating procurement drop-in sessions, which give an opportunity to all small and medium sized Tauranga-based business to meet with members of the procurement team.

19.    The ‘Let’s Talk Tauranga’ survey, promoted through our standard engagement channels (LinkedIn, Korero Mai e-newsletter) yielded a total of 101 responses.  Of these, 61 respondents indicated they were a Tauranga-based business.  Further, the survey showed the majority (83%) are a small business, with less than 20 employees; 15% have between 20 – 99 employees, and only 2% have 100 or more employees.  Several businesses indicated they’d like to attend drop-in sessions to learn more about procurement opportunities, and we are in the process of coordinating these, with the first date scheduled for 20 October.

 

Benefits of broader outcomes and a diverse supplier base

20.    A key driver behind the need to diversify our supply base is to boost our ability to be able to deliver our capital programme of works.

21.    Last financial year we had a shortfall of $64m, delivering $318m of a proposed $382m capital programme.  It is in our interest to do what we can to boost and diversify our supplier base, to ensure we have the capability and capacity to deliver our capital programme now and in the future. 

22.    From working with our Māori and Pasifika partner organisations, and referencing the Amotai database, we know there are over 200 businesses that specialise in construction and physical works activities; many of which we have never worked with previously.

23.    By making a concerted effort to engage with small, medium business, including Māori and Pasifika businesses, means we can engage them directly or via sub-contractual arrangements to assist with delivery of the capital programme. 

24.    In addition to helping us meet our capital delivery programme, other benefits of a diverse supplier base for TCC include increased innovation, increased competition, and an improved robustness of our supply chain. 

25.    Incorporating broader outcomes in our procurement means we will:

(a)     Promote and facilitate opportunities that lead to a healthy, safe, and connected community

(b)     Support ethical economic prosperity through employment, upskilling and innovative supply-chain initiatives that encourage a resilient workforce and reduced inequalities

(c)     Support initiatives and innovations that protect and enhance our community’s natural environment, and enable the reduction of carbon emissions and waste

(d)     Encourage initiatives that embrace cultural diversity, inclusivity of all people and revitalisation of our indigenous heritage through Mātauranga Māori (knowledge)

26.    Our broader outcomes toolkit allows staff to select RFX questions specifically targeted to their procurement needs.

Strategic / Statutory Context

27.    He pika tūranga, he piki kōtuku the report from the Review into the Future for Local Government (2023), identifies 12 actions that ‘can happen now’ ahead of any reform.  Among these is “introducing social procurement and supplier diversity as standard practice”, detailed below: 

28.    In 2020, central government began “progressive procurement” with a policy and a target for 5% of procurement contracts to be awarded to Māori business annually.  This has been recently increased to 8%, as the original target was exceeded; the government’s plan is to review the 8% target again in 2024. 

29.    As it stands, Tauranga City Council (TCC) sustainability plan sets a goal 5% of influenceable spend with Māori and Pasifika business by 2029; this is far behind the government target, both in terms of value of spend and timeframes to achieve this.

30.    Establishing a target of at least 5% of influenceable spend per financial year from now will help to set clear direction and accountability for us to increase our engagement with and, as such, increase chances for Māori and Pasifika business to participate in the opportunities available. 

31.    In addition, making broader outcomes mandatory in our procurement is another way to ensure we are delivering on our obligations under the Local Government Act – i.e., to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of communities in the present and for the future.

