Minutes of Corporate and Strategic Committee

1. Welcome/Apologies/Notices

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Mrs Liz Lambert provided an update on the Havelock North reticulated water supply contamination, advising that HBRC’s offers of assistance have been accepted by HDC and the HB District Health Board.

Mr Iain Maxwell outlined the assistance HBRC is providing, which includes providing expert technical advice and information on groundwater and RMA compliance – carrying out sampling of surface and groundwater sources in the vicinity of the HDC bores to screen for campylobacter and assist the investigations to identify the source of the contamination. Staff have been onsite at Te Mata Mushrooms in response to speculation in the media, and have carried out sampling to investigate whether there is a link from their operations to the contamination. Test results this week will identify the source as being from animal or human faeces. HDC is regularly testing their water supply bores, while HBRC is testing all other groundwater bores in the wider vicinity. Any possible sources upstream are being investigated, and nothing being ruled out.

Mr Palmer advised that MPI has carried out testing on the water used for processing at the two packhouses taking water from the HDC bores, and determined that water treatment at the plants has been effective in killing bacteria.

Mrs Lambert provided an overview of the responsibilities of HB DHB (public health issue), HDC (provision of reticulated drinking water) and HBRC (technical science support and investigations, RMA and CDEM) in this situation.

Staff gave an undertaking to provide Councillors with regular updates, and also to communicate the Health risks associated with the spread of the highly contagious campylobacter bacteria to staff.

Resolution

C&S33/16 That the apologies, from Councillors Wilson and Graham and Mr Paku for periodic absences during the day to attend alternative commitments, be accepted.

Barker/Beaven

CARRIED

2. Conflict of Interest Declarations

There were no conflict of interest declarations.

11.

Napier Port Presentation of 2015-16 Year End Results

Mr Garth Cowie, Napier Port Chief Executive, and Mr Alasdair MacLeod, Napier Port Chairman, provided an update on Port operations over the past financial year.

Mr MacLeod introduced the report, highlighting that the past year saw a record peak season with no congestion issues at all and a strong focus on health and safety.

Mr Cowie provided an overview of the results for the 9 months to date, highlighting:

· Bulk cargo volumes down from last year, while container volumes are still holding ahead of last year and still expected to achieve Budget Net Profit after Tax for the year

· Introduction of a dedicated radio network to report damage, incidents, near misses, etc has resulted in better/increased reporting and the ability to respond immediately to any H&S incidents

· Achieved a record 676 days without a lost time injury as of 27 May

· Continuing pressures from container lines to reduce pricing and Inter Port competition intensifying for out of region cargoes

· Water volumes weak but apple and pulp volumes are strong, and the loss of the Fonterra dairy has adversely affected revenue

· Signed MoU with Ports of Auckland for greater collaboration in Technology and innovation in IT, health and safety, joint procurement and supply chain possibilities, and staff training

· Shipping Mega Alliances being formed

Queries and discussion covered:

· Risk assessment and management around service provision and service withdrawal at the Port

· Forecast dividends and threats to the Port’s ability to pay those required by HBRC to guarantee the RWSS return

· Tauranga competitive advantages of large bulk volumes to underwrite more competitive container shipping and significant import volumes, and the offer of 5% shareholding to secure Fonterra dairy volumes

· Possibility of new Port in Hamilton being explored Tainui is not anticipated to affect Napier Port

· Port noise mitigation packages (proactively offered to Seascape and being fine tuned) being offered for 50% of the cost of acoustic treatment up to a maximum of $100k – or $50k paid by the Port. Seascape investigating a ‘hardship’ offering by NCC or HBRC in a similar way to Clean Heat loans.

Councillor Wilson was excused at 10.35am

C&S34/16

Resolution

That the Corporate and Strategic Committee receives and notes the “Napier Port Presentation of 2015-16 Year End Results” report.

Beaven/Belford

CARRIED

The meeting adjourned at 10.40am and reconvened at 11.05am

Councillor Wilson re-joined the meeting at 11.05am

14.

