MINUTES OF A meeting of the Corporate and Strategic Committee
Date: Wednesday 6 March 2013
Time: 09.00 am
Venue: |
Council Chamber Hawke's Bay Regional Council 159 Dalton Street NAPIER |
T Gilbertson
N Kirton
E McGregor
M Mohi
L Remmerswaal
K Rose
C Scott
BW Wilson
F Wilson - Chairman
In Attendance: E Lambert – General Manager (Operations)
P Drury – Group Manager Corporate Services
L Hooper – Governance & Corporate Administration Manager
M Adye – Group Manager Asset Management
B Lawrence – Manager Compliance & Harbours
M Miller – Manager Consents
Chairman Wilson welcomed all those present to the meeting, and noted that Councillor von Dadelszen was absent, on leave.
There were no notices, nor apologies.
2. Conflict of Interest Declarations
There were no conflict of interest declarations.
3. Confirmation of Minutes of the Corporate and Strategic Committee Held on 30 January 2013
Minutes of the Corporate and Strategic Committee held on Wednesday, 30 January 2013, a copy having been circulated prior to the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed as a true and correct record. CARRIED |
4. Matters Arising from Minutes of the Corporate and Strategic Committee Held on Wednesday 30 January 2013
There were no matters arising from the minutes.
Action Items from Previous Corporate and Strategic Committee Meetings |
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Ms Lambert provided the Committee with an update on the status of the action items. |
1. That the Committee receives the report “Action Items from Previous Corporate and Strategic Committee Meetings”. CARRIED |
Call for General Business Items |
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HBLASS Draft Statement of Intent 2013/14 |
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Mrs Lambert tabled amendments to the SoI requested by the Hastings District Council and highlighted sections that Council may wish to provide comment on. There was discussion around setting potential savings targets as performance targets, and situations where an additional independent director may be appointed to contribute specific technical expertise. It was suggested that ‘commercial business’ experience on the Board should be sought, and that specific performance targets for the number shared service arrangement implementations be included. |
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The Corporate and Strategic Committee recommends that Council: 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 draft Statement of Intent of HB LASS for 2013/14. 3. Undertakes to provide any comments on the Draft SoI to HB LASS Ltd within two months of 1 March (LGA Sch8 cl3) to enable delivery of the completed Statement of Intent to Council on or before 30 June 2013. CARRIED |
Trees on Farms - Carbon Market Update |
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Mr Adye provided an overview of the report provided by CO2 New Zealand. There was a query about whether alternate funding sources such as timber could be investigated and considered. It was suggested that the state of the carbon and timber markets and the ETS be regularly reported to Council to keep them informed in relation to Council’s established forest blocks. There was support for further development of the Trees on Farms project for the soil conservation and other environmental benefits. |
1. That the Corporate and Strategic Committee receives the report. 2. The Corporate and Strategic Committee recommends that Council agrees that staff should continue to monitor the carbon market and when there are strong signals for future strengthening, seek Council’s agreement to reactivate the Trees on Farms concept through the provision of funding options (including hedging in the carbon market) and the implications of those options on future cash flows. Cr McGregor moved an amendment, seconded by Mr Mohi, being an additional recommendation 3: 3. In view of the decline of the carbon market, the Corporate and Strategic Committee recommends that Council instructs staff to investigate alternative funding sources and incentives to encourage the establishment of Trees on Farms that complement livestock and agricultural systems and protect the environment. McGregor/Mohi For: Dick, McGregor, Scott, Gilbertson, Rose, Kirton, B Wilson, Mohi, F Wilson Against: Remmerswaal The amendment was CARRIED and therefore became part of the substantive motion.
The substantive motion, when put, was CARRIED |
The meeting adjourned at 1030 and reconvened at 1045am.
Chairman Wilson reconvened the meeting, giving notice that Drought had been officially declared in Hawke’s Bay.
Councillor Rose sought and was granted leave to raise an item of general business, being ‘Assistance to horticulture in a drought’.
Resource Management Charges |
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Mr Lawrence provided the Committee with rationale for the proposed changes to the Resource Management charges, before outlining the actual amounts proposed. Charges are set to recover ‘actual and reasonable’ cost of providing services. Chairman Wilson was excused at 10.55am and Cr McGregor assumed the Chair. There was discussion around charge out rates and how those are determined, as well as cost recovery and passing cost savings on to users. |
The Corporate and Strategic Committee recommends that Council: 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. Agrees to the inclusion of cost increases to the Resource Management charges in the draft Annual Plan 2013-14 for public submission. CARRIED |
Cr Wilson re-joined the meeting at 11.10am
Environment Awards |
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Cr Wilson re-assumed the Chair at 11.15am. Ms Lambert provided the Committee with an overview of the history of the awards and the rationale for making changes to the way Council recognises environmental and sustainability initiatives. It was suggested that thought be given to a mechanism for recognising groups and individuals with the possibility of ‘backing’ nominees for the Green Ribbon awards. |
1. That the Corporate and Strategic Committee receives the report. Cr Remmerswaal proposed an amendment, seconded pro forma by Cr Dick; being an additional recommendation 2: 2. That council investigates holding an annual event to celebrate environmental work being done in the community by volunteers. Remmerswaal/Dick For: Dick, Remmerswaal, B Wilson, Mohi Against: McGregor, Scott, Gilbertson, Rose, Kirton, F Wilson The amendment was LOST
Cr Scott moved an amendment, seconded by Mr Mohi, being additional recommendations 2 and 3: 2. Staff advise Council as to how the process of recommending Green Ribbon Awards across the range of categories can be fairly considered. 3. A means of recognising the contributions of those groups and individuals outside of the currently established awards system that can be made by Council. Scott/Mohi The amendment was CARRIED and therefore became part of the substantive motion. The substantive motion, when put, was CARRIED |
General Business |
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Closure:
There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 11.55am on Wednesday, 6 March 2013.
Signed as a true and correct record.
DATE: ................................................ CHAIRMAN: ...............................................