Options Analysis

32.    To improve diversity of our supplier base, access untapped resource to help deliver our capital programme, and deliver on the intent of our procurement policy as regards broader outcomes this report poses three options:

(a)     Maintain the status quo (2.82% spend, Māori and Pasifika combined).  Continue existing efforts to slowly diversify the supplier base and increase opportunities for Māori and Pasifika businesses without a target; make no changes to existing levels of engagement with social enterprises; continue to allow optional inclusion of broader outcomes within procurement activity - or

(b)     Introduce a 5% target for influenceable spend with Māori and Pasifika businesses; significantly increase efforts to engage and leverage support of social enterprises; make broader outcomes a mandatory feature in our procurement activity – either incorporating as a mandatory requirement in lowest price conforming tenders or as a compulsory attribute (min. 10% weighting) in weighted attributes processes (recommended) - or

(c)     Introduce an 8% target for influenceable spend with Māori and Pasifika business, in line with central government; significantly increase efforts to engage and leverage support of social enterprises; make broader outcomes a mandatory feature in our procurement activity – either incorporating as a mandatory requirement in lowest price conforming tenders or as a compulsory attribute (min. 10% weighting) in weighted attributes processes

33.    Maintaining the status quo and simply continuing with the work already underway is not recommended.  We are already working towards improving broader outcomes without a target in place, and early signs are that we will never achieve the impetus and pace required to make a meaningful difference without leadership intervention.  Setting a target helps to provide direction, clarity and focus of effort, and instils a level of accountability to take action.

34.    Meanwhile, we consider the 8% target, while in line with government targets, might be too difficult to achieve in the short term, given our low starting point.   We have recommended a target of at least 5%, which still allows for a higher target to be achieved; by stepping out the target it will help build momentum. 

Financial Considerations

35.    There are no foreseeable financial implications from setting a target of 5% of influenceable spend to be with Māori and Pasifika business; any spend is within existing budget.

Legal Implications / Risks

36.    For the avoidance of doubt, the target of 5% influenceable spend should not be interpreted as introducing a policy of positive discrimination.  Our existing procurement processes will still be followed in determining best public value. As such, we do not foresee any legal implications and associated risks. 

Consultation / Engagement

37.    We have partnered with organisations to help develop our approach to improving opportunities for Māori and Pasifika business, they have all suggested a target would support the work already underway.

38.    The broader outcomes toolkit was launched earlier in the year, and as a living document it continues to be updated and amended with feedback from TCC staff. 

39.    Ultimately, the broader outcomes toolkit and the proposed targets are aligned with and embedded within TCC’s Sustainability Plan.  Development of this work involved engagement with internal and external stakeholders to identify ways in which TCC could become a more sustainable organisation. 

Significance

40.    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.

41.    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.

(c)   the capacity of the local authority to perform its role, and the financial and other costs of doing so.

42.    In accordance with the considerations above, criteria and thresholds in the policy, it is considered that the decision is of high significance, however, the decision proposed in this report is of low significance.

ENGAGEMENT

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

Next Steps

44.    Should Council agree with the recommendations, the next steps would be to:

(a)     Communicate the changes to TCC staff, and

(b)     Update our procurement policy to reflect these changes

45.    Progress against the target and any measurable progress in meeting broader outcomes would be reported on a quarterly basis at the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meetings.

Attachments

Nil

 


Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 

11.4       Traffic & Parking Bylaw Amendment No.47

File Number:           A15093319

Author:                    Will Hyde, Senior Transportation Engineer

Reece Wilkinson, Parking Strategy Manager

Authoriser:              Nic Johansson, General Manager: Infrastructure

 

Purpose of the Report

1.      To obtain approval from the Commission to introduce amendments to the Traffic and Parking Bylaw (2012) and its Attachments.

 

Recommendations

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "Traffic & Parking Bylaw Amendment No.47".

(b)     Adopts the proposed amendments to the Traffic and Parking Bylaw (2012) Attachments as per Appendix A relating to minor changes for general safety, operational or amenity purposes, to become effective on or after 17 October 2023 subject to appropriate signs and road markings being implemented.

(c)     Adopts the proposed amendments to the Traffic and Parking Bylaw (2012) and its Attachments as per Appendix B, relating to updating the existing provisions for Residents’ Parking and identifying areas for Residents’ Parking to be applied, to become effective on or after 17O ctober 2023 subject to executive approval.

