Agenda of Ordinary Council Meeting - Thursday, 1 June 2023

1 June 2023

6 Ngā Pūrongo / Reports

6.1 Annual Plan Deliberations - 2023/24

File Number: A4212105

Author: Angie Thomas, Team Leader - Accounting Services

Authoriser: Janice Smith, Acting Chief Executive

Purpose of the Report

The purpose of this report is to provide background information and to present financial considerations to assist in decision-making for the 2023/24 Annual Plan.

Executive Summary

· The statutory purpose of the Annual Plan is to confirm differences from what was proposed in the corresponding year of the current Long-Term Plan 2021-2031.

· The Consultation Document putting proposals to the public was adopted on 21 March 2023.

· The purpose of this deliberations report is to provide the information required to enable Council to make final decisions to minimise the rates requirement for the 2023/24 financial year while contributing to the economic recovery of the district and ensuring minimal impact on levels of service.

· Each recommendation is referenced to the relevant section in the attached discussion document.

Recommendation

That Council:

1. Consultation items;

a) Partnering with the Turner Centre to better deliver arts and culture for the district

i) That Council accept the proposal to take over the ownership of the Turner Centre building.

ii) That additional operating budgets of $71K are included in the annual plan for the

a) Fixed cost grant

b) Maintenance of the external fabric of the building

iii) That Council repays the outstanding balance of the Westpac loan of circa $1.1M and ceases the guarantee and ongoing interest payments.

iv) That staff develop an operating agreement in conjunction with the Turner Centre Board

b) Enabling housing development on Māori Freehold Land

i) That Council adopt the policy R23/15 Enabling Housing Development on Māori Freehold Land as proposed.

ii) Staff establish clear application guidelines.

c) Amend Council rates remission policies to include R23/15

That Council approves amendment to current and future policies to include R23/15 Enabling housing development on Māori freehold land.

d) Other issues raised

That Council notes all other comments made in the submissions but makes no change to the Annual Plan 2023/24.

2. Adopt Fees and Charges

a. That Council amends the attached Schedule of Fees and Charges for 2023/24 to replace, cancel and amend partial fee types for Resource Consents, Building Consents, Compliance, and Cemeteries.

b. That Council adopts the Schedule of Fees and Charges for 2023/24.

3. Additional capital programme requests

a. That Council approves the additional capital programme funding of

	Item	2023/24	2024/25	2025/26
		$	$	$
1.	Kohukohu Hall	600,000	0	0
2.	Maritime Lighting Meters	50,000	0	0
4.	Opononi Boat Ramp Parking	500,000	1,500,000	400,000
5.	Taipa Point Stormwater	100,000	200,000	0
6.	Objects & Statues	80,000	0	0
7.	Stormwater reactive renewals	200,000	0	0
8.	348a SH12 Omapere Stormwater	500,000	0	0
9.	Sommerville Ave Kaitaia	300,000	0	0
10.	Drainage Districts Resource consents	500,000	0	0
11.	Kerikeri Hone Heke Stage 2	250,000	0	0
12.	Russell WW Treatment Plant	350,000	0	0
13.	Wastewater reactive H&S	400,000	0	0
14.	Water reactive H&S	200,000	0	0

b. An additional $50k operational budget is required for professional fees to progress the stormwater resource consents capital project for the Te Hiku drainage district.

c. That Council approves to amend the 2023/24 capital programme with the projects totalling $19.7M that have been rescheduled from 2022/23.

d. The total capital programme for 2023/24 is $106.9M which excludes the additional requests.

4. Rate increases and debt ceiling

a. That Council notes the rate increases and debt ceiling benchmarks in the next 3 years from 2023/24 to 2025/26.

5. Other issues

a. That Council approves the reinstatement of $100k for Placemaking for the Te Hiku Community Board.

b. That Council approves the role of Coordinator to Te Kuaka Committee of $87k and includes this sum in the operational budgets.

1) Background

This is the second annual plan process carried out for the 2021-31 Long Term Plan.

A number of workshops were held to review both operational and capital expenditure. Staff have taken a further look to provide further analysis on the capital programme for the 2022/23 and outer years which has resulted in a now proposed 7.75% rate increase.