Regional Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan: Matariki

Mr Alasdair MacLeod, Napier Port Chairman, provided an overview of the development of the Strategy, in particular the engagement process undertaken which has resulted in a better strategy than would have otherwise been the case. The re-worded vision, as a point in fact, was developed from a discussion between hapu and Mr MacLeod.

Suggestion of cycleway came from Central Government, and it was stressed to them that it could not jeopardise the Napier – Wairoa freight link.

Two infrastructure focuses going forward are ultrafast broadband and SH 2 upgrade.

16.

Regional Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan

C&S35/16

Resolution

That Council excludes the public from this section of the meeting, being Agenda Item 16 Regional Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan with the general subject of the item to be considered while the public is excluded; the reasons for passing the resolution and the specific grounds under Section 48 (1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution being:

GENERAL SUBJECT OF THE ITEM TO BE CONSIDERED	REASON FOR PASSING THIS RESOLUTION	GROUNDS UNDER SECTION 48(1) FOR THE PASSING OF THE RESOLUTION
Regional Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan	7(2)(c)(ii) That the public conduct of this agenda item would be likely to result in the disclosure of information where the withholding of that 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 and would be likely otherwise to damage the public interest.	The Council is specified, in the First Schedule to this Act, as a body to which the Act applies.

Wilson/Scott

CARRIED

The meeting went into public excluded session at 11.17am and out of public excluded session at 12.15pm

14.

Regional Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan: Matariki

Having considered the details of related workstreams to carry out actions in line with the Action Plan recommended by the Governance Group, the paper was taken as read.

Councillor Graham was excused at 12.20pm

C&S36/16

Resolutions

1. That the Corporate and Strategic Committee receives and notes the “Regional Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan: Matariki” report

2. The Corporate and Strategic Committee recommends that Council:

2.1 Agrees that the decisions to be made are not significant under the criteria contained in Council’s adopted Significance and Engagement Policy, 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.

2.2 Notes the role of the Land Transport Strategy in deciding the priorities for roading development and draws this to the attention of the REDS Governance Group

2.3 Requires the REDS strategy to include the rollout of Rural broadband as originally agreed in the earlier version of the Strategy.

2.4 Endorses the “Regional Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan: Matariki” which includes the additional elements of Rural Broadband and State Highway 2 Upgrade.

Scott/Wilson

CARRIED

Rocket Tourism In Wairoa

Mr James Palmer provided an overview of the outcomes of the scoping study carried out to investigate tourism opportunities arising from Rocket Lab establishing a launch range on the Mahia Peninsula. Mrs Lambert advised that launches could potentially start over the next couple of months.

C&S37/16

Resolutions

1. That the Corporate and Strategic Committee receives and notes the “Rocket Tourism in Wairoa” report.

2. The Corporate and Strategic Committee recommends that Council:

2.1. Agrees that the decisions to be made are not significant under the criteria contained in Council’s adopted Significance and Engagement Policy, 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.

2.2. Approves the Group Manager Strategic Development contributing up to $20,000 to fund further market research on Rocket Tourism and related-infrastructure challenges and opportunities, from the Economic Development consultancy budget.

Wilson/Dick

For: Dick, Scott, Wilson, Pipe, Barker, Paku, Maaka, Hewitt

Against: Beaven, Belford

CARRIED

The meeting adjourned at 12.40pm and reconvened at 1.15pm

3. Confirmation of Minutes of the Corporate and Strategic Committee Meeting Held on 15 June 2016

C&S38/16

Resolution

Minutes of the Corporate and Strategic Committee held on Wednesday, 15 June 2016, a copy having been circulated prior to the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed as a true and correct record.

Wilson/Scott

CARRIED

4. Matters Arising from Minutes of the Corporate and Strategic Committee Meeting Held on 15 June 2016

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

Follow-ups from Previous Corporate and Strategic Committee Meetings

There were no follow-ups to consider.

C&S39/16

Resolution

That the Corporate and Strategic Committee notes there are no “Follow-ups from Previous Corporate and Strategic Committee Meetings” to address at this meeting.

