Minutes of Regional Transport Committee

MINUTES OF A meeting of the Regional Transport Committee

Date: Friday 22 June 2012

Time: 10.15am

Venue:

Council Chamber

Hawke's Bay Regional Council

159 Dalton Street

NAPIER

Present: AJ Dick – Chairman

T Kingston – CHB District Council

T Kerr – Hastings District Council

Mayor Probert - Wairoa District Council

L Remmerswaal – HBRC

K Furlong – Napier City Council

J Chetwynd - NZTA

M Mohi - Objective Representative – Cultural Interests

C Bain – Objective Representative Economic Development, Advisory Representative – Coastal Shipping

Mr B Pritchard –Objective Representative – Environmental Sustainability

D Murray – Objective Representative – Access and Mobility

N Jones- Objective Representative – Public Health

In Attendance: Mrs C Gilbertson – Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

Mr J Cox – Wairoa District Council

Mr S McKinley – Central Hawke’s bay District Council

Mr J Schwass- Napier City Council

Mr M Clews – Hastings District Council

Mr J Pannu – Hastings District Council

Mr G Hart – NZTA

Mr M Buchanan – BESL

M Drury – Committee Secretary

1. WELCOME/APOLOGIES/NOTICES

Chairman Dick welcomed all present to the meeting.

RTC31/12 Apologies were received from Councillor Kingston, Messrs C Adamson and K Santer.

Probert/Kerr

CARRIED

2. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATIONS

There were no conflicts of interest declared.

Short Term Replacements for the Regional Transport Committee

RTC32/12

Resolution:

1. That Mr S McKinlay be appointed as a member of the Regional Transport Committee of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council for the meeting of Friday, 22 June 2012 as a short term replacement on the Committee for Councillor T Kingston.

4. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES OF the Regional Transport Committee held on 27 april and 8 June 2012

RTC33/12

Minutes of the Regional Transport Committee held on Friday, 8 June 2012, copies having been circulated prior to the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed.

McKinlay/Clews

CARRIED

Minutes of the Regional Transport Committee held on Friday, 27 April 2012, copies having been circulated prior to the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed.

Kerr/Remmerswaal

CARRIED

5. Matters Arising from Minutes of the Regional Transport Committee held on friday, 27 april and Friday 8 June 2012

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

Action Items from Previous Regional Transport Committee Meetings

Chairman Dick updated the Committee on the Action item “Consideration of East Coast rail Situation” and Mayor Probert gave an update on State Highway 38 and advised that the project was now being pursued with a great deal of vigour with economic development and tourism playing a large role in ongoing discussions.

RTC34/12

Resolution:

1. That the Regional Transport Committee receives the report “Action Items from Previous Regional Transport Committee Meetings”.

Furlong/Kerr

CARRIED

7.	Consideration of General Business Items
	RoadSafe Governance Meeting

Endorsement of the Final Regional Land Transport Strategy - Incorporating the Regional Land Transport Programme

Mrs Gilbertson updated the Committee on the submission process for the draft RLTS/RLTP which had concluded on 31 May 2012. Verbal submissions were heard on Friday, 8 June which was followed by deliberations on all the submissions by the Committee. Mrs Gilbertson outlined the key themes from the submissions which sought changes and explained that as a result of the process, a number of changes had been made to the RLTS.

The Committee noted that the final RLTS/RLTP would be forwarded to the Regional Council on 27 June for final adoption.

The Committee then reviewed the amended RLTS, noted formatting errors, suggested further minor amendments and noted the Auditor’s advice which was tabled by Mrs Gilbertson. The Committee also agreed to accept Appendix D – Significance Policy of the RLTS.

Concern was expressed that consideration had still not been given to issues such as peak oil that may have a large impact over the life of the Strategy however it was noted there was every opportunity to review the Strategy every 6 years. It was also possible to signal interventions through other existing Plans.

Dr Jones joined the meeting at 10.50am.

Mr Buchanan advised the Committee of a recently published article around fuel and a request was noted that it be attached to the minutes of this meeting for distribution.

Following further discussion, the Committee agreed that the Strategy was an excellent document looking into the future and would deliver on all the diverse ideas that the region would face in the future.

The Chairman thanked members of TAG and staff for their ongoing contribution to the production of the Strategy.