The purpose of this deliberations report is to provide the information required to enable Council to make final decisions to set the rates requirement for the 2023/24 financial year while considering minimal impact on levels of service.

Annual Plan process

The statutory purpose of the Annual Plan is to confirm differences from what was proposed in the corresponding year of the current Long-Term Plan 2021-2031.

Community consultation/engagement is required only on those changes that are considered ‘significant’. Typically, submitters will also provide feedback on other topics not discussed in the Consultation Document. Such feedback is recorded, analysed and considered alongside feedback on the specific proposals.

As highlighted in the Consultation Document 2023/24, the Council has focused on delivering the key infrastructure and services, but this has come with a number of challenges including Cyclone Gabrielle and other weather events, this has compounded with the highest level of inflation imposing significant extra costs nationally.

The Consultation Document putting proposals to the public was adopted on 21 March 2023. Also consulted on at the same time were proposed fees and charges for 2023/24. Consultation of the two items in tandem is the usual process for the Annual Plan and fees and charges.

Council plans to adopt the final Annual Plan on 29 June 2023 at an ordinary Council meeting.

Consultation

Consultation was carried out from 24 March 2023 until 24 April 2023 on proposals to:

· Partnering with the Turner Centre to better deliver arts and culture for the district

I support this proposal	I don’t this support proposal	I’m not sure	N/a
623	50	12	5

· Enabling housing development on Māori Freehold Land (policy)

I support the conditions in the draft policy	I do not support the conditions in the draft policy	I’m not sure	N/a
270	60	220	140

692 submissions provided feedback on both consulted and non-consulted topics. 18 submitters asked to speak at verbal submissions held both in person and digitally on 17 May 2023.

There were a large number of submissions received in support of the Turner Centre proposal as the consultation document was shared amongst user groups and other organisations that support or use the Centre. These submitters did not necessarily respond to the second proposal leaving an unsure or n/a response. The overall general comments the majority related to the increase in rates (13 comments) as well as comments relating to activities (7), planning/regulatory/governance (6), wellbeing (2), spending, fees (3), other (3).

2) Discussion and Options

1.a Partnering with the Turners Centre to better deliver arts and culture

The general consensus from the submissions received is the value that communities across the district place on the Turner Centre seeing it not only as a hub for arts and culture but the importance for ongoing development in that space. Acknowledging that the current operations have been under immense economic pressure due to COVID-19, economic downturn and now continuing economic pressures for the near future.

Total operating costs budgeted for 2023/24 $71k which includes $45k grant.

The balance of the loan is $1.1M circa.

Option 1 Adopt the Partnering with the Turner Centre to better deliver arts and culture for the district proposal

Allows the Centre to continue to function and develop opportunities within the arts and culture sector across the district. A management agreement with the Turner Centre Board will need to developed in consultation with the Turner Centre Board and be presented to Council for discussion prior to adoption.

Option 2 Do not adopt the Partnering with the Turner Centre to better deliver arts and culture for the district proposal.

Unless there was alternative financial support, the Centre would probably have to cease operations. Reducing the options for people and communities within this space. There would also be an economic impact throughout the tourism and hospitality industry as some events would have utilised accommodation providers throughout the district.

1.b Enabling housing development on Māori Freehold Land (policy)

Option 1 Adopt the policy with proposed conditions and criteria

For 2023/24 Council proposes a new rating policy to enable housing development on Māori Freehold Land through the remission of rates. Council has Policy R23/13 – Incentivising Māori Economic Development this policy will sit alongside to better assist Māori in both areas of development and provide housing opportunities on Māori Freehold Land. This is a requirement under section 114A of the Local Government Rating Act and this policy needs to be in place by 1 July 2024.

Option 2 Amends the conditions in the draft policy

While the council is required to have this policy, changes can be made to the policy to best fit.

The term could be reduced to a sliding scale of 1 to 5 years:

Year 1 – 100% remitted

Year 2 – 75% remitted

Year 3 – 50% remitted

Year 4 – 25% remitted

Year 5 – 0% remitted

2. ADOPT FEES AND CHARGES

As part of preparations for the LTP 2024-34, fees and charges are being thoroughly reviewed by staff to ensure the following:

· Fees are being applied correctly and consistently.

