Agenda of Extraordinary Council Meeting

Extraordinary Council Meeting Agenda

3 March 2020

COUNCIL MEMBERS REGISTER OF INTERESTS

Name	Responsibility (i.e. Chairperson etc)	Declaration of Interests	Nature of Potential Interest	Member's Proposed Management Plan
Hon Mayor John Carter QSO	Board Member of the Local Government Protection Programme	Board Member of the Local Government Protection Program
Hon Mayor John Carter QSO	Carter Family Trust
Deputy Mayor Ann Court	Waipapa Business Association	Member		Case by case
	Warren Pattinson Limited	Shareholder	Building company. FNDC is a regulator and enforcer	Case by case
	Kerikeri Irrigation	Supplies my water		No
	Top Energy	Supplies my power		No other interest greater than the publics
	District Licensing	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Top Energy Consumer Trust	Trustee	Crossover in regulatory functions, consenting economic development and contracts such as street lighting.	Declare interest and abstain from voting.
	Ann Court Trust	Private	Private	N/A
	Waipapa Rotary	Honorary member	Potential community funding submitter	Declare interest and abstain from voting.
	Properties on Onekura Road, Waipapa	Owner Shareholder	Any proposed FNDC Capital works or policy change which may have a direct impact (positive/adverse)	Declare interest and abstain from voting.
	Property on Daroux Dr, Waipapa	Financial interest	Any proposed FNDC Capital works or policy change which may have a direct impact (positive/adverse)	Declare interest and abstain from voting.
	Flowers and gifts	Ratepayer 'Thankyou'	Bias/ Pre-determination?	Declare to Governance
	Coffee and food	Ratepayers sometimes 'shout' food and beverage	Bias or pre-determination	Case by case
	Staff	N/A	Suggestion of not being impartial or pre-determined!	Be professional, due diligence, weigh the evidence. Be thorough, thoughtful, considered impartial and balanced. Be fair.
	Warren Patteinson	My husband is a builder and may do work for Council staff		Case by case
Ann Court - Partner	Warren Pattinson Limited	Director	Building Company. FNDC is a regulator	Remain at arm’s length
	Air NZ	Shareholder	None	None
	Warren Pattinson Limited	Builder	FNDC is the consent authority, regulator and enforcer.	Apply arm’s length rules
	Property on Onekura Road, Waipapa	Owner	Any proposed FNDC capital work in the vicinity or rural plan change. Maybe a link to policy development.	Would not submit. Rest on a case by case basis.
David Clendon	Chairperson – He Waka Eke Noa Charitable Trust	None		Declare if any issue arises
	Member of Vision Kerikeri	None		Declare if any issue arrises
	Joint owner of family home in Kerikeri	Hall Road, Kerikeri
David Clendon – Partner	Resident Shareholder on Kerikeri Irrigation
David Collard	Snapper Bonanza 2011 Limited	45% Shareholder and Director
David Collard	Trustee of Te Ahu Charitable Trust	Council delegate to this board
Felicity Foy	Director - Northland Planning & Development	I am the director of a planning and development consultancy that is based in the Far North and have two employees. Property owner of Commerce Street, Kaitaia		I will abstain from any debate and voting on proposed plan change items for the Far North District Plan.
				I will declare a conflict of interest with any planning matters that relate to resource consent processing, and the management of the resource consents planning team.
				I will not enter into any contracts with Council for over $25,000 per year. I have previously contracted to Council to process resource consents as consultant planner.
	Flick Trustee Ltd	I am the director of this company that is the company trustee of Flick Family Trust that owns properties on Weber Place, Seaview Road, and Allen Bell Drive.
	Elbury Holdings Limited	This company is directed by my parents Fiona and Kevin King.	This company owns several dairy and beef farms, and also dwellings on these farms. The Farms and dwellings are located in the Far North at Kaimaumau, Bird Road/Sandhills Rd, Wireless Road/ Puckey Road/Bell Road, the Awanui Straight and Allen Bell Drive.
	Foy Farms partnership	Owner and partner in Foy Farms - a farm in three titles on Church Road, Kaingaroa
	Foy Farms Rentals	Owner and rental manager of Foy Farms Rentals for 6 dwellings on Church Road, Kaingaroa and 2 dwelling on Allen Bell Drive, Kaitaia, and 1 property on North Road, Kaitaia
	King Family Trust	This trust owns several titles/properties at Cable Bay, Seaview Rd/State Highway 10 and Ahipara - Panorama Lane.	These trusts own properties in the Far North.
	Previous employment at FNDC 2007-16	I consider the staff members at FNDC to be my friends
Felicity Foy - Partner	Employed by Justaplumber Taipa
Felicity Foy - Partner	Friends with some FNDC employees
Mate Radich	No form received
Rachel Smith	Friends of Rolands Wood Charitable Trust	Trustee
	Mid North Family Support	Trustee
	Bay of Islands Amateur Swimming Club	Committee Member
	Property Owner	Kerikeri
	Friends who work at Far North District Council
	Kerikeri Cruising Club	Subscription Member
Rachel Smith (Partner)	Property Owner	Kerikeri
	Friends who work at Far North District Council
	Kerikeri Cruising Club	Subscription Member
Kelly Stratford	KS Bookkeeping and Administration	Business Owner, provides book keeping, administration and development of environmenta management plans	None perceived	Step aside from decisions that arise, that may have conflicts
	Waikare Marae Trustees	Trustee	Maybe perceived conflicts	Case by case basis
	Bay of Islands College	Parent Elected Trustee	None perceived	If there was a conflict, I will step aside from decision making
	Karetu School	Parent Elected Trustee	None perceived	If there was a conflict, I will step aside from decision making
	Maori title land – Moerewa and Waikare	Beneficiary and husband is a shareholder	None perceived	If there was a conflict, I will step aside from decision making
	Sister is employed by Far North District Council			Wil not discuss work/governance mattes that are confidential
	Gifts - food and beverages	Residents and ratepayers may ‘shout’ food and beverage	Perceived bias or predetermination	Case by case basis
Kelly Stratford - Partner	Chef and Barista	Opua Store	None perceived
Kelly Stratford - Partner	Maori title land – Moerewa	Shareholder	None perceived	If there was a conflict of interest I would step aside from decision making
Moko Tepania	Teacher at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Kaikohe.	Potential Council funding that will benefit my place of employment.		Declare a perceived conflict
	Chairperson at Te Reo o Te Tai Tokerau Trust.	Potential Council funding for events that this trust runs.		Declare a perceived conflict
	Tribal Member – Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa	As a descendent of Te Rarawa I could have a perceived conflict of interest in Te Rarawa Council relations.		Declare a perceived conflict
	Tribal Member - Te Rūnanga o Whaingaroa	As a descendent of Te Rūnanga o Whaingaroa I could have a perceived conflict of interest in Te Rūnanga o Whaingaroa Council relations.		Declare a perceived conflict
	Tribal Member – Kahukuraariki Trust Board	As a descendent of Kahukuraariki Trust Board I could have a perceived conflict of interest in Kahukuraariki Trust Board Council relations.		Declare a perceived conflict
	Tribal Member – Te Rūnanga ā-Iwi o Ngāpuhi	As a descendent of Te Rūnanga ā-Iwi o Ngāpuhi I could have a perceived conflict of interest in Te Rūnanga ā-Iwi o Ngāpuhi Council relations.		Declare a perceived conflict
John Vujcich	Board Member	Pioneer Village	Matters relating to funding and assets	Declare interest and abstain
	Director	Waitukupata Forest Ltd	Potential for council activity to directly affect its assets	Declare interest and abstain
	Director	Rural Service Solutions Ltd	Matters where council regulatory function impact of company services	Declare interest and abstain
	Director	Kaikohe (Rau Marama) Community Trust	Potential funder	Declare interest and abstain
	Partner	MJ & EMJ Vujcich	Matters where council regulatory function impacts on partnership owned assets	Declare interest and abstain
	Member	Kaikohe Rotary Club	Potential funder, or impact on Rotary projects	Declare interest and abstain
	Member	New Zealand Institute of Directors	Potential provider of training to Council	Declare a Conflict of Interest
	Member	Institute of IT Professionals	Unlikely, but possible provider of services to Council	Declare a Conflict of Interest
	Member	Kaikohe Business Association	Possible funding provider	Declare a Conflict of Interest

Extraordinary Council Meeting Agenda

3 March 2020

5 Reports

5.1 Consideration of Community Board Chairpersons at Committee Meetings

File Number: A2844946

Author: Aisha Huriwai, Team Leader Democracy Services

Authoriser: William J Taylor MBE, General Manager - Corporate Services

Purpose of the Report

To provide Council with an opportunity to consider positions for Community Board Chairpersons at Council Committee meetings.

