Agenda of Hawke's Bay Regional Council meeting

HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

Wednesday 30 April 2025

Subject: Public Forum

Reason for report

1. This item provides the means for Council to give members of the public an opportunity to address the Council on matters of interest relating to the Council’s functions.

Background

2. The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s Standing Orders (14.) provide for public forums which are run as follows.

2.1. Public forums are a defined period of time of up to 30 minutes, usually at the start of a meeting, put aside for the purpose of public input. Public forums are designed to enable members of the public to bring matters to the attention of the local authority.

2.2. Any issue, idea or matter raised in a public forum must fall within the terms of reference and ideally, relate to an agenda item for that meeting.

2.3. Requests to speak at public forums are to be submitted to the HBRC Governance Team (06 88359200 or governanceteam@hbrc.govt.nz) at least 2 working days prior to the meeting it relates to.

3. Some time limits and restrictions apply, including:

3.1. A period of up to 30 minutes will be set aside for the Public Forum and each speaker allocated up to 5 minutes to speak. If the number of people wishing to speak in the public forum exceeds 6 in total, the meeting Chairperson has discretion to restrict the speaking time permitted for all presenters.

3.2. The meeting Chairperson has the discretion to decline to hear a speaker or to terminate a presentation at any time if:

3.2.1. the speaker’s topic / issue is not within the terms of reference for the Committee or on the Agenda for the meeting

3.2.2. the speaker is repeating views presented by a previous speaker

3.2.3. the speaker is criticising elected members and/or staff

3.2.4. the speaker is being repetitious, disrespectful or offensive

3.2.5. the speaker has previously spoken on the same issue

3.2.6. the matter is subject to legal proceedings

3.2.7. the matter is subject to a hearing, including the hearing of submissions where the local authority or committee sits in a quasi-judicial capacity.

4. At the conclusion of a speaker’s time, the Chairperson has the discretion to allow councillors to ask questions of speakers to obtain information or clarification on matters raised by the speaker.

5. Following the public forum no debate or decisions will be made at the meeting on issues raised during the forum unless related to decision items already on the agenda.

Decision-making considerations

6. Staff have assessed the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 in relation to this item and have concluded that, as this report is for information only, the decision-making provisions do not apply.

Recommendation

That Hawke’s Bay Regional Council receives and notes the Public Forum speakers’ verbal presentations.

Authored by:

Leeanne Hooper

Team Leader Governance

Approved by:

Desiree Cull

Strategy & Governance Manager

Attachment/s

There are no attachments for this report.

HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

Wednesday 30 April 2025

Subject: Affixing of Common Seal

Reason for report

1. The Common Seal of the Council has been affixed to the following documents and signed by the Chair or Deputy Chair and Chief Executive or a Group Manager.

Seal No.

Date

1.1

Port of Napier Ltd – Survey Plan 10285 (Dec 1991)

4604

28 March 2025

1.2

Leasehold Land Sales

1.2.1 Lot 1

DP 9950

CT C2/281

- Agreement for Sale and Purchase

4605

3 April 2025

2. The Common Seal is used twice during a Leasehold Land Sale, once on the Sale and Purchase Agreement and once on the Land Transfer document. More often than not, there is a delay between the second issue (Land Transfer document) of the Common Seal per property. This delay could result in the second issue of the Seal not appearing until the following month.

3 There were no sales. The current numbers of Leasehold properties owned by Council are:

3.1 No cross lease properties were freeholded, with 60 remaining on Council’s books

3.2 No single leasehold properties were freeholded, with 73 remaining on Council’s books.

Decision-making considerations

4. Council is required to make every decision in accordance with the provisions of Sections 77, 78, 80, 81 and 82 of the Local Government Act 2002 (the Act). Staff have assessed the requirements contained within these sections of the Act in relation to this item and have concluded the following:

4.1 Sections 97 and 88 of the Act do not apply.

4.2 Council can exercise its discretion under Section 79(1)(a) and 82(3) of the Act and make a decision on this issue without conferring directly with the community or others due to the nature and significance of the issue to be considered and decided.

4.3 That the decision to apply the Common Seal reflects previous policy or other decisions of Council which (where applicable) will have been subject to the Act’s required decision-making process.

Recommendations

That Hawke’s Bay Regional Council:

5. 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 or persons likely to have an interest in the decision.

6. Confirms the action to affix the Common Seal.

Authored by:

Vanessa Fauth

Finance Manager

Diane Wisely

Executive Assistant

Approved by:

Nic Peet

Chief Executive

Attachment/s

There are no attachments for this report.

HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

Wednesday 30 April 2025

Subject: Update on the progress of implementing recommendations from the HB Independent Flood Review (HBIFR)

Reason for report

1. This item presents the Hawke’s Bay Independent Flood Review (HBIFR) recommendations first quarterly progress report (Q3 January - March 2025) and is intended for information only.