· Fees meet the pre-requisite requirement of being cost recovery (where applicable)

· Resource consent fees have been reviewed and recalculated to address past inconsistencies and bring those fees to where practical and reasonable cost recovery.

· This is an ongoing process, aligning with the LTP process and all fees are reviewed annually.

There were three direct submissions received though the Special Consultative Process (LGA 2002, Section 83) that ran at the same time as the Annual Plan consultation process.

· Submitter No. 1 in total support of the proposed fees changes as outlined in the Schedule, except for correcting the clerical error of 2022/23 to increase the fee for oversize double depth internments.

· Submitter No. 2 objection to all fee increases, commenting that services were not equitable across the district.

· Submitter No. 3 supported in part the changes in resource consents and objected to all other proposals.

Three comments were also received through the Annual Plan submissions. Two supporting the proposed changes - one in general and would like to see the reintroduction of developer contributions, one specifically supporting the hourly fees for resource consents, however suggested that building consents be a fixed fee. There were two objections specifically resource consent fees, one to the calculation of resource consent fees and the other to the increase of fees.

Option 1 Adopt fees and charges 2023/24

There are no reasons for the Council not to proceed to adopt the proposed Fees and Charges for the forthcoming year.

Option 2 Don’t adopt the proposed Fees and Charges Schedule 2023/24

If the proposed Fees and Charges Schedule 2023/24 are not adopted, then fees and charges will remain for the next year or until Council determines a suitable timeframe, noting that if there were any increases in the resource consents area, we would be required to carry out a Special Consultative Process again, allowing time for consultation, verbal submissions, and deliberations to take place.

Any additional shortfall in fees as budgeted would then be required from the general rate to cover any area where cost recovery was not able to be met.

3. ADDITIONAL CAPITAL PROGRAMME REQUESTS

Throughout the Annual Plan process staff have completed an extensive review on the current and future years of the capital programme.

Additional new capital projects have been requested by staff to be included in the Annual Plan 2023/24:

		Additional LOS request			Justification /comment
Cost centre	Project name	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26	Justification /comment
Halls	Kohukohu Hall Renewals	600,000	-	-	Renewal project commenced FY23 requires additional funding to complete
Maritime	Maritime, lighting meters	50,000	-	-	New project - metering of all DF lighting and power supplies which draw power from street lighting required to ensure power cost is at correct rate and sustainment costs are reduced. Without metering a 3 monthly audit is required at an average cost of $3k per audit per location.
	Opononi Maritime Boat Trailer Park	500,000	1,500,000	400,000	New project - identified to address known safety risks and facility restrictions
Parks & Reserves	Taipa Point Reserve Stormwater mitigation	100,000	200,000	-	Linked to Roading project
	Objects & Statues	80,000			Various Objects and statues require renewal as identified in condition assessment programme
Stormwater	Stormwater Reactive Renewals (LOS funds required to increase budget available)	200,000			Continued budgetary provision required to meet urgent unplanned works
	348a SH12 Omapere Stormwater	500,000			Additional budget required to undertake work agreed to via a signed discharge agreement with property owner
	Sommerville Ave Kaitaia	300,000			Agreed contribution to Roading project being delivered in FY24
	Drainage Districts Resource Consents - Te Hiku	500,000			Additional $50k professional fees budget will be required to support this project
	Kerikeri Stormwater Network Improvements Stage 2, 7 Hone Heke	250,000			RFS4110914 refers - Council committed to stage II works
Wastewater	Russell WWTP	350,000			Work required to address existing abatement notice
	Reactive Health & Safety - District Wide	400,000			To address known H&S needs
Water	Reactive Health & Safety - District Wide	200,000			To address known H&S needs
		4,030,000	1,700,000	400,000

Option 1 Include all new capital programme requests

That all new capital programme requests are accepted as there are no rating impacts in the 2023/24 year of the Annual Plan but will impact in the future years once completed. These will be all loan funded.