Executive Summary

· Council established 5 Committees at its 19 December 2019 Council meeting.

· At the meeting a suggestion was made that Community Board Chairpersons should be appointed to Committees with voting rights.

· Council resolved to signal a desire to have Community Board Chairs appointed to Committees with voting rights and referred the discussion to a workshop.

· Council held a workshop Wednesday 29 January 2020.

· This report summarises the discussion from the workshop and presents options to increase Community Board participation in committee meetings.

Recommendation

That Council agree that Community Board Members;

a) Are welcome to attend any Council Committee meeting.

b) Reports that affect a Community (or communities) will include a comment from Community Board(s).

c) Community Board Chairpersons will continue to have speaking rights at Council meetings.

1) Background

Council set up its new Governance Structure and subsequently decided to workshop the role that Community Board Chairpersons could play in assisting good local decision making. Our settlement patterns and demography mean that Community Boards have a valuable role to play in bringing local insight into our decision-making processes. Unlike council as a whole, Community Boards have a specific role in the Local Government Act as follows:

a) represent, and act as an advocate for, the interests of its community;

b) consider and report on all matters referred to it by the territorial authority, or any matter of interest or concern to the community board;

c) maintain an overview of services provided by the territorial authority within the community;

d) prepare an annual submission to the territorial authority for expenditure within the community;

e) communicate with community organisations and special interest groups within the community; and

f) undertake any other responsibilities that are delegated to it by the territorial authority.

The Council discussed in a workshop with Community Board Chairpersons options for how to maximise Community Board participation in committee meetings while respecting their specific statutory role.

Maintaining a healthy tension between the advocacy role of Community Boards and the primary decision-making role of Council is essential to well-functioning local democracy. These are markedly different roles and the difference is reflected in the levels of remuneration of Council and Community Board members.

2) Discussion and Options

At the workshop there was discussion around the following points:

Attendees noted that Community Boards are autonomous. As advocates for the community maintaining a degree of separation between decision makers helps them to fulfil their role.

Council agree that Community Boards are of value and Community Boards should be making more decisions as expert leaders in their communities.

It was noted that the Act provides opportunity for the Council to appoint independent members if the Council is of the opinion that the person has the skills, attributes or knowledge to assist the committee.

Community Board Chairpersons, when asked said they wanted to be appointed with voting rights, they find the discussion at Committee meetings of value for them as Community Board Chairpersons and felt that if they were to attend and speak at Committee meetings, that they should have full voting rights as well.

Where Community Boards have significant delegation from Council their remuneration can be increased. The additional remuneration however needs to come from the remuneration pool allocated to Councillors, and the remuneration is added to the Board rather than just the chairperson.

It was explained that there are other mechanisms for seeking Community Board views on Council matters. It is already best practise for a report to include a comment from the relevant Community Board for a view. There is a Councillor appointed to each Community Board to help pass information between Community Board and Council. Community Board members are welcome to attend any meeting of the Local Authority (Council or Committee).

Councillors discussed that appointments to Committees needed to be skill/knowledge based and that one rule needed to apply to all Community Board Chairpersons, regardless of the person who holds, or could hold the position in future.

During the previous triennium there were issues with attendance at Committee meetings, which meant that often Community Board Chairpersons were required to attend to make quorum, meaning that on occasion Community Board Chairpersons, who are elected to represent sections of the district were making recommendations as a Committee to Council.

Community Board Chairpersons are elected from subdivisions, and have declared to represent a Community, where a Councillor is elected from a Community and has declared to represent the district. While Chairpersons present agreed that if appointed to Committee meetings they would vote with the district in mind, however there is no written obligation to do so.

Options

The options discussed at the workshop are shown in the table below. Members will note that the first four elements are common across all options and were well supported by those that attended the workshop.

Options	1	2	3	4
Inclusive meetings, anyone can attend	ü	ü	ü	ü
Reports that affect a community (or communities) will include comment from Community Board(s)	ü	ü	ü	ü
Council representatives appointed to Community Boards	ü	ü	ü	ü
Community Board Chairpersons will continue to have speaking rights at Council meetings	ü	ü	ü	ü
Community Board Chairpersons will have a standing invitation to Committee meetings and speaking rights		ü	ü	ü
Community Board Chairpersons are expected to present reports from their communities’ perspective on place-specific agenda items			ü	ü
Community Board Chairpersons appointed to Committees with full voting rights				ü

This report recommends option 1. The reason for recommending option 1 is that it gives ample opportunity for Community Board Chairpersons to give effect to their statutory responsibilities to advocate on behalf of the local communities they represent.

If Council agree that Community Board Chairpersons, regardless of the persons that hold each role, add value to the Committee decision making then agreement needs to be reached of the appropriate level of involvement. Consideration also needs to be given to whether it is appropriate for all Committees or just for particular Committees.

Giving Community Board chairpersons additional powers is technically complex, to assist the Council in supporting another option, the following legally compliant motions are provided that would support an alternative decision being made.

If Council decide that option 2 is the appropriate level of involvement a motion to the effect of:

“That Council extend a standing invitation to Community Board Chairpersons to attend Committee meetings with a right to speak.”

If Council decide that option 3 is the appropriate level of involvement, a motion to the effect of:

“That Council extend a standing invitation to Community Board Chairpersons to attend Committee meetings with a right to speak, and present any reports considered by the Community Boards.”

If Council decided that option 4 is the appropriate level of involvement, a motion to the effect of:

“That Council amends the terms of references for (x, y, z) Committee (s) to include Community Board Chairpersons as members of the Committee.”

Option 4 is the only option that provides for Community Board Chairpersons to count towards quorum, participate in debate (move and vote on motions). This would also substantially increase their responsibility as they will become fully fledged committee members. Consideration may need to be given to provide these members with additional remuneration.

A review of Community Board delegations will commence shortly where Community Board members will be asked what delegations they would like, to present to Council for approval.

Reason for the recommendation

To continue providing Community Boards and their members with autonomy.

3) Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

There are no financial implications or need for budgetary provision as a result of any of the options contained in this report that are not already achievable through existing budgets.

Attachments

Nil

Compliance schedule:

Full consideration has been given to the provisions of the Local Government Act 2002 S77 in relation to decision making, in particular:

1. A Local authority must, in the course of the decision-making process,

a) Seek to identify all reasonably practicable options for the achievement of the objective of a decision; and

b) Assess the options in terms of their advantages and disadvantages; and

c) If any of the options identified under paragraph (a) involves a significant decision in relation to land or a body of water, take into account the relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral land, water sites, waahi tapu, valued flora and fauna and other taonga.

2. This section is subject to Section 79 - Compliance with procedures in relation to decisions.

Compliance requirement	Staff assessment
State the level of significance (high or low) of the issue or proposal as determined by the Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy	This is a matter of low significance.
State the relevant Council policies (external or internal), legislation, and/or community outcomes (as stated in the LTP) that relate to this decision.	The Local Government Act is referenced in the report. Council does not have any policies or community outcomes to help guide this decision.
State whether this issue or proposal has a District wide relevance and, if not, the ways in which the appropriate Community Board’s views have been sought.	Community Board Chairpersons were involved in the workshop when this was discussed.
State the possible implications for Māori and how Māori have been provided with an opportunity to contribute to decision making if this decision is significant and relates to land and/or any body of water.	There are no specific implications of this decision on Māori.
Identify persons likely to be affected by or have an interest in the matter, and how you have given consideration to their views or preferences (for example – youth, the aged and those with disabilities.	While this decision does not affect any persons as per the legislation, this may be part of the knowledge that Community Board Chairpersons could bring to the Committee table for discussion.
State the financial implications and where budgetary provisions have been made to support this decision.	There are no financial implications or need for budgetary provision.
Chief Financial Officer review.	The Chief Financial Officer has reviewed this report.