Wilson/Paku

CARRIED

Call for Any Minor Items Not on the Agenda

Recommendation

That the Corporate and Strategic Committee accepts the following minor items not on the agenda, for discussion as Item 15:

· 1080 (Belford)

· Deloitte (Belford)

· Panpac (Belford)

· Snowstorm (Wilson)

· RWSS (Beaven) Beaven/Dick

CARRIED

Elected Representatives Register of Interests Policy

Mrs Liz Lambert provided an overview of how ‘interests’ are currently recorded and considerations of where a conflict may arise, either pecuniary or non pecuniary.

There was discussion traversing:

· Levels of ownership constituting a ‘conflict’

· Audit suggestion to record how conflicts of interest are going to be managed, on the Register itself, and the suggestion that could be recorded simply by including the statement that “every Council and Committee meeting seeks declaration of any conflicts in relation to items on the Agenda” and Councillors are to ‘self manage’ any conflict they may have accordingly.

· concerns raised by Audit around members registered interests not aligning with the companies office and their expectation that staff would ‘compare’ the two registers

· Elected representatives responsible for registering their interests, not Council staff responsibility to ‘chase up’ or investigate the completeness or otherwise of the Register and what’s been declared.

C&S40/16

Resolutions

1. The Corporate and Strategic Committee receives and notes the “Elected Representatives Register of Interests Policy” report.

2. The Corporate and Strategic Committee recommends that Council:

2.1. Agrees that the decisions to be made are not significant under the criteria contained in Council’s adopted Significance and Engagement Policy, and that Council can exercise its discretion 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.

2.2. Adopts the Policy on Register of Interests for Elected Members, including any amendments agreed at the Committee meeting.

Dick/Barker

CARRIED

Code of Conduct for Elected Representatives Review

There was discussion around a current Code of Conduct review being undertaken by LGNZ, suggestions for inclusion of protocols around use of digital devices during meetings, the Code being used as a method of sanctioning or disciplining elected representatives, as well as basic behaviour expectations and simplifying the code to be a set of expectations.

C&S41/16

Resolutions

1. That the Corporate and Strategic Committee receives and notes the “Code of Conduct for Elected Representatives Review” report.

2. The Corporate and Strategic Committee recommends that Council:

2.1. Agrees that the decisions to be made are not significant under the criteria contained in Council’s adopted Significance and Engagement Policy, and that Council can exercise its discretion 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.

2.2. Recommends the adoption of the attached Code of Conduct by the incoming Council for the 2016-19 triennium, subject to any changes made to enhance the effectiveness of the Code through the development of effective sanctions for breaches.

Dick/Barker

CARRIED

10.

Proposed Governance Structure Recommendation to the Incoming Council for the 2016-19 Triennium

Mrs Liz Lambert provided an overview of the proposed structure, highlighting some exceptions to the status quo including the suggestion that the Finance Audit and Risk report directly to Council rather than through the Corporate and Strategic Committee, the appointment of an additional Council representative to the Regional Planning Committee and the role and functions of the Maori Committee.

Mr James Palmer outlined the considerations around the role and function of the Maori Committee with the advent of the Regional Planning Committee and Council’s statutory obligations to tangata whenua on operational and governance levels. Mrs Lambert advised that five or six Maori Committee meetings were held each calendar year at a cost of $40-$50,000 pa, not including remuneration of the Maori Committee Chairman.

Dr Roger Maaka provided his view as a member of the Maori Committee and where Maori are concentrating their energies on Treaty Claims. Mr Michael Paku expressed his view of the Maori Committee being an essential grassroots connection between Council and iwi/hapu.

Mr Paku was excused at 1.55pm

There was further discussion of the impact of future settlements and the structure of Maori governance on engagement with Maori as well as how Council needs to resource to meet its obligations to the Regional Planning Committee and wider Maori engagement on an issues basis. There was a suggestion that further investment in providing support to the RPC as the ‘main’ representative body and to invest more staff resource directly into engagement on a ‘per issues’ basis.