If the stormwater resource consent capital project for the Te Hiku drainage district is approved, the additional $50k operational budget will need to be considered to support this project. This will be for professional fees and will have a rating impact.

Option 2 Partially or exclude all capital programme requests

That only a select group of projects be included in the Annual Plan 2023/24 or exclude all of the additional requests and will be reviewed during the Long-Term Plan (LTP) 2024-34 process.

4. RATE INCREASES AND DEBT CEILING

Disclosure requirements as per The Financial Reporting and Prudence Regulations 2014 alongside the Financial Strategy ensures we are prudently managing revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities and general financial dealings.

Rates (increase) affordability

This benchmark compares planned rates with quantified limit on rates contained in the Financial Strategy of the Long Term Plan (LTP) 2021-31.

The quantified limit is that the rates increase should not exceed LGCI plus 3.5%. This is indicating that the limit is nearing for 2023/24 and exceed in 2024/25.

	2023/24	2024/25	2025/26
Quantified limit on rates increase	7.80%	6.90%	6.40%
Proposed increase within limit	7.75%	11.11%	4.71%

Debt Affordability (external debt)

This benchmark compares debt planned debt with a quantified limit on borrowing contained in the Financial Strategy. The quantified limit is that net debt be no higher than 175% of total revenue excluding capital subsidies.

This is indicating the limit in 2025/26 will be exceeded.

	2023/24	2024/25	2025/26
Limit	255,746	274,609	285,379
Borrowing	182,779	235,613	306,658
	71.5%	86%	107%

5. OTHER ISSUES

Te Hiku Community Board has requested the reinstatement of $100k for Placemaking. This was removed in error during the process and has been committed for Master Planning.

The establishment of the Te Kuaka Committee has identified a number of legacy issues that are being worked on and the administrative workload that has eventuated is more than can be coped with. The Committee are requesting a co-ordination role of $87k similar to the Community Board Co-ordinator roles that support those boards.

These will incur a combined additional 0.187% on rates.

Reason for the recommendation

3) Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

The decisions made at this meeting will determine the financial implications and rates for the 2023/24 financial year.

Attachments

1. APFinalAnalysis2023 - A4212041 ⇩

2. F&Csubmissions2023 - A4211793 ⇩

3. Fees_and_charges_schedule_202324 - A4212234 ⇩

4. TC - Kerikeri Civic Trust Loan Guarantee - A4215657 ⇩

5. Rate Change AP24 Presentation - A4217147 ⇩

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	Decisions at this meeting lead to the adoption of an Annual Plan for the coming financial year. Consultation has been carried out on significant variations to the corresponding year in the current Long Term Plan.
State the relevant Council policies (external or internal), legislation, and/or community outcomes (as stated in the LTP) that relate to this decision.	Local Government Act 2002, Significance and Engagement Policy, 2018-28 Long Term Plan.
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.	District-wide relevance. Community Board chairs have been involved in all meetings and workshops relating to this Annual Plan.
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.	Significant consultation and engagement has been undertaken, both for the 2018-28 Long Term Plan and in the preparation of this Annual Plan.
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.	Significant consultation and engagement has been undertaken, both for the 2018-28 Long Term Plan and in the preparation of this Annual Plan.
State the financial implications and where budgetary provisions have been made to support this decision.	Decisions will set budgets and determine rates for the financial year 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.
Chief Financial Officer review.	The Chief Financial Officer has reviewed this report

Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda

1 June 2023

6.2 District-Wide Rating For Water Supply And Wastewater Proposal Deliberations.

File Number: A4220108

Author: Jo Boyd, Corporate Planner

Authoriser: Janice Smith, Acting Chief Executive

Take Pūrongo / Purpose of the Report

The purpose of this report is to provide background information and to present financial considerations to assist in decision-making for the district-wide rating of water and wastewater proposal

WhakarĀpopoto matua / Executive Summary

· The statutory purpose of the Annual Plan is to confirm differences from what was proposed in the corresponding year of the current Long-Term Plan 2021-31.

· Council agreed to discuss the proposal to amend the rating methodology for water and wastewater rating in a separate consultation process

· Consultation commenced on the proposal for change on 21 November 2022 and ran for an extended period to February 2023.