 

 

Executive Summary

2.      The Traffic and Parking Bylaw 2012 includes Attachments each of which lists various traffic and parking restrictions.

3.      Council can amend the Attachments by Council Resolution.

4.      This report sets out amendments to the following Attachments for general operational reasons, principally requests from the public or other stakeholders for numerous small changes to parking controls.:

(a)     Attachment 7.2: Prohibited Stopping and Standing of Vehicles

5.      These amendments are summarised in Appendix A.

6.      This report also sets out proposed changes to the Residents’ Parking provisions in Clause 22 of the Bylaw, updating the clauses to account for electronic parking permits, and Attachment 31 outlining the change in residents parking zones.

7.      These amendments are set out in Appendix B.

PART A – Operational Changes

Background

8.      The amendments set out in Appendix A are changes proposed to reflect and support operational and safety needs on the road network.

9.      The proposed amendments are minor changes to parking restrictions across the city which have arisen through requests from the public, transportation staff or other stakeholders; changes resulting from approved developments; plus other minor changes deemed necessary by the Network Safety and Sustainability team.

10.    The proposals include changes on residential, commercial, and industrial roads.

Strategic / Statutory Context

11.    The amendments achieve the vision and strategic transport priorities to help make our network safer and easier for people to get around the city.

Options Analysis

12.    The reasons for each proposal are described in Appendix A.  In each case the problem identified is expected to continue if the proposed amendment is not adopted.

Financial Considerations

13.    Negligible – the associate signs and markings costs can be accommodated within existing project or operational budgets.

Legal Implications / Risks

14.    The bylaw amendment is needed to allow enforcement of changes deemed necessary for safety and amenity purposes.

Consultation / Engagement

15.    The amendments proposed in Appendix A have been assessed as being of a minor nature.

16.    Consultation is not required for minor stopping and parking amendments, or other minor amendments required to support operational or safety improvements.

Significance

17.    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.

18.    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.

(c)   the capacity of the local authority to perform its role, and the financial and other costs of doing so.

19.    In accordance with the considerations above, criteria and thresholds in the policy, it is considered that the decision is of low significance.

ENGAGEMENT

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

 

 

 

PART B – RESIDENTS’ PARKING PROPOSALS

Background

21.    With the development of parking technologies and the introduction of enforcement through Licence Plate Recognition in Tauranga we no longer need to administer physical residents’ parking permits with demarcated separate residents parking zones.

Strategic / Statutory Context

22.    Updating the bylaw allows us to introduce an electronic permit structure for handling residents’ permits within the paid city centre parking zone, providing a useful tool for easing the transition of the area into paid parking.

23.    With our current equipment it would be difficult to enforce a physical residents’ parking programme when required.

Options Analysis

24.    Addition to the bylaw gives us the ability to implement and enforce a modern residents parking programme. If the changes are not implemented, we will see no change from status quo. 

Financial Considerations

25.    Residents Permits can be charged and are limited to the cost of implementation by legislation. Expected cost is yet to be calculated but for Tauranga should be approximately $180pa.

Legal Implications / Risks

26.    The bylaw changes are required to update how residents’ parking permits can be issued. If the changes are declined, it will need to be revisited should the council wish to implement in the future.

Consultation / Engagement

27.    Consultation is not required in this case as Residents’ Parking is outlined in the bylaw already. The changes are minor in nature.

Significance

28.    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.

29.    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.

(c)   the capacity of the local authority to perform its role, and the financial and other costs of doing so.

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

 

 

ENGAGEMENT

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

Next Steps

32.    Once approved, no immediate action is required.  The changes will allow officers to issue permits as and when required. 