The importance of the iwi representatives on the Maori Committee to speak on behalf of their people (outside of RMA issues) alongside the Treaty Claimant Group (Iwi Inc) representatives who have the mandated Authority of their groups to speak on their behalf.

Concerns expressed about diminishing the duties of the Maori Committee without having those duties adequately covered under any proposed changes.

C&S42/16

Resolutions

1. That the Corporate and Strategic Committee receives and notes the “Proposed Governance Structure Recommendation to the Incoming Council for the 2016-19 Triennium” report.

2. The Corporate and Strategic Committee recommends that Council:

2.2. Notes to the incoming Council that the Regional Planning Committee, the Regional Transport Committee and the Civil Defence Emergency Joint Committee are all required by statute and their establishment is not subject to a decision of Council.

Wilson/Scott

CARRIED

2.3. Requests staff provide a report with recommendations on the future role of the Māori Committee for consideration at the 28 September 2016 Council meeting.

For: Scott, Wilson, Beaven, Pipe, Belford, Hewitt

Against: Dick, Barker, Maaka

CARRIED

2.4. Recommends to the incoming Council that the current Committee Structure be retained with the following exceptions:

2.4.1. the Finance, Audit and Risk sub-committee be established as a committee reporting directly to Council;

For: Scott, Wilson, Pipe, Maaka, Hewitt

Against: Dick, Beaven, Barker, Belford

CARRIED

2.4.2. the Corporate and Strategic Committee and Finance, Audit and Risk Committee be chaired by the same elected representative;

For: Scott, Wilson, Beaven

Against: Hewitt, Barker, Dick, Pipe

Abstained: Belford, Maaka

LOST

2.4.3. final recommendations on the Māori Committee will be made at the 28 September Council meeting.

For: Hewitt, Scott, Wilson

Against: Dick, Beaven, Pipe, Barker, Maaka, Belford

LOST

2.5. Agrees that the Council’s appointment of an additional member to the Regional Planning Committee be a matter for the incoming Council to decide at its 9 November 2016 meeting, as part of its process of adopting the 2016-19 Governance structure.

Wilson/Scott

CARRIED

Item - 11. Napier Port Presentation of 2015-16 Year End Results - was considered immediately following item 2.

Cr Wilson was excused at 2.30pm

12.

August 2016 Public Transport Update

The report was taken as ready, and Mr John Adams provided the opportunity for questions however there were none.

C&S43/16

Resolution

That the Corporate and Strategic Committee receives and notes the “August 2016 Public Transport Update” report.

Barker/Beaven

CARRIED

13.

Human Resources 2015-16 Annual Report

The paper was taken as read, and Mr Viv Moule provided the opportunity for questions.

Cr Wilson re-joined the meeting at 2.33pm

In response to queries, discussions covered the low staff turnover rate and Health and Safety statistics for Council.

C&S44/16

Resolution

That the Corporate and Strategic Committee receives and notes the “Human Resources 2015-16 Annual Report.

Barker/Scott

CARRIED

15.

Minor Items Not on the Agenda

Item	Topic	Councillor / Staff
1.	1080 Consents for 1080 application are subject to the same notification decision process as any other resource consent – being RMA criteria including an assessment of environmental effects	Belford
2.	Deloitte Further report from Deloitte on the ‘break even’ figures for the RWSS has been provided to Councillors, and some would like the opportunity for a discussion with Deloitte around that and the expenditure statement for year 1 of operations which has yet to be provided.	Belford/Beaven
3.	Panpac Request for an update on the kilns and associated health risk assessments in light of recent media story.	Belford
4.	Snowstorm Recent event impacts are still being felt, with large accumulations of snow still in Puketitiri and on the Napier Taupo road. There are access issues with moving stock from Puketitiri and the Chairman has offered HBRC staff assistance where possible.	Wilson

Closure:

There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 2.55pm on Wednesday 17 August 2016.

Signed as a true and correct record.

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