2. This report aims to provide Council with an update of the HBIFR programme, and how the 6 priority projects relating to monitoring, reporting and communication, approved by Council to proceed in December 2024, are progressing.

3. The report also includes a pipeline view of all the projects that sit under the HBIFR Programme, as well as the updated status of each recommendation.

4. The criteria of the ‘assessment and verification’ of the HBIFR Programme by independent auditors has also been outlined in this report for reference.

Executive summary

5. This is the first quarterly report for the HBIFR Programme.

6. The implementation of the HBIFR recommendations is coordinated by the Asset Management Recovery Team, which was established to coordinate this work and to provide progress reporting to Council.

7. The focus of this report is to provide regular reporting of the 6 priority projects relating to monitoring, reporting and communication. It also includes a high-level status of all projects relating to this programme.

8. Further to that, a full status report of each of the recommendations is maintained and attached as an appendix (see Appendix 1).

9. It was agreed by Council at the 18 December 2024 meeting that the programme is to be independently verified to ensure that an appropriate process has been followed and that work completed gives effect to the recommendations of the HBIFR report. Identification of suitable provider for this work is now complete.

Background

10. The HBIFR was commissioned by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council to investigate the circumstances and contributing factors that led to the flooding in the Hawke’s Bay region during Cyclone Gabrielle. The report was received by the Regional Council on 31 July 2024. It is a comprehensive 249-page document, with 47 recommendations split into 7 focus areas.

11. Only recommendations that sit directly within HBRC’s area of responsibility have been included; this does not venture into areas under the responsibility of HB CDEM or central government agencies.

12. HBRC staff analysed the report to identify key outcomes and deliverables needed to give effect to each recommendation. This was then linked to areas of work either already completed, underway or required by Regional Council and layered with other data such as funding status and source, timescale, complexity and teams responsible for leading this work. This analysis also helped to identify areas of work relating to improving public safety, that Council directed the Asset Management Recovery Team to prioritise.

13. A proposed work programme that included further scoping of new projects that targeting areas of improvement relating to monitoring, reporting and communication was then developed.

14. Six new priority projects were proposed for funding through the 2025-26 Annual Plan. These were:

14.1. Extreme Weather Hub

The hub is to provide the public with easily accessible information and education on extreme weather risk (flood and drought). The hub will sit on the HBRC’s website and host a number of useful environmental data widgets, access to webcam footage, and links to key apps (including social media), key partner agencies and educational information that supports self-assessment of risk in an event. Phase 1 to establish the hub with existing data and key information is now complete. Phase 2 will see more tools, improved functionality, more webcams, etc. added as they become available, such as the Flood Forecasting dashboard and updated inundation maps.

14.2. Reimagining Future Flood Resilience

This large-scale engagement project is intended to take a long-term view to determine what flood resilience in Hawke’s Bay might look like in generations to come, with a focus on the Heretaunga Plains and Upper Tukituki flood control schemes. This aims to collaborate with the community and mana whenua on future options for improving flood protection within these major schemes that will be used to inform the next Long-Term Plan 2027-2037.

14.3. Trigger Levels (Pilot)

This community-centric project is being carried out collaboratively with communities and key agencies (HBRC, HBCDEM, Police, FENZ, TAs, NZDF, Hato Hone St John, MSD, Te Whatu Ora and other emergency response support agencies) to formalise trigger levels and inform future evacuation plans. This will be worked through collaboratively at a community level (with identified pilot communities) and aims to produce a framework for evacuation protocols that can then be rolled out across the region. The technical modelling and identification of trigger levels will be led by HBRC, and the coordination of preparing and activating evacuations, based on each community’s level of risk and agreed trigger level activation points, will be led by HBCDEM and TAs, supported by the partner agencies.

14.4. Flood Forecasting System

This project has two phases. The first will focus on moving the forecasting system on to a new platform to make it more robust and resilient for the future, and to develop a public-facing interface that can sit on the Extreme Weather Hub. The second phase will look to advance the data by moving to envelope modelling rather than a forecast model.

14.5. Hazard Portal Upgrade Business Case

The Hazard Portal is the primary platform through which the Hawke's Bay community can view regional and property hazard data. Since its inception the community interest in hazard information has grown and the regulatory requirements for local government to provide access to natural hazard information is changing. This project will review the governance and management of the portal and options for a fit-for purpose Portal that aligns with requirements and community expectations.

14.6. Bylaws to protect flood infrastructure

The establishment of Bylaws is one mechanism that the Regional Council can utilise to protect its infrastructure assets from damage, or unintended consequences of activities undertaken on or close to those assets.