Attachments

1.      Appendix A - T&P Bylaw Amendment 47 - A15157871

2.      Appendix B - T&P Bylaw Amendment 47 - A15157870  

 


Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 



Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 







 


Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 

11.5       Spring St Carpark Strengthening - Unbudgeted Expenditure

File Number:           A15157690

Author:                    Mark Ross, Senior Programme Manager - Civic Redevelopment Projects

Authoriser:              Nic Johansson, General Manager: Infrastructure

 

Purpose of the Report

1.      Request for approval for unbudgeted expenditure in relation to the Spring St Carpark Strengthening.

 

Recommendations

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "Spring St Carpark Strengthening - Unbudgeted Expenditure".

(b)     Approves an additional capital budget of $1,065,688 for the completion of the Spring St Carpark seismic strengthening works.

(c)     Approves an increase to Council’s 2023/24 borrowing limit by $1,065,688 to fund the overspend.

 

Executive Summary

2.      Work to design and complete seismic strengthening of the Spring St Car Park has recently been completed. These works are crucial to ensuring the building is safe and can be removed from the Earthquake Prone Building (EPB) register.

3.      During the construction works, unforeseen design complexities have led to significant redesign and a more complex strengthening programme. This is primarily due to the internal design of the concrete reinforcing and servicing that could only be confirmed following the initiation of physical works.

4.      These challenges have resulted in an increased project cost of $1,065,688. The total project cost is now $6,861,688.

5.      A project budget increase of $424,000 for the physical works was flagged in March 2022 with CE approval gained to proceed with the project. This amount was not subsequently factored into the Annual Plan and is included within the unbudgeted expenditure requested. 

6.      The additional work required has delayed the completion of works by 5 months from April to September 2023.

7.      The works are now complete, having successfully achieved seismic strengthening of the building.

Background

8.      In November 2020 Consultants were commissioned to undertake a detailed seismic assessment of the Spring Street carpark building. The detailed assessment rated the building to be at 25% New Building Standard (NBS). This meant that the building was identified as an Earthquake Prone Building, requiring work to strengthen the building to have it removed from the EPB register.

9.      In 2021, a detailed design was done to undertake a full seismic strengthening of the building. According to the detailed seismic design, the building will achieve a building rating of 67% NBS (IL2). In September 2021, the tender process was completed for the seismic strengthening works along with fire and accessibility upgrades.

10.    The contract works were tendered and awarded for a sum of $4,641,065. The construction started in July 2022.  The approved budget for the whole project including consultancy fees was $5,796,000.

11.    During construction the contractor has faced unforeseen design complexities, requiring a complete redesign and a more complex schedule of works. This has impacted the completion date and final cost of the works.

12.    The construction process revealed internal complexities that could not have been reasonably anticipated at the design stage. The internal design of the concrete reinforcing has necessitated new and more complex steel connections with greater load tolerance.

13.    The Seismic Strengthening solution adopted by the Consultant team involved bolting new designed structural steel elements to existing columns and beams throughout the building.

14.    The engineered seismic strengthening solution for the building involved 122 ton of structural steel with 8,000 bolts connecting the steel elements to the existing concrete structure. Naylor Love designed and built a mechanical drilling rig to drill a significant number of the 8,000 holes throughout the car park building. The drilling rig proved extremely successful in innovation and its H&S mitigation. The machine took out the supreme award in the NZ Health and Safety awards late last year in “Category 5: For the development of a New Zealand design or technology which eliminates or manages a risk to safety or health at work.”

15.    The existing building as-builts plans also guided this bolting methodology and although identified as some risk, the documentation was at the time heavily relied upon without intrusive investigation. A large number of structural steel elements required re-engineering and re-designing which caused time and cost delays for the Structural and Building team.

16.    The discovery of electrical services within the floor slabs also presented a significant health and safety risk. This was resolved through the identification and relocation of these services.

17.    The total cost of the project is now $6,861,688 requiring approval for an additional expenditure of $1,065,688. While a $424,000 increase was flagged as necessary to proceed with the physical works in March 2022, this budget increase was not factored into the Annual Plan and is included in the unbudgeted expenditure requested through this report.

18.    The redesign and more complex construction phase have led to a 5-month delay in the programme. The works are now complete and have successfully achieved an acceptable seismic standard for the building.