Staffing, Salaries and Training

Current Staffing Levels

Actual Full Time Equivalent (FTE) at 31 December 2019	Annual Plan Establishment (FTE)
333.68	377

We currently have over 40 vacancies either on hold or being recruited for, so this is why the actual FTE count is lower. This is expected to increase over the next 2 months with many roles being filled

Salaries and Training 2019-2020

Financial Performance as at 31 December 2019	YTD Actual	YTD Budget	YTD Actual vs Budget	Annual Budget
Salary Costs	$14,597,077	$14,468,421	-$128,656	$29,610,284
Training Costs	$241,412	$446,823	$205,411	$921,864
Trainings as a % of Salaries (Sector average is 4%)	1.7%			3.1%

Vacancies

As at 31 December 2019 FNDC held the following part time and full-time permanent vacancies:

Department	Vacancies currently being recruited (FTE)	Vacancies pending Recruitment (FTE)
CEO/Communications/People & Capabilities	1	0
Corporate Services	4	1
District Services	8	5
Infrastructure & Asset Management/NTA	1	4
Strategic Planning & Policy	1	0
FNDC TOTAL (FTE) * includes part time & full-time permanent staff	15	10

Customer Service - Communications

Media releases

Nineteen media releases were issued between 1 November and 31 December 2019 about:

· Confirmed local body election results

· Repairs to Kerikeri Road

· Councillor Ann Court’s appointment as Deputy Mayor

· The treatment of dogs at Council animal shelters

· The opening of nominations for a community board by-election

· Increased water restrictions for Kaikohe

· The demolition of Kerikeri Domain pavilion

· Improvements to Council’s online services

· Two resource consent decisions in the Bay of Islands

· Stolen equipment from a Council playground in Kaitaia

· The donation of confiscated audio equipment to Hospice Mid-Northland

· A new online, interactive map featuring district reserves

· The closure of a section of the Opua-Paihia walkway following a fall by a track user

· Water restrictions for South Hokianga

· Council-supported kaitiaki rangers at holiday hotspots

· Tourism Infrastructure Fund support for Council projects

· Dust suppression treatment for 50 Far North roads

· The closure of nominations for a community board by-election

· Candidates confirmed for a community board by-election.

Media enquiries

This was a quieter reporting period compared to the previous one, which was dominated by local election enquiries. This period, the team fielded 31 media enquiries. No single issue dominated, although animal management issues were again represented with three enquiries and the region’s new democracy reporter submitted seven enquiries mostly related to meeting procedures, dates and so on. Other topics included legal letters sent to Facebook administrators by the Council, fundraising sausage sizzles in Paihia, and water restrictions.

Other outputs

Other outputs during the reporting period included:

· We ran a public information stand at the Bay of Islands Pastoral & Industrial Show on 9 November. The stand was focused on the Speed Limits Bylaw Review consultation, which attracted a total of 166 submissions.

· Promotional materials publicising the Speed Limits Bylaw Review

· One Kerikeri Wastewater Project full-page newspaper advert

· One Kerikeri Wastewater Project newsletter sent to 2000 properties

· 32 Facebook posts on a range of issues, including a broadband speed survey, the FNDC reserves interactive map, Kaikohe’s new basketball court, and the Council’s new website.

· The FNDC Facebook page achieved a total reach* of 70,434 during the reporting period. (*The number of people who had FNDC posts enter their screen).

· Four issues of Great People, a fortnightly newsletter that celebrates Council staff and their achievements on behalf of elected members and communities.

Strategy - Planning

Annual Plan

Work continues on the Annual Plan for 2020/21 with a Council decision to consult on key departures from the corresponding Long-Term Plan (LTP) year. The timeline has been amended accordingly, with a consultation document to be tabled for adoption at the February 2020 Council meeting. Consultation will be carried out in March-April 2020 (including hearings) with deliberations in May 2020 prior to adoption of the final Annual Plan before the end of June 2020.

Long Term Plan

Planning for the 2021-31 LTP is now well underway. Along side getting underway with the many sub-elements of the process, a cross-Council collaboration to design an effective engagement programme starting in the first quarter of this year gained traction prior to the Christmas break. The first opportunity to workshop the timeline and critical elements of the LTP is towards the end of February 2020 at which time a critical path and project plan will be presented.

Revenue Review

A workshop with Elected Members in November resulted in a decision to withdraw from an LTP amendment this year in favor of aligning the remaining work of the review with the next LTP so that the community could be fully engaged in the process, and Council could feel confident that the result is fit for purpose and as affordable and sustainable as possible in the short, medium and long-term.

Strategy Development, Bylaws and Policies

Far North 2100 District Strategy

A discussion document on the District Strategy was developed and sent to attendees of the June 2019 Summit. Feedback on the document closed on 6 December 2019 with two agencies requesting a meeting with staff on the content of the discussion document.

Work has commenced on an initial list of transformation opportunities for the draft strategy that will be the subject of a joint collaborative workshop between iwi and hapū partners and the Council in the first quarter of 2020. The output of these workshops will be a draft strategy for consultation in mid-2020.

District Transport Strategy

A workshop for the Integrated Transport Plan with key stakeholders and partners was held on 12 November 2019. This is aligned with what is required by NZTA for our submission into the Regional Land Transport Plan in June 2020.

An online survey was also undertaken prior to Christmas to capture the views of elected members and all other stakeholders on potential transport projects and activities. Draft option programmes are now being developed for consideration at follow up programme development workshops which have been scheduled for 18February 2020.

Climate Change

Work has commenced on the development of a roadmap that addresses mitigation and adaptation for climate change, with the goal of presenting this roadmap to the Strategy and Policy Committee on 5 May 2020. This will include an assessment of best practice approaches by other councils and what the obligations are anticipated to be for Council under the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill that passed into law on 13 November 2019.

A contractor has been engaged to commence a carbon footprint assessment of Council activities. This work commenced in January 2020 and will be identified as the first tranche of work on the roadmap.

Bylaw Programme

Staff have refined Council’s bylaw development processes and procedures based on guidance from the Society of Local Government Managers. This is being applied to the review of the bylaws that have been identified as being revoked.

Staff are working on bylaw option analysis papers for each of the revoked Bylaws. These papers will present regulatory and non-regulatory options aimed at addressing the problems that the revoked bylaws originally considered when they were first developed. These papers will initially be presented to the Regulatory Committee on the 24^th of March before going to Council.

Reserves Programme

An audit of all reserves in the District was released to the public via a geographical information system mapping layer in December 2020. Staff are receiving feedback from internal departments and public on the accuracy and correctness of this information.

A reserves manual is under development. The manual will guide all staff in Council on the processes and procedures for the acquisition, changing of designation and the disposal of reserve land that is under the control of Council. The intent of the manual is to capture processes and identify roles and responsibilities internally on the administration of reserve land. The manual is scheduled to be circulated to staff by June 2020.

The existing reserves policy and revoked reserves bylaw are also under review in alignment with the Bylaw Programme.

Northland Water Storage

Northland Regional Council is leading a study of opportunities for water storage to address summer dry conditions below the level that can sustain crops in Northland. The Provincial Growth Fund approved $11 million of further funding to this project in the last quarter of the 2019 calendar year.

This project is in a pre-feasibility phase. The outcome of this phase will be the recommendation to the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment of the preferred site in Northland for investment in water storage infrastructure.

Strategic Relationships Survey

Contact details for each of Council’s strategic partners and stakeholders are being updated and captured in our contact management system. A plan to individually interview key contacts at each strategic partner and stakeholder is being developed. The execution of this plan will align with other activities with the strategic stakeholders and partners.

Iwi/ Hapῡ Relationships

Staff supported Te Puni Kokiri in trial areas of Kaeo, Hokianga and Te Kao to support Māori and Whenua Māori development. This project developed by Te Puni Kokiri and the Department of Justice (Māori Land Court) seeks to assist Māori to develop their land for economic benefit.

Staff are supporting Ngāti Kuri with their annual biennial Pupuri Mauhanga (biodiversity audit) covering the upper west coast of their tribal rohe. This is done in conjunction with Auckland Museum, Canterbury Museum, Department of Conservation, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Landcare (Manaaki Whenua), Auckland University and Massey University as well as a number of independent scientists.

To strengthen relationships with Iwi authorities, Te Hono are trialing assisting iwi authorities one day a week. The objective of this initiative is to provide an interface between Council and the Iwi Authority and to offer up capacity where capacity is lacking. Ngāti Kuri and Ngaitakoto have been offered this placement with Ngati Kuri taking up the offer and Ngaitakoto will get back to us.

Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē Board met during December to consider the draft initial format for the Beach Management Plan which was presented by the Technical Steering Group and consultants. The Board agreed to the suggested format and have asked that an initial pre-draft document be prepared and tabled at the January 2020 meeting.

The Board also agreed to a summer consultation campaign that was led by iwi. The campaign ran through December and January and included kaitiaki on the beach talking to users and raising awareness about the Board and its work. This information will be analysed and presented to the Board at its January meeting for consideration.

Community Wellbeing

Community Development

The Kai Ora funding programme Far North District Council Community Development staff co-founded with a local health provider in 2015 won an award at the Economic Development New Zealand Gala Awards in Blenheim last November. The Fund, which has now grown to six partnering agencies across Northland, was rewarded with the Commendation for Inclusive Growth.

Staff facilitated a Disability Action Group meeting and annual strategic workshop in Kerikeri which was attended by over twenty community representatives. Staff also worked across Council to compile information and complete the Local Government Accessibility survey from the Office for Disability Issues.

Staff continue to work with Northland Inc to discuss the potential establishment of a Dark Sky Reserve in the Far North to boost tourism in the district.