RTC35/12

Resolutions:

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1. Endorses, following feedback and amendments made at the meeting, the final Regional Land Transport Strategy RLTS), incorporating the draft Regional Land Transport Programme (RLTP).

2. Recommends the RLTS/RLTP to Hawke’s Bay Regional Council for adoption, at their meeting on 27 June 2012.

3. Notes that the final RLTP will be submitted to the New Zealand Transport Agency by 30 June 2012.

McKinlay/Kerr

CARRIED

4. Adopts Appendix D – Significance Policy which determines the significance of a variation to the Regional Land Transport Strategy (RLTS) and the Regional Land Transport Programme (RLTP).

Chetwynd/Kerr

CARRIED

Transport Manager's Report

Mrs Gilbertson updated the Committee on relevant transport matters which had been actioned since the last update. She advised that NZTA had issued indicative funding allocations for 2012-2015 for maintenance, renewals and public transport services with the funding proposed for public transport looking positive, which will allow the current levels of service to be maintained.

Mrs Gilbertson also advised that following 35 submissions to Council’s 10 year plan requesting an extension to the current bus route in Parkvale to include the new rest home and subdivision at Parkvale Estate, the Monday to Friday service on this route would now be extended.

Councillor Furlong noted that the amendments to the Ahuriri timetable will now allow commuters to meet other bus connections.

Dr Jones left the meeting at 12.05pm

RTC36/12

Resolutions:

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1. Agrees that the decisions to be made are not significant under the criteria contained in Council’s adopted policy on significance and that Council can exercise its discretion under Sections 79(1)(a) and 82(3) of the Local Government Act 2002 and make decisions on this issue without conferring directly with the community and persons likely to be affected by or to have an interest in the decision due to the nature and significance of the issue to be considered and decided.

2. Receives the Transport Manager’s report.

Remmerswaal/Kerr

CARRIED

10.

Central Region - Regional Director's Report

Ms Chetwynd updated the Committee on national issues and noted that although there are still difficult economic conditions existing the economic forecast is positive with a two to three percent growth as construction activities increase.

Councillor Furlong commended NZTA staff involved in the publishing of the NZTA Newsletters, in particular the correspondence around the Manawatu Gorge closure and said the updates are well written and very informative.

Mr Hart updated the Committee on the local issues contained in the report in particular the proposed solutions to alleviate concerns about engine braking effects in some communities adjacent to the state highway.

The Committee also noted a Heavy Transport Forum had been established with a good representation of members from across the region involved in roading and it was hoped there would be improvement over a wide range of issues across the region. A report from the Group would be forwarded to TAG who would then report back to the Committee.

Mr Hart also sought guidance from the Committee on the proposed layout of State Highway Activities from 2012-2015 as many on the current chart would not be applicable after 30 June 2012.

The Committee noted that a meeting chaired by MOT/NZTA would take place on 13 July in the region to announce the new Road User Charges (RUC) following the recent law change.

RTC37/12

Resolution:

1. That the Regional Transport Committee receives the Regional Director’s report.

Chetwynd/Kerr

CARRIED

11.

Verbal Reports from Objective Representatives

M Mohi – Cultural Interests

There was confusion amongst Tangata Whenua in regard to the proposed Whakatu Arterial Link.

Requested that investigations continue in regard to the placement of the 80kmh sign near Paki Paki school.

D Murray – Access and Mobility

Slides were viewed which illustrated a compressed air engine which has been developed in India . This engine was to be placed in a vehicle made from fibreglass which could reach a top speed of 105kph.

C Bain – Economic Development/Advisory Representative Coastal

Advised that the Port continues to grow as a result of logs being pulled out of the region by rail and there was every reason for optimism for the future.

RTC38/12

Resolution:

That the verbal reports from the Objective Representatives be received.

Furlong/Clews

CARRIED

12.

General Business

RoadSafe Governance Meeting

The Chairman advised that at the RoadSafe Governance Group meeting held earlier that day the Regional RoadSafe Manager had commented on the Road Safety Action Plan Meetings and said that, for a number of reasons, these had not been held lately. NZTA and Mrs Gilbertson will discuss this with the RoadSafe Regional Manager.

Closure:

There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 12.40pm on Friday, 22 June 2012.

Signed as a true and correct record.

DATE: ................................................ CHAIRMAN: ...............................................