· The purpose of this deliberations report is to provide the information required to enable Council to make a final decision on the suggested change to rate methodologies

tŪtohunga / Recommendation

That Council:

a) adopts the proposal to change to a district-wide targeted rate for water supply and wastewater services

b) amends its Revenue & Financing Policy to include the change for implementation 1 July 2023.

1) TĀhuhu kŌrero / Background

There is an increasing challenge in our district to fund water and wastewater. Currently these services are funded through capital and operational targeted rates, with the capital rate calculated on a scheme-by-scheme basis. As part of the previous rate review, it was proposed to change to district-wide targeted rating for reticulated water and wastewater services because it was identified that for communities with a small number of ratepayers, the scheme-based costs were becoming unaffordable.

Since then, costs continue to increase, assets continue to age, and stricter compliance requires a higher level of service. There is also a clearer picture of the future impacts of not taking immediate action to resolve water infrastructure issues.

The proposal that was consulted on was to remove the current scheme-based targeted rates for water and wastewater and replace them with a district-wide targeted rates. This would impact ratepayers connected to (or able to connect to) the 15 wastewater schemes and those properties receiving piped water from our nine water treatment plants. Some ratepayers would experience a net increase in their rates while others would experience a decrease. It would not affect ratepayers who are not connected to (or not able to connect to) any Council wastewater or water scheme.

We proposed this changed to make sure we:

• Achieve compliance

• Support growth

• Manage affordability

• Prepare our communities for the Water Services Reform Programme.

Engagement

Consultation commenced on the 21 November 2022 to 16 February 2023. 213 submissions were received during that time. One additional last submission was received and added into the submission schedule, but not counted as part of the analysis, however their comments and submission were included in the complete submission set provided to Elected Members. 155 submissions were received via the ‘have your say’ page on the FNDC website and the remaining 58 submissions were either via the inbox (48) or hardcopy form (10). Five submitters wished to have their submissions heard verbally, however when contacted only four submitters wished to be heard. An initial date of the 29th of March was postponed to the 6th of April where four submitters verbally presented to council.

Final analysis

All submissions were provided to Elected Members for review. Final analysis was based on the initial question proposed in the consultation: ‘Do you support the proposal to change the way we rate for reticulated water and wastewater to a district-wide rate, instead of a scheme-based rate?’

Noted that in the comments received for connections to reticulated just water or wastewater, the submitters assumed that they would then be charged for both services regardless of if they received both services or not. This resulted in a larger ‘do not support’ response.

Totals by grouped filtered comments*	Support	Does not support	N/a	Total
Additional costs to ratepayer	-	2	1	3
Affordability	6	26	-	32
Fairer system (Inc regional / improved wellbeing / environment)	46	-	-	46
Inequitable system	2	37	-	39
Infrastructure investment and/or compliance	7	4	-	11
Misunderstood proposal/not enough information provided	-	4	2	6
Prefers current system	-	8	1	9
User pays	4	47	2	53

* Responses grouped and calculated based on actual responses to the question proposed.

2) matapaki me NgĀ KŌwhiringa / Discussion and Options

Further to this consultation taking place, government has revised its 3Waters approach, including a name change to Affordable Water Reform Programme with a re-focus on the impetus for the reforms being to improve the affordability of water services. A number of key changes including the number of WSE’s from four to ten, a staggered establishment date and each territorial authority owner appoints one territorial authority representative to the regional representative group.

The main change that impacts this proposal is the staggered establishment date, as the Northland entity will not change. Progress is already underway in the transition of water services into the new entity and it is possible that Entity A could continue its current trajectory, which would include changing the process for district-wide rating of water and wastewater.

There is also the possibility that any reforms will be repealed by any new government should there be a change in government.

Option 1 – Change the rating system as proposed (recommended)

With regard to the Affordable Water Reform, Council will stay within Entity A, and indications from government are that all entities will require a district-wide targeted rate for water supply and wastewater. By changing to a District Wide rating methodology this will align with the current Affordable Water Reform Programmes timeframe, even if there is a staged transition.