Staff supported the Shine On Te Hiku Youth Awards held on 21November 2019, an event sponsored by the Youth Council's Tū Taitamariki Ora project, funded by Ministry of Youth Development.

Mangahawea Bay featured in the Tuia 250 program as a place of significance highlighting a very early settlement site. Archaeologists and students from Victoria, Auckland and Waikato Universities are working on the site uncovering more evidence that links back to Manuhiki in the Northern Cook Islands and Tahiti. Council staff, DOC and Heritage & Culture are part of the advisory group on this project, that also comprises representatives from Department of Conservation and Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

Staff continue to work in partnership to help to facilitate a bid to purchase Elliot’s farm by the Ipipiri Conservancy Trust. The aim is to join Māori lands with private and public lands to protect the nature and heritage values of the eastern Bay of Islands and to build a more resilient economic platform for local rural communities.

Community Placemaking

The Northland Digital Enablement Group worked with NZTA and Ngāti Kahu on the Taipa bridge upgrade project. The partnership resulted in Wi-Fi enabled smart lights being installed on the bridge. The bridge was opened in December 2019 and the pilot network is being well used by both visitors and locals. The success of this pilot will support the establishment of more public Wi-Fi networks across the region.

Te Hononga Project in Kawakawa is progressing well as council staff continue to facilitate meetings between the Kawakawa Hundertwasser Trust and council staff from across the business. The building is on track for a completion date in June 2020.

The Kaikohe Basketball project is completed, and the court is proving popular with local youth. The court has become a focal point for a redesign of Memorial Park to harmonise other aspects of the domain to build an attractive and user-friendly community asset.

District Planning

District Plan Review

Spatial planning is progressing across several topics along with analysis of data via geographic information systems, informing the understanding of the scale and significance of resource management issues. This is assisting with the further development of draft s32 reports which examine and assess the benefits and costs, and risks of new policies and rules on the community, the economy and the environment.

A dashboard to collate data regarding demand for housing and business land will contribute to a diverse range of tools that can assist and inform the making of the new plan. These tools to assess demand follow the Guidelines for Evidence and Monitoring set out by the Ministry for the Environment associated with the National Policy Statement for Urban Development Capacity and other Council planning processes in determining the sufficiency of development capacity (land supply with infrastructure) for housing and business land to meet the expected demands of the district.

Indigenous Biodiversity Identification and Mapping Project

Northland territorial authorities are working collaboratively on a project to identify vegetation considered to be ‘Significant Natural Areas’. This is a requirement of the Regional Policy Statement for Northland.

Project mapping has been completed to a draft stage for the Far North, with a set of maps provided to Council for initial feedback. Further refinement of the mapping will be undertaken followed by ground truthing site visits this year. A programme for engagement will then take place. Ideally, this would occur against the backdrop of the release of the draft National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity (NPS-IB) which was notified by the Ministry for the Environment in late December 2020. Confirmation of mapping will be followed by assessment against significance criteria and subsequent consultation with potentially affected landowners.

The District Plan team has also been accepted to join a group of fifteen other Councils in providing more specific feedback on the potential implications of implementing the proposed NPS-IB. This road testing exercise is seeking information on potential costs, resourcing, and likely community sentiment.

Northland Forward Together

Below is a snapshot of the active Northland Forward Together projects that are being progressed by Northland Councils. Priorities are:

· The Waters

· Climate Change

· Regional Economic Development

· Refinement of Northland Transports Alliance (NTA)

Northland Forward Together – Snapshot of individual project status and action 31 December 2019

Projects

Lead

Status

Actions to be taken

Regional ICT Programme

FNDC

In Progress

ICT is currently focused on the NTA and a proof of concept to deliver communication and document management tools.

Four Waters

WDC

In Progress

Taumata Arowai – The Water Services Regulator Bill, is currently in Select Committee. Submissions are currently being called for and close 4 March 2020. The Bill establishes Taumata Arowai – The Water Services Regulator as a new Crown Agent and provides for its objectives, functions, operating principles and governance arrangements.

The bill is part of a broader package of reforms to the three waters regulatory system and will be complemented by a separate Bill that will give effect to decisions to implement system-wide reforms of the regulation of drinking water and source water and targeted reforms to improve the regulation, and performance of wastewater and stormwater networks.

Climate Change

KDC

In progress

The Te Taitokerau Councils Climate Change Adaptation Group reported to the CE Forum on the 3 February re:

Proposed climate change messages

The group’s current focus on delivery an adaptation strategy August 2020

The strategy will outline a ten-year work programme and funding for the 21-31 LTP

A small number of pilot community adaptation planning projects

A communication and engagement plan in progress

A Maori engagement plan is being developed with internal Maori advisors and advisory groups

A new governance structure - inter-council joint standing committee

A Maori adaptation technical advisory group

Hazard Mapping – this is underway and will include coastal erosion and coastal flooding, and extreme sea level rise scenario of 1.52M to be included in regional hazard maps for category A development.

Regional Economic Development

FNDC

In Progress

A formal report was presented to the Mayoral Forum 29 May 2019 proposing two staged approach for the future delivery of regional economic development services.

Further work has been completed by CEs and management to put forward a proposal based on the recommendations of the 2017 Martin Jenkins Review, together with consideration to level of funding and shareholding by the District Councils, the timing of public consultation that is aligned to the 2021-31 LTP.

The development of a regional economic development strategy is recommended to be developed alongside moving the present-day Northland Inc. to a regional service delivery organisation. Funding and consultation would need be aligned to the 2021-31 LTP and be completed under Northland|Forward Together.

A proposal on the future delivery of regional economic development services for Northland is planned to be made to the Mayoral Forum 24 February 2020.

Corporate

Governance

Local Body Elections

The by-election for the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Kerikeri subdivision seat is underway with voting concluding at noon on Tuesday 18^th February 2020. Six candidates are contesting the vacancy.

Induction of Elected Members

The induction programme has been well attended by elected members with good feedback throughout. ‘Induction’ sessions that remain are:

· Far North 2100

· District Plan

· Te Ao Maori

· Combined Community Board / Council workshop

· Community Board delegations workshop

· Asset discussion

iPad Trial

iPads have been provided to early adopters ahead of implementing digital agendas and a digital “working space” for members.

Transformation, Audit and Risk

Audit and Assurance

Two audits have been completed TechnologyOne User Access to ensure Chief Executive financial delegations to staff are entered correctly into the TechnologyOne system and Conflict of Interest Management to provide assurance that conflicts of interest are being managed for new and existing staff.

Further research to develop a council Legislative Compliance Framework has been completed. This has highlighted that there are a variety of systems approaches which we are now assessing. A draft assurance and audit calendar for 2020 is to be presented to the Strategic Leadership Team for their approval in March 2020.

Risk

Staff have facilitated workshops on the development of treatment plans for all organisation’s top twelve risks. We are now in the phase where regular reporting of the risks associated, and treatment plans place.

A programme of deep dive workshops is planned for these risks. The first of two deep dive workshops for ARF005 Affordability risk has been completed, with the second workshop to be scheduled.

An elected member workshop is also to be scheduled to cover the FNDC Risk Management Framework.

Transformation

There are also a number of transformation work programmes within the organisation. The outcome of these initiatives is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our organisation to support our goal of to be a progressive Council. A sample of initiatives underway are:

· IAM Business Process Support, phase two

· Resource Consents, Vision 20/20

· Customer experience collaboration

· CouncilMARK initiative #33 Top twelve Risk Treatment Programme Action Plan and Reporting; #34 Process Management Framework Action Plan and Reporting; and #11 Risk Management Action Plan and Reporting

· Business Continuity Plan refresh

· Climate Change Action Forum

· Customer and digital collaborative working group

· Relationship workshop, Te Hiku Community Board / Kaitaia Business Association

· Innovation Workforce Planning initiative

Information Services and Technology

Property File Digitisation Project

The Property File Digitisation Project is seven months ahead of schedule and is almost complete. Indications are that the final files will be processed in January 2020 with February used to capture any last processing and close out of the project with Councils vendor.

Property File Requests:

· October – 532 requests

· November – 336 requests

· December – 225 requests

The forecast amount was estimated at the start of the project when the property files were physically sent to the vendor, since then the amount of files processed has exceeded the forecasted number. The forecast line was established using a straight line per month processing number. Over the course of the project the vendors have refined the process and as a result of this, the monthly amount of processed files has increased.

Server and Network Project – Contract Approved – Implementation Underway

At its November 2019 meeting, the Council approved implementation of the Server and Network renewal project. This is a foundational project to enable other Digital/IT related initiatives that will increase staff productivity.

Office 365 Project – 50% of Council on Office 365

Work is progressing with the upgrade and migration to Microsoft Office 365 platform. This includes several end-user application/service upgrades and changes that will be progressively rolled-out in the coming months.