Strategic / Statutory Context

19.    The seismic strengthening work is being undertaken within the requirements of the Building Act 2004 and the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016.

20.    The works haven enabled the building to achieve an acceptable NBS and will be removed from the Earthquake Prone Building register.

Options Analysis

21.    The seismic strengthening work has now been completed. The additional design, reinforcing and service work was required to complete the building strengthening to an acceptable standard.

22.    Given the nature and timing of the additional work, no further options were considered feasible in achieving an acceptable New Building Standard.

Financial Considerations

23.    The project has been previously approved with a total budget of $5,796,000. The additional works outlined above have led to an increase of $1,065,688. The final project budget is now $6,899,190.

24.    The additional project expenditure will require debt funding of $1,065,688 which was not included in the 2024 borrowing programme.

Legal Implications / Risks

25.    The project works are now complete and subject to finalisation of contractual arrangements.

26.    The strengthening work has been done in accordance with the building consent gained for the project. These works ensure the building is compliant with the Building Act and the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016.

Significance

27.    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.

28.    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.

(c)   the capacity of the local authority to perform its role, and the financial and other costs of doing so.

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

ENGAGEMENT

30.    Taking into consideration the above assessment, that the decision is of medium significance and the completion of site works, we are of the opinion that no further engagement is required prior to Council making a decision.

Next Steps

31.    Provided approval is given, the final project commitments can be met with the contractor following the recent completion of the site works.

Attachments

Nil

 


Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 

11.6       Parking Management Plan Roll Out Adjustment.

File Number:           A15173243

Author:                    Reece Wilkinson, Parking Strategy Manager

Authoriser:              Nic Johansson, General Manager: Infrastructure

 

Purpose of the Report

1.      Seeks to update and modify the roll out of the Parking Management Plan (File Number: A13763600) in the city fringe.  

 

Recommendations

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "Parking Management Plan Roll Out Adjustment.".

(b)     ​Approves the following changes to the Parking Management Plan, to modify the implementation of paid parking expansion as follows: 

(i)      Putting the expansion of paid parking scheduled for 1 November 2023 on hold until 26 February 2024

 

Executive Summary

2.      The previously approved (on 3 October 2022 and confirmed 7 August 2023) parking management plan proposes the roll out of time restrictions for parking in the city centre fringe. 

3.      In keeping with the parking management plan, we are due to roll out the next phase of changes from 1 November 2023 onwards. However, with various projects moving ahead before Christmas there will be a reduced number of all-day parking spaces in the city centre while other projects are in the final phases of completion. This alongside cost-of-living concerns among the wider community, we have the opportunity to consider deferring the implementation of the phased paid parking expansion from the 1 November 2023 until 26 February 2024.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Background

4.      In August 2023 Tauranga City Council’s Commission agreed to stagger the roll out of additional changes to parking in the city centre as outlined in the Parking Management Plan. Stage 2 was due to come into effect on 1 November 2023 and would increase the paid parking into the city centre fringe as outlined in the below map.

 

5.      Since the staggered roll out of the Parking Management Plan for the city centre was approved by Council in August, various projects in the area have been given the green light, and our city centre transformation is on. 

6.      Some of the projects which have been progressed will impact the number of all-day parking available in the city centre, as well as additional parking impacts from work vehicles and delivery trucks which require loading zones and layover areas.

7.      By postponing the expansion of paid parking in the city centre it will give us more time to complete some of the projects currently underway, many of which will open up more car park spaces for the community. Some of these projects include but are not limited to:

(a)     The Spring Street car park will be back to full occupancy 

(b)     Dive Crescent car park will be complete, creating more than 150 car parks in total across stage one and two 

(c)     Tunks Reserve and Elizabeth Street East upgrade will be complete, opening up the road again to on-street parking    

(d)     A new temporary off-street car park on the corner of Devonport Road and First Avenue will create over 100 new all-day parks

(e)     New bike parking will also be open creating more multimodal transport options

(f)      Implementation of the City Centre Action and Investment Plan, including (but not limited to), accessibility audits, streetscape changes, bus stop changes and movement framework changes in the city.