Option 2 – Keep the current targeted rating system for water supply and wastewater

Leave the decision to lie on the table until such time that further progress is made in the reforms space and/or central government elections have occurred and programme either continued or repealed. This would then allow a possible change to district-wide rating to occur 1 July 2024 or 1 July 2026.

TAKE TŪTOHUNGA / REASON FOR THE RECOMMENDATION

All submissions have been collated and analysed. To facilitate Council decision making staff have analysed feedback and provided recommendations for Council to debate and, if desired, amend. The decision made at this meeting will come into effect on 1 July 2023. All submitters to this proposal will be notified in due course.

3) PĀnga PŪtea me ngĀ wĀhanga tahua / Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

The decisions made at this meeting determine the financial implications and the district-wide targeted rate for water supply and wastewater for the 2023/24 financial year.

Āpitihanga / Attachments

1. DW Rating Comments Relating to the Proposed Change. - A4214023 ⇩

Hōtaka Take Ōkawa / 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

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

He Take Ōkawa / Compliance Requirement	Aromatawai Kaimahi / 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	Significance of the proposed changes to the schedule of fees and charges is assessed as medium/low.
State the relevant Council policies (external or internal), legislation, and/or community outcomes (as stated in the LTP) that relate to this decision.	The proposed change is relevant to the rating remission policy 2021, Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 and community outcomes of Communities that are healthy, safe, connected and sustainable, proud vibrant communities and a wisely managed and treasured environment that recognises the special role of tangata whenua as kaitiaki.
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.	The proposal has relevance to those affected who can connect or are already connected to water supply and/or wastewater.
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. State the possible implications and how this report aligns with Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi.	Consultation was carried out in accordance with section 83 of the LGA.
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).	Those identified have been contact directly through the consultation process and those who provided feedback have been acknowledged.
State the financial implications and where budgetary provisions have been made to support this decision.	No financial implications exist, it is a transitional change from an individual targeted to a district-wide targeted rate.
Chief Financial Officer review.	The Chief Financial Officer has reviewed this report.

PDF Creator

Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda

1 June 2023

6.3 SH11 Shared Use Path from Paihia to Waitangi

File Number: A4194514

Author: Cushla Jordan, Asset Manager

Authoriser: Janice Smith, Acting Chief Executive

Take Pūrongo / Purpose of the Report

The purpose of this report is to seek Council approval, regarding the Council’s implementation of the proposed Waka Kotahi’s Shared Use Path project along State Highway 11 (SH11) from Paihia to Waitangi.

WhakarĀpopoto matua / Executive Summary

· Outlines the background for the proposed Shared Use Path along SH11 from Paihia to Waitangi which has been socialised with the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board and local community.

· Highlights all the considerations of the preliminary design.

· Identifies risk to the Council in accepting this project from Waka Kotahi; and

· Makes recommendation to decline this project design and implementation at this time and reallocate the local share funds to further support the bridge renewals programme under work category 215 Structures Component Replacements.

tŪtohunga / Recommendation

That Council:

a) declines to undertake the final design and implementation of the draft design undertaken by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency for the proposed Shared Use Path along SH11 from Paihia to Waitangi, and

b) declares a surplus subsidy of $1.38M to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency for their allocation to this project, and

c) reallocates the local share portion of the Long-Term Plan amounting to $0.62M to other prioritised projects previously unfunded.

1) TĀhuhu kŌrero / Background

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (Waka Kotahi) are seeking to investigate a range of options to confirm the preferred design features as part of a wider programme of work that will achieve key investment objectives along State Highway 11 (Marsden Road). This work will form part of the wider Twin Coast Discovery Route (TCDR) programme, which aims to upgrade sections of the route to support local communities, to accommodate the increasing number of people visiting the area, and to encourage others to do the same.

2) matapaki me NgĀ KŌwhiringa / Discussion and Options

The Discussion and Options are provided in detail in the attached report entitled “SH11 Shared Path Paihia to Waitangi”

Attachment 2 entitled: SH11 Paihia to Waitangi Shared use Path Preliminary Design Report - distributed electronically due to the size of the document (121 pages).