We use an older version of the Office suite (2010) and the move to Office 365 will mean that Council is able to provide a more secure and feature rich toolset that will be used by all staff every day.

The platform will also provide additional options for collaborations with Northland Transport Alliance, Far North Waters, and other regional partners.

Council staff have deployed Office 365 to over 180 people. Once the Server and Network renewal projects is started, existing environment is replaced and migration to the new infrastructure is completed the remaining staff on Citrix will be migrated also (approx. 200 staff).

Planning has also started with details for migrating the telephony environment from the existing Skype for Business to the new Microsoft Team. This will also provide an improved and stable user experience for meetings and voice calls.

Shared Services – Northland Transport Alliance – Collaborative Proof of Concept

Staff have been developing a Proof of Concept (PoC) option with other regional Council teams that will provide the various teams that are linked to the NTA to have a single working environment. The PoC will be using Office365 as the collaborative platform in order to achieve this option.

The outcome will be for all staff from all member Council and organisation’s to be able to operate under a single environment to ensure teams have the tools and information when needed.

- Outlook Mailbox

- Calendar Access

- File sharing services

- Collaboration via SharePoint and Teams

The PoC will be undertaken in March 2020 with a sample of internal and external users.

Program Delivery and Business Intelligence

BI & GIS

Big strides have been made in locking down the base line architecture for the new reporting platform to facilitate faster report delivery and brining the solution one step closer to self-service. Focusing on data quality has become a priority, with the team looking at different options to assist in better management of data.

Online Services

The second stage of online services is due to be completed just after Waitangi Day. The release includes online customer registration, CityWatch online RFSs, the Smart mobile app for staff, license enquiries, and online LIM requests into the production environment

Stage three will get underway in February and will consist of Animal Registration and complex online RFSs. It is scheduled to be released in early April.

Stage four will be released in early July 2020 and comprises Permits and Licensing and Mobile Inspections (other than building inspections).

Stage five will be released in early October 2020 and comprises Pre-lodgment and Lodgment of applications as well as requests for information to the customer.

Local Government Official Information & Meetings Act ‘LGOIMA’

Monthly Statistics

LGOIMA Monthly Statistics

Data as of 31 December 2019

Latest statistics for official information requests processed by the organisation appear below.

Month	# Requests / Month	# Requests responded to < 20 days	# Requests responded to within permitted time extension	# Requests not responded to within time	Ombudsmen Investigations (if any)
Jan	13	13	0	0	0
Feb	26	23	1	2	0
Mar	11	11	0	0	0
Apr	17	15	0	2	0
May	17	17	0	0	1
Jun	22	21	1	0	0
Jul	28	28	0	0	0
Aug	23	22	1	0	0
Sep	23	21	2	0	0
Oct	23	22	1	0	0
Nov	21	21	0	0	2
Dec	28 (8 open)	19	0	1	0

Operational Financial Performance

As at 31 December 2019

Council are currently at a net operating deficit of $6,756 Million tracking against the year to date budget. Please see noted below the areas that are contributing to this variance.

Capital Income

· Central Government Subsidies New Works. Kerikeri Wastewater Treatment Plant, currently 4.9M in unclaimed subsidies. Due to project delays it is now foreseen that the final claim for subsidies will now not be made until April 2020.

· Central Government Subsidies Renewals. Pavement rehabilitation is progressing slowly due to the availability of the laboratory test results to ensure the strength of the sub base for the actual design work. We are expecting these subsidies to be claimed in the last quarter of the financial year.

Operating Expenditure

Contractor and Professional Fees

· Legal services team have been dealing with a number of unforeseen litigation cases, compensation and legal costs have been paid in relation to court judgement that went against council

· Property file ditigitisation requires extra funds this came in as an unbudgeted expense approved by council

Roading

· Dust Suppressant works in progress ahead of schedule to try and mitigate dust control.

· Consultants have been engaged in the minor safety activity to review speed limits, safety audits and management of resilience slips.

Network and asset management

· Project managers have been coding their time incorrectly a correction process and review is underway.

District Facilities

· Russell wharf renewal works for replacement of service Jetty, Dinghy facility and Pontoons. Unbudgeted expenses which will be funded by Depreciation reserves.

Operations

Customer Service

Customer Experience Programme

Closed RFS – Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI)

The scores provided below are for the four months ending 31 December 2019:

• Overall CSI for Requests for Service: 80.3 (1.7% Increase)

• Overall satisfaction making the request 82.8% (1.7% increase)

• CSI for requests made via the After Hours provider: 87 (5.7% increase)

• CSI for library services: 92.9 (1.0% decrease)

• CSI for visits to i-SITEs and Service Centres: 99.5 (1.2% increase)

Monthly CSI Trend for closed Requests for Service:

Please note that due to the inherent delay of between 5 to 6 weeks in receiving feedback from customers, the most recent reporting month should be interpreted with caution.

Other measurement programmes

The scores provided below are for the six months ending 31 December 2019:

· CSI for Building Inspection Services: 66.5 (12.5% decrease)

· CSI for Building Consent Process: 57.7 (7.8% decrease)

· CSI for Resource Consent Process: 71.6 (13.8% increase)

The focus of the Customer Experience Improvement Programme over the next few months will be:

· Analysing existing data about customers to inform Customer Experience Strategy.

· Developing a Customer Experience Business Engagement Plan to improve customer centricity.

· Upskilling opportunities for staff about best practice for engaging with customer

Contact Centre / Service Centre’s

· 35% increase in the financial counter stats for Service Centres (4,744 - up from 3,502)

· 16.8% decrease in calls to the Contact Centre (12,849 - down from 15,456)

· 19% increase in the number of AskUs emails (3,382 - up from 2,840)

· 21.8% decrease in the number of Building Inspection bookings (816 - down from 1,044)

i-SITEs

· 8% decrease in visitor numbers district-wide (72,156 down from 78,516)

· 16% decrease in retail revenue ($29,584 down from $35,332)

· 23% increase in transaction spend ($61,492 up from $49,650)

· 1% increase in transaction numbers (14,927 up from 14,752)

Libraries

· 7.1% decrease in total book issues (56,645 down from 61,197). This is partially related to the smaller pop-up library at Kawakawa.

· 35.2% increase in ebook and audiobook downloads (4,731 up from 3,499)

· 29.5% increase in Wi-Fi sessions (47,602 up from 36,763)

Regulatory Services

Environmental Services

1388 Requests for Service were received and 897 closed during November – December.

Animal Management

The Animal Management team received 447 Requests for Service between November – December and responded to 94% of these on time.

7,849 dogs have been registered for the current registration period. There are 3,240 additional dogs on record which are not currently registered. The team are working with dog owners to promote responsible dog ownership which includes dog registration.

63 dogs were impounded across the District during the November – December period with one dog rehomed through Council’s website. Thirteen dogs were transferred to rescue groups for rehoming and nine dogs were claimed by their owners.

Twenty eight Infringements were issued to dog owners between November - December.

Following the Council decision on Animal Shelters at the December meeting, negotiations have been progressed to acquire a facility for the southern part of the District. A new fit for purpose facility will be built on Council land in Kaitaia. A full update on progress will be provided at the February Regulatory Compliance Committee.

Environmental Health and Monitoring Compliance

There were 42 food business verifications conducted between November – December, and 313 noise complaints were received between November – December.

77% of the noise complaints were responded to in time. We are currently working with the contractor to improve response times.

Building Compliance

165 RFSs were received and 153 closed by Building Compliance between November - December.

Swimming Pools

153 swimming pool inspections were carried out between November - December. There are 772 pools on record, with 88% being compliant and 99 (13%) under investigation for non-compliance.

Resource Consents Management

914 applications were received during the 2019 calendar year since July 2019 for resource consents

140 resource consent applications received during the months of November and December.

Note: the four year average refers to the average number of consents received during the past four calendar years.

Building Consents Management

· During the November to December period a total of 219 building consents were received

· The BCA issued 207 building consents during the same period

· 97.6% of building consents were issued within the legislative time frame of twenty working days

Construction is currently underway on Seeka Processing Packhouse and Inlet Estate Development. The construction for Modular Transportable Homes for the Ministry of Education Buildings has just commenced.

The number of building consent applications is expected to increase as construction sites continue to progress through the development stages.

The BCA is reliant on contractors to satisfy its capacity to meet processing demand and statutory time frames.

Note: the four year average refers to the average number of consents received during the past four calendar years.

While the number of November consents received match the four year average, December consents increased to 20% above the four year average.

Building Accreditation Update

The BCA continues to work towards and monitor the four General Non-Compliances (GNCs) identified in the October 2019 International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) biennial audit.

Evidence required for eight out of the eleven General Non Compliances have been submitted to IANZ for assessment, leaving three outstanding and these will be submitted prior to the deadline of 14 February 2020.