8.      Increased restrictions in the residential city fringe will be required over time as more properties are built without off-street parking, shifting the perceived responsibility from the landowner to the public. We are already beginning to see an uptake in parking enforcement requests in higher density residential streets. If we follow the pattern of Auckland’s higher density suburbs, we can expect to see a marked increase in requests for the restrictions outside of the traditional city centre over the next few years.

Strategic / Statutory Context

9.      The current parking demand is highly variable with everything from macro-economic changes, weather and roadworks all factoring into the daily data results. 

10.    The city centre transport network is expected to be highly changeable over the next 18 months and we will need to ensure parking follows suit. A delayed roll out allows us time to continue monitoring the parking demand in the city centre and be more adaptable to ensure we are minimising further disruption for local businesses, residents and the wider community during the city centre transformation.  

Options Analysis

11.    Given the current environment and for the reasons mentioned above our recommended approach is Option 2. 

12.    Option 1: Continue as planned with 1 November roll out of city centre fringe parking changes. This plan is straight forward as it is purely sticking to the original plan with no further adjustment.  

Advantages 

Disadvantages 

Easy to implement and fast 

Expected to be unpopular and create a negative response from local businesses, city centre workers and residents.  

Option conflicts with our commitment to support the city centre during its period of transformation. 

 

 

13.    ​Option 2: Put the rollout of any further changes in the city centre on hold until February.  

Advantages 

Disadvantages 

Expected to be supported by city residents, local business owners, city centre workers and the wider community  

Enables us to complete various city centre parking projects which will create more all-day city centre parking options before the expansion is implemented. 

Doesn’t drive change and doesn’t remove the need for that change in behaviour.    

 

Financial Considerations

14.    Financial considerations are limited to the expected increase in revenue from expanding parking in the city fringe and enforcement of timed parking areas. Postponing the roll out will not impact city centre parking, other than machine storage costs until install can be completed.

Legal Implications / Risks

15.    It is important to acknowledge the potential risk that the public may not engage with the proposed changes. We may see the public not adjust their transport habits as parking restrictions extend resulting in an impact on parking in the non-restricted areas when changes are rolled out. 

16.    We will monitor the situation as we roll out and if this appears to be happening, we may need to recommend a full roll out as planned.

Consultation / Engagement

17.    The initial approval for the proposed changes on 1 November came after public consultation on the Parking Strategy the approved changes where the implementation of this. 

18.    The recommendation to delay the roll out is the result of local business and community requests to postpone until there were more all-day city centre parking options and there was less disruption.

Significance

19.    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.

20.    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.

(c)   the capacity of the local authority to perform its role, and the financial and other costs of doing so.

21.    In accordance with the considerations above, criteria and thresholds in the policy, it is considered that the decision is of high significance.

Note: you may require two statements regarding significance e.g. the issue is of high significance e.g. (climate change), however the decision proposed in this report is of low significance (e.g. an update on a particular work stream)

ENGAGEMENT

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

 

Note: any engagement/consultation undertaken to date should be included in the background section of the report with any issues identified during the consultation included for discussion.

Click here to view the TCC Significance and Engagement Policy

 

Next Steps

23.    Once the proposed change to delay the roll out of parking restrictions are approved the implementation process will commence immediately under the guidance of the Parking Strategy Manager. We will work in close partnership with the community relations and city development and partnerships teams to ensure the information is clear across all avenues of communication with our residents.  

Attachments

Nil

 


Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 

11.7       Hearings on the Options to Fund the Civic Precinct - Te Manawataki o Te Papa

File Number:           A15132929

Author:                    Malcolm Gibb, Contractor - Rating Review

Authoriser:              Paul Davidson, Chief Financial Officer

 

Purpose of the Report

1.      To receive and hear submissions from the community on the options to fund the community funded portion of the future civic precinct – Te Manawataki o Te Papa.