Independent verification of HBIFR programme

15. This work will assess and validate the analysis process to ensure recommendations have been understood and actions give appropriate effect. It will undertake a gap analysis to ensure no actions have been missed, and it will evaluate if work is complete, and the recommendation has been achieved.

16. This work will commence in July 2025, when funding becomes available.

Strategic fit

17. This work directly contributes to the achievement of Regional Council’s infrastructure and services focus area, specifically sustainable and climate-resilient services and infrastructure.

HBIFR programme reporting

18. The table below gives a progress update on the 6 projects approved by Council that address the key priority areas identified (monitoring, communication and public education).

*Risk is inherent vs residual risk (i.e., RAG status prior to mitigations and controls implemented).

Project		Schedule	Risks*	Budget	Comments	Status
1	Extreme Weather Hub				Phase 1 of the Extreme Weather Hub project is complete, with the new hub ready to go-live early April. This sits on the HBRC website (#extreme-weather-hub). The hub is populated with a range of tools, interactive widgets, webcams, educational animations, links and FAQs. The hub has been shared with other councils, HBCDEM and other key partners. Public feedback will be collected through a built-in survey on the hub. Phase 2 is due to commence in July.	Update 11 April 2025
2	Reimagining Flood Resilience				The governance structure was agreed by Council and a clear strategic direction was given at the meeting on 26 March 2025 by Council. Formal invitations have been extended to the TAs and PSGEs for their operational staff to be part of the Technical Advisory Group. The first meeting of which is scheduled for 30 April. Options are being considered for the delivery of Phase 2, including external resourcing. This is due to the scale of the engagement, timing and resourcing requirements needed to execute this work. Procurement processes are therefore underway. Risks include the timing due the scale of the engagement requirements, and need for meaningful collaboration, as the capacity and capability of key partners and project support workforce could cause delays.	Update 11 April 2025
3	Trigger Levels				An initial meeting with key partner organisations was well received and gathered strong support and buy-in for this project. A working group has been established between key agencies. Pilot sites have been identified but will require community engagement as a first step before areas can be confirmed and further work on the project progresses. HBRC’s Asset Management Recovery Team will lead the coordination of this project, but it will be chaired by CDEM. The main risk is the resourcing across all agencies, and community engagement aspects.	Update 11 April 2025
4	Flood Forecasting System				This project has been accelerated to be included on Weather Hub as soon as possible. Work is underway to determine the best solutions for the long-term security and stability of the Flood Forecasting System and how this data will be presented to the public as a flood monitoring tool. Project risks include the timing versus the capacity of the Asset Management engineers to support this project with competing responsibilities and priorities.	Update 11 April 2025
5	Hazard Portal (Business Case)				The development of the business case will commence when funding in July becomes available. The business case is then expected to be presented to Council in October.	Update 11 April 2025
6	Bylaws to protect flood infrastructure				This project is underway and has been fully scoped and planned. A bylaw was agreed by Council (February 2025 Regional Council meeting) as being the most appropriate option to provide extra protection to flood control assets based on analysis included in the initial Bylaw Report. A public notice on Plan Change 9 update was therefore issued following this decision. Mapping of all assets across all schemes need to be included in the draft bylaw, along with new standards for particular activities (required distances, etc.). Local-specific issues must also be identified. An extra FTE will need to be brought in by July to support this work, to ensure delivery by mid-2026.	Update 11 April 2025

Updated HBIFR programme timeline (larger format attached in Appendices)

HBIFR recommendation programme status overview

19. The first quarterly update demonstrates a proactive response to the recommendations of the HBIFR report. Work is progressing at pace on the 6 priority projects, as staff are leveraging from existing resources and budgets ahead of funding (subject to the adoption of the annual plan) to accelerate this important work.

20. Priority projects are predominantly community-facing to enable strong collaboration with communities and mana whenua. The priority projects are aimed at reducing risk and increasing public safety through the improvement of monitoring, reporting and communicating flood risks, and working together to reimagine future flood resilience within the region.

21. From 1 July an external consultant will begin their assessment and verification process that aims to give assurance that the correct process has been followed to develop this programme, recommendations have been well understood and appropriate actions are being taken.

22. Appendix 1 to this report provides a status overview of the HBIFR programme, lists each individual recommendation from the HBIFR in a status report, and links the individual recommendations to a project or existing workstream where applicable.

Recommendation

That the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council receives and notes the Update on the progress of implementing recommendations from the HB Independent Flood Review (HBIFR) staff report.

Authored by:

Julie-Anne MacPhee

Programme Manager for Recovery - Asset Management

Louise McPhail

Manager Recovery (Asset Management)

Approved by:

Chris Dolley

Group Manager Asset Management

Attachment/s