A detailed report will be made to the February Assurance, Risk and Finance Committee on mitigation measures undertaken to reduce the BCA risk of losing accreditation from high to low.

The current focus for the BCA includes:

· Key parts within the action plan will continue to be audited by the Council’s interim Quality Manager with remedial actions being taken to address any remaining issues

· Processing of consents continues to be carried out with the assistance of external contractors where the BCA currently does not have the relevant competencies .

· The BCA is currently working towards increasing in-house capacity and competencies that will facilitate less reliance on contractors in future.

Infrastructure and Asset Management

Roading

Panguru Flood Mitigation: Design work progressing. Construction expected to be complete this financial year.

Minor Safety Improvements: Designs and costs estimates complete for the following Route Treatment safety improvement works (various treatments):

· Kaitaia-Awaroa Road

· Te Ahu Ahu and Old Bay Roads

· Wiroa Road, Waiare Road, Wehirua Road and Kerikeri Road

· Oruru Road, Fairburn Road and Peria Road

· Matauri Bay and Loop Roads

Progressing the following Site-Specific safety improvement designs (guardrail):

· West Coast Road Route Position 14.7km – design complete

· West Coast Road Route Position 17.1km – design started

· Pawarenga Road Route Position 1.7km – design started

· Broadwood Road Route Positions 0.3km and 6.9km – designs complete

Consultation on Northland Speed Limits

Speed Limit reviews are progressing. The first review area (Okaihau-Kaeo-Waimate North) was notified and submissions closed on 22 November 2019. Hearings were held at Council Chambers in Kaikohe on 4 December 2019. A total of 175 submissions were received and elven indicated that they wished to be heard in support of their submission.

NTA Staff are currently reviewing all submissions and undertaking site visits to assess issues that have been raised by submitters. As part of this work, NTA Staff are also preparing information on an implementation strategy.

Additional work has been undertaken to identify the ongoing speed limit review work program. Proposed review areas are being mapped and, once approved, will be available on Council’s website.

Hokianga Ferry (Kohu Ra Tuarua)

Revenue received from ticket sales for November 2019 was $54,218.28 – a 4% increase compared to the same month last year ($52,143.58).

Utility Services – Car (Corridor Access Request) & TMP (Traffic Management Plan)

· Kerikeri and Kaikohe Ultra Connectivity Group connections are still on going

· Kaitaia UCG connections are ramping up. The laying of the main fibre in Kaitaia is now complete and the last bits of reinstatement will be completed shortly. There was a hold up with delivery of the Cobble stones for Commerce street, but this has now been resolved.

· Ahipara main fibre laying is mostly complete.

· Coopers Beach, Mangonui and Taipa main fibre laying is well under way.

· Traffic Management has been approved for the construction of two more broadband cell towers in Whirinaki and Herekino.

Road Seal Extensions

Seal Extension sites in the below table have been approved by Council to proceed with construction. The unsubsidised roads have progressed with testing and design however the subsidised roads is going through the process of NZTA approval except for Otangaroa and Koropewa roads which has been approved by NZTA.

Unsubsidised Seal Extension

· Kumi Road – Design report completed and under review by NTA. Contractor programme to commence construction by end of Jan 2020.

· Porotu Road – Lab testing and designs in progress

· Puketi Road - Lab testing and designs in progress

Subsidised Seal Extension

· Otangaroa Road - Lab testing and designs in progress

· Church Road – Business case to NZTA on hold as original site has come off the Dust Matrix. NZTA require further testing and a ranking system has now been put in place. We are currently reviewing the data and will be submitting a business case after this.

· Koropewa Road- Lab testing and designs in progress

Footpaths

Renewals and maintenance work for the 2019/20 have been prioritised and work has started in Moerewa, Kawakawa, Kerikeri, Paihia, Kaikohe and Kaitaia by the contractors.

Community Boards agreed to the 2019/20 New Footpaths Programme which commenced in August 2019 with designs and construction of the new footpaths will be completed by May 2020.

Parking

Final preparations are underway to implement district-wide changes to mobility parking spaces as requested by the Disability Action Group. These proposed changes are operational in nature and have a dedicated funding allocation. The Community Boards have recommended that the proposed changes be implemented. Site specific engineering assessments have now been completed and the final locations have been established.

Bylaw schedule changes will be required to ensure that the parking restrictions are enforceable. These schedule changes will be made once all sites have been signed and marked and the full Parking Bylaw review has been undertaken.

Structures

The following works have been undertaken:

· Otaua Road Bridge N28 – the revised procurement plan has been approved by Council and the Tender document has been loaded in the tender portal. Tender closed on 4 February 2020.

· West Coast Road Bridge G01 – the revised procurement plan has been approved by Council. Contract for physical works awarded in January 2020.

· Matawherohia Rd Bridge I48 – Road legalization in progress and Design to be further reviewed. This bridge will be designed this financial year and constructed next financial year.

· Inkster Rd Culvert W35 Replacement – This project will be procured under closed contest. Expression of interest to possible contractors has been sent out.

· Kenana Rd Culvert E16 Replacement – This project will be procured under closed contest. Expression of interest to possible contractors has been sent out.

· Mangamuka Rd Culvert H40 Replacement – This project will be procured under closed contest. Expression of interest to possible contractors has been sent out.

· Cumber Side Rd Bridge P48 Upgrade – this project has been added into the heavy bridge maintenance and scour protection works.

Pavement Rehabilitation & Associated Improvements:

There is approximately 5.5km rehabilitation programmed for this financial year, which is distributed into the following eight sites:

· Mangamuka road RP0-1736 – Construction is in progress, the contractor has completed all the earthworks, drainage and associated improvement works prior the year end break. Pavement and surfacing works to commence early January 2020.

· Broadwood Road RP13350-13780 – The contractor is working on finalising the designs. Physical works are programmed to commence early January 2020.

· Ngawha Springs Road RP2610-3163 – Differed until the development are complete.

· Punakitere Loop Road RP0-346 – Designs have been completed and accepted. Physcial works to commence early Jan 2020.

· Pungarere Road RP5547-6572 - Investigation and survey works complete. Contractor is working on the design.

· Purerua Road RP4900-5300 - Investigation and survey works complete. Contractor is working on the design.

· Purerua Road RP6251-6794 - Investigation and survey works complete. Contractor is working on the design.

· Stanners Road RP1580-1720 – construction has been completed.

· Waimate North Road RP20-425 - Investigation and survey works complete. Contractor is working on the design.

Sealed Road Resurfacing:

North and South Contract seal design and programme has been confirmed.

Sealing in the South region is 85% complete with the pending surfacing to be completed early January 2020.

Sealing in for the North Region is 65% complete with the pending surfacing to be completed by mid February 2020.

Programme Darwin

A summary of works completed during November and December.

· Programme vision, mission and delivery roadmap adopted

· Asset hierarchy principles defined, and cleanse of existing data continues

· Prioritisation of assets for condition survey 10/20 financial year complete, scopes for work to be undertaken underway

· Resourcing for Asset Management Plan development agreed

· Asset Management Policy approved for use by Chief Executive

· Engagement with alliance partners has commenced

· CouncilMark PAF information drafted

3 Waters Operations

Key Results

During the month of December there were no Lost Time Incidents (LTI) and we are currently 815 days LTI free. We had one Medical Time Incident which involved an employee receiving a chemical splash to the eye.

We have 100% compliant drinking water from our 9 plants. We attended and resolved 360 requests for service call outs, in line with the seasonal average expected.

Planned Maintenance (PM) completion was 96% for December. Total PMs completed for December was 62.

The continued dry weather and effect on water sources verses demand has raised the overall risk of widespread water shortage measures to be applied earlier than expected. This will continue to be a focus of the water shortage teams and operations in coming months, including prioritising works to minimise waste.

Pre-inspection and corrective action in the wastewater network at known hotspots prior to the holiday peak has proven successful with a relatively incident free period.

Infrastructure Planning

The Following provides and overview of the current priorities on the infrastructure planning programme.