 

Recommendations

That the Council:

(a)     Receives the report "Hearings on the Options to Fund the Civic Precinct - Te Manawataki o Te Papa".

(b)     Receives the 297 on-line submissions and four written submissions that were submitted prior to the consultation period closing at 5.00 pm on 6 October 2023.

(c)     Receives the verbal submissions.

 

 

Executive Summary

2.      At its meeting of 11 September 2023, Council adopted the consultation document for the options to fund Te Manawataki o Te Papa.

3.      Public consultation on the consultation document was undertaken between
14 September and 6 October 2023. The consultation document presented two options to fund the community portion of Te Manawataki o Te Papa from a levy or rates.

Background

4.     A full set of the submissions received are attached as Attachment 1. The submissions are publicly available on the Tauranga City Council website:

5.     A list of the order of speakers is also attached as Attachment 2.  This will be subject to change as speakers are confirmed and will be updated for the Hearings.

6.      The submission period closed at 5.00 pm on 6 October 2023.  There were no late submissions received after this date.

Strategic / Statutory Context

7.      Council has consulted on the Te Manawataki o Te Papa project and decided to proceed at the Council meeting on the 24 July 2023.  This consultation process is to consider which of two options should be used to fund the community share of the funding which is $151.5 million.

Options Analysis

8.      There were two options provided in the consultation document.  Option 1 to provide Infrastructure Funding and Financing (IFF) funding to contribute $151.5 million to the delivery of the civic precinct - Te Manawataki o Te Papa – funded by an annual levy on all eligible properties.  Option 2 to not pursue IFF funding and default to a rate funded loan.

9.      Of the 301 submissions received, 189 supported Option 1 (63%) and 84 supported Option 2 (28%) and 28 didn’t provide a response to the Option choice (9%).  Of those who did provide a response, 67% supported Option 1 and 31% supported Option 2.

10.    Further analysis of the submissions will be provided in the Deliberations report to be presented to Council on 6 November 2023.

Financial Considerations

11.    These were presented in the Council report Infrastructure Funding and Financing (IFF) for funding Te Manawataki o Te Papa on the 11 September 2023.

Legal Implications / Risks

12.    These were presented in the Council report Infrastructure Funding and Financing (IFF) for funding Te Manawataki o Te Papa on the 11 September 2023.

Consultation / Engagement

13.    Council is consulting with the community on this topic given its significance.

Significance

14.    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.

15.    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 issue.

(c)   the capacity of the local authority to perform its role, and the financial and other costs of doing so.

16.    In accordance with the considerations above, criteria and thresholds in the policy, it is considered that the issue is of high significance.

ENGAGEMENT

17.    Taking into consideration the above assessment, that the issue is of high significance, officers are of the opinion that this consultation/engagement is necessary.

Next Steps

18.    Council is scheduled to deliberate and decide on this issue at the Council meeting on the 6 November 2023.

Attachments

1.      Submissions on options to fund the Civic Precinct - Te Manawataki o Te Papa - A15176371 (Separate Attachments 1)  

2.      List of submitters speaking on options to fund the Civic Precinct - Te Manawataki o Te Papa - A15176423  

 


Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 


 


Ordinary Council meeting Agenda

16 October 2023

 

12        Discussion of late items

13        Public excluded session

Resolution to exclude the public

Recommendations

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 11 September 2023

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)(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 25 September 2023

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)(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 - Exemption to Open Competition - Subdivisional Hard Fitout

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)

s7(2)(j) - The withholding of the information is necessary to prevent the disclosure or use of official information for improper gain or improper advantage

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 - Cameron Road Stage 2 Progression of Procurement

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)(h) - The withholding of the information is necessary to enable Council to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities

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

 

 

 

14        Closing karakia