			Stormwater	District Facilities	Wastewater	Water	Transport
Activity	Asset Group	Expected Completion	Comment
Activity	Asset Group	Expected Completion	Comment
Strategies / Plans / Policies
District Transport Strategy		FY19/20	Completed preparation of the first draft of the Integrated Transport Strategy. Release for public consultation held back until early 2020 to align with release of Far North 2100 Strategy and Spatial Plan. Considering potential for alignment and release concurrently with Infrastructure Strategy and Plan as part of Long Term Plan. Strategic Business Case submitted to NZTA. Project Steering Group structure and communication channels changed to reflect control of Strategy by SPP and Plan by IAMs. Development work is underway on the Integrated Transport Plan to give effect to the strategy. A longlisting workshop was held with key stakeholders 12 November and the results were shared with Elected Members. An online survey was also undertaken prior to Christmas to capture the views of Elected Members and all other stakeholders on potential transport projects and activities. Draft Option programmes are now being developed for consideration at follow up Programme Development workshops which have been scheduled for 18February.
Rawene WWTP Optioneering		On-going	Staff are working with engineering consultants and Rawene locals to identify options for discharging wastewater to land. The consultants are costing three options and will present these to the community for discussion. The community have asked that the hui be postponed until early 2020
Water Demand Management Plans		TBA	Water Demand Management Plans (WDMP) aim to identify ways a particular scheme can manage demand to limit the need to invest in increased capacity. Parked until BRANZ household water use data is available.
Backflow Prevention Policy		FY19/20	A renewed look at Water Safety Plans (required by Drinking Water Standards) took place in September across Asset, Planning and Operational teams. Backflow prevention policies contribute to this requirement and will be programmed to align with our goals in this space. Vacancies in 3 Waters Planner roles has stalled progress on this project. Recruitment partially complete.
Water and Wastewater Service Area Review		FY19/20	A policy or internal guideline for water and wastewater connections will increase transparency and support consistent decision making when considering requests to connect to the water and wastewater networks around the district. A project to undertake an initial review of FNDC’s water and wastewater service areas has been initiated as a first step to developing a connection policy. The purpose of the review is to is to analyse the nature of the issues affecting the service areas, the cause of these issues and to identify practicable options to address these matters. The review has commenced and is on track for completion time by the first quarter of 2020.
WWTP consent replacement programme		On-going	A programme initiation document has been approved which sets the process by which the replacement resource consent applications will be programme managed. The objective of the programme is to ensure resource consent application project is adequately resourced, prepared in accordance all relevant provisions of the RMA and the best practicable option for each consent application has been determined though the appropriate LGA financial planning process prior to lodgement. An engagement plan for the programme has been developed and a planning and risk assessment is presently being drafted with target delivery for late January 2020.
Paihia Water Strategy			Consultants Harrison Grierson (HG) further refined the assumptions made during the detailed options assessment for a new Water Treatment Plant for Paihia. A preferred option has been identified and we will include this high-level information in our LGA planning processes. The final report by HG concludes the work they were engaged to do using the approved Tourism Infrastructure Funds (TIF) for Paihia. A separate engagement for modelling work using the TIF for Paihia will commence in the first quarter of 2020.

Activity	Asset Group	Expected Completion		Comment
Activity	Asset Group	Expected Completion		Comment
Consent Applications/Authorisations
Taipa WWTP Renewal/Appeal			Under Appeal		The Taipa WWTP discharge consent decision was to the Environment Court. Legal counsel has been retained to support the hearing and several technical experts have been engaged to the mediation process and provide evidence at the hearing. Although a date for mediation is yet to be set, it is anticipated this will commence in late March 2020.
Kohukohu WWTP Renewal			June 2020		The request for further information will be finalised by NRC in early January. Work has already begun to procure the responses to the request for further information in anticipation of this request.
Opononi / Omapere WWTP Renewal			Mar 2020		Staff are finalising the procurement of a Cultural Impact Assessment for the discharge of wastewater to the Hokianga Harbour. The Hydrodynamic Model report has been delayed to early January.
Opononi / Omapere New Source – Resource Consent			January 2020		Draft consent conditions for a groundwater take to supplement the Opononi WTP have been received and reviewed. The final consent will be issued in January 2020.
Puketotara surface water take (source for Kerikeri WTP)			June 2020		An application has been lodged with NRC to renew the resource consent for the surface water take from the Puketotara Stream. An increase in take has been applied for to give the Kerikeri scheme more resilience when the Kerikeri Irrigation take cannot be fully relied on (e.g., cyanobacteria or faults in the pipeline). A hydrological study and in-stream ecology assessment were undertaken to support the application and show that the proposed take will continue to have a less than minor effect on the Puketotara Stream and instream values.
Motutangi Drainage District Concession application			Nov 2019		Draft concession report received from the Department of Conservation (DOC). Final comments on the draft have been forwarded to DOC. DOC have advised that the report will be peer reviewed and then be sent to Kaitaia’s Operations Manager for approval. Decision is expected by the end of November No update available at the time of writing.
Waitangi - (TIF) Public Toilets			Feb 2020		The archaeological assessment has been completed and an authority is required to construct the toilets in the preferred location. Engagement/consultation with tangata whenua has been carried out. The Waitangi Trust Board has requested further details on the design and the authority application lodgement is subject to their approval. Once the project manager advises the Waitangi Trust Board has been obtained the authority application can be lodged and the planning assessment completed.
Awanui River Stormwater Outlet Structure Renewal			Dec 2019		Consent expires 31 May 2020. NRC have provided written verification that no new resource consent for the activities are required on the basis that they comply with permitted activity rules. No update available at the time of writing.
Marreine Place, Karikari – Flood control works			2019		DOC advised of concerns with open drain adjacent to significant wetland. Regional resource consent required for works. Stormwater operations team investigating alternative options for the disposal of stormwater. No update available at the time of writing.
Horeke Temporary Dog Pound			Nov 2019		Consultants have been engaged to prepare and lodge the retrospective land use application for the temporary pound. An acoustic expert has been engaged to prepare noise assessment to support application. The application is expected to be lodged in November/December depending on outcome of consultation with potentially affected parties. No update available at the time of writing.

Activity		Comment
Collaboration and Engagement
FN2100	Staff are on the Core Team providing development support to this high-level Strategy called Far North 2100 (FN2100) This strategy will focus on all opportunities in the Far North District and determine a desired future direction against which all investment will be tested. Critical to the success of this project and for all others that rely on it is the fostering of a Tangata Whenua Iwi Partnership. This is taking longer than planned so the project has been granted a time extension for delivery. The 11 November release of the discussion document was limited to key stakeholders. Release date of subsequent draft FN2100 rescheduled to April 2020. Potential for concurrent release of Integrated Transport Strategy but Plan unlikely to be ready
District Plan	An essential link between the District Plan (DP) and the Infrastructure team is the Engineering Standards. The Engineering Standards will be reviewed for inclusion in the DP. The Working Group met in October and agreed to the approach for the review. Each working group member is responsible for reviewing a section of the standards. Issues are escalated to the Steering Group. Both groups and the project manager are supported by a local consultant who also support WDC review their standards.
Tai Tokerau Councils Climate Change Adaptation Group (TTCCCAG)	The purpose of the Climate Change Working Group is to develop a regional collaborative approach to climate change adaptation planning for local government in Northland. The working group is led by NRC. IAM Planning staff continue to participate in the working group in addition to participating in the development of FNDC’s climate charge roadmap which is being led by SPP.
Waipapa Roundabout	Work has now commenced on this project to construct a single lane roundabout at the busy intersection of SH10 and Waipapa Road. This $9m joint NZTA / FNDC project is being funded from the Provincial Growth Fund. Primary activity will focus on utilities around the intersection. That includes putting power lines underground and fixing the stormwater. Survey and fencing activities have now started around Maritime Lane. The extension of Klinac Lane to link the central and northern part of the industrial zone and provide an alternative route to the main commercial area. The design of the bridge is substantially complete and Ngati Rehia have provided input to the cultural and aesthetic elements. This link will be used as a detour route while roundabout construction is undertaken. Work will be halted over the Christmas period. Project completion end 2020
Liaison Groups	Engagement with established Community Liaison Groups (CLG) is required by a number of our Infrastructure Consents. Staff met with the Waikotihe Trust in December to update them on the water shortage in Kaikohe. The Trust expressed some concerns about the enforcement of the restrictions and staff followed up with a local nursery. We also informed them of our intention to educate the public at the Kaikohe Show in January, this was well received and the Trust provided some feedback on the proposed information displays. Staff also attended Omapere and Opononi Ratepayers and Residents Association meeting in December. Attendance was requested to discuss the new water source at Smoothy Road.
Water Shortage Committee*	Two Planning staff continue to attend this committee to assist with management of the Far North’s water supplies over the summer period. As at 14 January 2020, Level 3 Restrictions are in place for Kaikohe and Kawakawa / Moerewa schemes, with further Level 3 restrictions being initiated this week for Kaitaia and Opononi / Omapere schemes. Level 2 Restrictions are currently in place for Rawene, with further Level 2 restrictions being initiated this week for the remaining three public schemes, being Kerikeri, Paihia / Opua and Okaihau. Long range forecast information from NIWA and Metservices are predicting a dryer than normal summer with no significant rainfall anticipated until March, putting serious pressure on already vulnerable and struggling water supplies across the district. Water Shortage Directions have been requested from NRC for schemes where consent limits are no longer able to be complied with.

Consent Technician		December 2019	Year to Date ‘20	Year to Date ‘19
Applications for New Water and Wastewater Connections		6	60	52	6 requests to connect to Council water and wastewater services were received in December 2019. Year to date Council has received 60 applications (compared to 52 last year)
Resource Consent Applications Reviewed by IAMs	All	40	239	219	IAM’s development engineer and consents technician review all consents and provide comment on how to minimise/mitigate impacts on Council infrastructure.
LIMs Assessed	All	97	756	700	IAM’s consents technician and admin support input into Land Information Memorandums by completing soil reports and assessing development contributions.

Water Shortage Management

Northland experienced an unusually dry winter in 2019 and little rain has fallen so far this summer across the Far North.

MetService is forecasting little to no rain until at least March 2020 and says that the dry weather may continue for up to six months. While an official drought has not yet been declared by Central Government, a declaration seems imminent. The current situation has the potential to be the worst drought situation since 2010.

Mitigation

· Working on early activation of Smoothy Road bore to provide temporary additional water supply for Opononi/Omapere.

· Working on activating Sweetwater bore or another bore in Kaitaia to provide treated bulk water supply. This would take pressure away from existing town water supply.

· Supplementing Kaitaia supply from Okahu Stream – also undertaking regular sampling of water from Kauri Dam.

· Engaging compliance officers to visit high water users.

· Making contact with Juken Mill, Kaikohe Prison, and Affco Moerewa.

· Contact made with FNHL regarding wash down services at maritime facilities.

· Publicity around a target 25% reduction in water usage from all users.

· Stopping all footpath street cleaning operations and public toilet deep cleaning (water blasting).

· Turning off the water to the Chris Booth sculpture situated on the Kerikeri Domain.

· Turning off all public showers located in beachside areas – Taipa, Ramp Road Taupo bay, Tauranga Bay, Paihia and Russell.

· Ensuring all the Campervan dump stations across the District have push button taps in place to reduce output.

· Capping off the taps situated on outside wall at the Kaikohe Cemetery and the rear of the Paihia Cemetery carpark.

· Carrying out continual monitoring of all public toilet facilities to ensure there are no leaks or operational faults.

· Advising Council employees and suppliers around need to conserve water.

· Water Shortage Committee meeting twice a week to review levels of restrictions based on measured flow rates.

Infrastructure Compliance

Summary of Abatements

Asset	· Asset · Type	· Non-Compliance	Action Underway
Kerikeri Sports Complex		Issued Dec 2016 Breach of discharge consent limit for wastewater discharge amount	No breaches of discharge volume since November 2018. Plumbing repairs, meter calibration and maintenance undertaken. Cancellation of abatement will be requested shortly.
Mangonui Handrail		Abatement notice issued May 2018 Erection of a safety rail on the Mangonui boardwalk required	As agreed by NRC, 80m of handrail installed in September 2018 in high risk area. Staff continue working with Community Working Group to reach acceptable solution for remainder. consultation underway.
Kaitaia Recovery Centre		Abatement notice issued Nov 2018 Stormwater runoff from bins at site may contaminate waterway	Interceptor / oil separator in process of being installed to address NRC concerns around contaminants entering waterway.
Opononi WWTP		Abatement Notice issued Apr 2016 Plant evidencing non-compliance with E.Coli limits	Short term: aerator and desludging have improved E.Coli readings, refencing of wetland area completed November 2019, wetland refurbishment costs to be input into next LTP. Long term: engagement with the Community Liaison Group continues to try and find an acceptable upgrade solution before next LTP.
Kaitaia WW Network		Abatement notice issued Apr 2016 Unconsented network overflows	Screens have been installed at overflow location and programme of work underway to reduce frequency of overflows.
Paihia WWTP		Abatement Notice issued Oct 2016 Breaches in ammonia ongoing	Paihia WWTP upgrade project underway and meeting deadlines provided to Environment Court and NRC.
Russell WWTP		Abatement notice issued Mar 2017 Intermittent breaches in E.Coli	Various upgrade work undertaken during 2018/2019, plant compliant for several months however November evidenced non-compliance due to operator error during process upgrade. Continue monitoring.
Ahipara WWTP		Abatement notice issued Mar 2018 Non-compliant leachate volume to pond from Ahipara Landfill.	Pump controller upgraded 2019 however slight exceedances of consent limit have still occurred.
Kerikeri Sports Complex		Issued Dec 2016 Breach of discharge consent limit for wastewater discharge amount	No breaches of discharge volume since November 2018. Plumbing repairs, meter calibration and maintenance undertaken. Cancellation of abatement will be requested shortly.

District Facilities

Parks and Reserves

The Opua – English Bay coastal walkway remains closed due to instability issues and H&S concerns. A consultant report is currently being reviewed. Until such time as a way forward has been agreed to the walkway remains closed.

Rangiputa Reserve, Whatuwhiwhi – the shrub was removed successfully just before the busy Christmas influx of visitors and beach users. However, the adjoining property owner installed a number of posts and letterboxes. We are now exploring options to ensure compliance.

Cemeteries

Due to roadworks and an unstable embankment along SH1, just north of the Kaeo Township, thirteen remains were disinterred from the Spickman-Nisbet private cemetery and reinterred in the Kaeo public cemetery. An Archaeologist assessed that many of the remains dated back to the late 1800s.

It was confirmed that an area of the Totara North Cemetery is located on a part of the neighbouring Sanderson property. Work has been requested to relocate the fence line and part of the metaled access and to reinstate the Sanderson property.

Solid Waste

Event Waste Management Plans

The review of the event process continues and involves a multi departmental group reviewing and implementing improvements including the need to ensure event organisers provide a waste minimisation plan as part of their event application process.

This review also includes the need to consider how community clean up requests are being managed.

Kaitaia Refuse Transfer Station Abatement Notice

The oil separator at the Kaitaia Resource Recovery Centre has been installed in response to an abatement notice. NRC will inspect this in January. NRC wants similar devices installed at other Refuse Transfer Stations around the District. This work will continue throughout 2020.

Contract Renewals

The Council approved the extension of the Waste Minimisation Education contract in December 2019. A new tender document will be prepared reflecting new social procurement considerations that look beyond price and to consider social, cultural, economic and environmental outcomes.

The Council also approved the extension of the Russel Landfill and Transfer Station contract in December 2019.

Holiday Kerbside Services

The kerbside services went smoothly over the holiday season with both waste companies keeping up with collections. There were some bags put out at the wrong time / location but overall the kerbside collections went well.

Waste Levy Increase

The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) is consulting on proposed increases to the waste levy. Levy increases could have a significant impact of solid waste budgets depending on how MfE spends the income and in particular what proportion of this increased income MfE returns to local government. Staff are preparing a submission which closes 3 February 2020.

Solid Waste Statistics – December 2019

Civil Defense Emergency Management

National

The new National Emergency Management Agency became operational on 1 December 2019. All of the existing functions and staff of the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management have transferred into the new National Emergency Management Agency.

The National Emergency Management Agency will assume all of the current responsibilities of the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 and National Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan 2015.

The third national test of the Emergency Mobile Alerts was carried out on Sunday 24 November. The system has been used a number of times for local emergencies, most recently the Auckland Convention Centre fire.

Regional

Two half day workshops hosted by the Northland CDEM Group and led by the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment have been held to develop a Temporary Accommodation Plan for Northland. District planning and building services staff from all three local councils were invited to participate in the development of this plan. The proposal to progress with a project to establish a Multi-Agency Coordination Centre in Northland was supported at the last Coordinating Executive Group (CEG) meeting.

Recommendations also included establishing a project team to further develop the business case in support of the proposal. Project team members may be required to provide support and input into the project business case at various times. The business case for the proposal will be completed in February to enable consideration during each of the councils long term plan round. Development of a funding mode will be incorporated into the business case.

Northland CDEM Group Managers have completed Civil Defence Inductions for elected members across all councils. Information included national and regional arrangements and service level agreements for shared services across Northland’s district councils. Additionally an overview was given to our Council on flood risk reduction work undertaken on river catchments in Kaitaia and Kaeo.

Local

As part of the Northland CDEM Group Work Plan (Tsunami Risk Management and Preparedness), six more tsunami information boards have been installed in Far North coastal areas. Communities included in the latest rollout are Russell, Rangiputa and Taipa. Civil Defence Officers are working with the Department of Conservation to place information boards in coastal Department of Conservation camp grounds.

The tsunami alarm network is starting to move into a renewal phase with some of the alarms starting to come to the end of their life cycle. The life of the alarms due to the conditions in the coastal environment was estimated to be 8-10 years.

Five staff attended a two day Coordinated Incident Management System Course hosted by the Northland CDEM Group in November.