TAKE TŪTOHUNGA / REASON FOR THE RECOMMENDATION

The supporting reasoning is provided in detail in the attached report entitled “SH11 Shared Path Paihia to Waitangi”.

3) PĀnga PŪtea me ngĀ wĀhanga tahua / Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

The Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision is provided in detail in the attached report entitled “SH11 Shared Path Paihia to Waitangi”.

Āpitihanga / Attachments

1. NTA Agenda report FNDC SH11 Shared Path Paihia to Waitangi - A4206133 ⇩

Hōtaka Take Ōkawa / 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

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

He Take Ōkawa / Compliance Requirement	Aromatawai Kaimahi / 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	The matter has ‘low significance’ in the context of the policy.
State the relevant Council policies (external or internal), legislation, and/or community outcomes (as stated in the LTP) that relate to this decision.	Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) Council Long Term Plan (LTP)
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.	“…the roading network…” is a specific exclusion to the delegations to community boards. Specific community board views on this issue have not been sought.
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. State the possible implications and how this report aligns with Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi.	The decision is of low significance, and the decision relates solely to funding of a new shared use path. Specific advice has not been sought regarding implications for Māori, for further detail refer to Discussion and Options section of the report.
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).	Should the project proceed the principal affected parties are Local Iwi, residents who reside in Paihia and Waitangi and Business Owners. For further detail refer to Discussion and Options section of the report.
State the financial implications and where budgetary provisions have been made to support this decision.	Refer to financial implications section of the report.
Chief Financial Officer review.	The CFO has reviewed this report

Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda

1 June 2023

6.4 New Lease to FENZ - 3985 State Highway 1, Northern Aupouri, Pukenui

File Number: A4184196

Author: Tania Steen, Property Officer

Authoriser: Kevin Johnson, Group Manager - Delivery and Operations

Take Pūrongo / Purpose of the Report

For Council to consider the granting of a new 30-year (15+15) ground lease and transfer of assets to Fire & Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) at:

· 3985 State Highway 1, Northern Aupouri, Pukenui, Fee Simple, being Lot 1 DP 90633

WhakarĀpopoto matua / Executive Summary

· FENZ has approached Council staff with a request of transferring ownership for four separate rural fire stations buildings and assets to FENZ along with the granting of new long-term ground leases. Two of these sites is in the Te Hiku Ward.

· FENZ currently have a Licence to Use for the 4 sites which expired in June 2022.

· FENZ has made significant capital investment in all four sites and advises that it requires long-term tenure of the land to justify future investment with preference to own the land and buildings.

· The Te Hiku Community Board on 10 May 2022 recommended initiation of the public consultation process to Council.

· Council resolved to initiate Public Consultation at the Council meeting held on 30^th June 2023

· Public consultation for all 4 sites ran from 30 January – 27 February 2023.

o A total of 15 submissions were received.

o 13 submissions were in support of the proposals.

o One member of the Rangiputa community wished to be heard and required further information. Council staff have consulted with the community member and provided further information as requested which has resulted in the community member no longer wishing to be heard.

o One member from the Broadwood community was against and requested more information which Council staff have provided.

o See summary of submission attached.

· The Te Hiku Community Board considered this report at their meeting held 11 April 2023 and made the following resolution.

tŪtohunga / Recommendation

That Council:

a. approves a new ground lease to be issued to Fire & Emergency New Zealand over 3985 State Highway 1, Northern Aupouri, Pukenui, being Lot 1 DP 90633

The terms of the proposed lease shall be:

a. Term: 30 (15+15) years.

b. Rental: $113 + GST for 2022/2023 and reviewed annually in conjunction with the FNDC Fees and Charges Schedule.

b. approves further conditions to be negotiated and agreed upon by the Group Manager Delivery and Operations and Fire and Emergency New Zealand

c. approves transferring ownership of buildings and improvements to Fire & Emergency New Zealand for $1.00.

1) TĀhuhu kŌrero / Background

Fire & Emergency NZ provides a highly valued service to the rural communities of the district and in some instances are a focal point for certain communities.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand occupy established rural fire stations at the following location:

· 3985 State Highway 1, Northen Aupouri, Pukenui, Fee Simple, being Lot 1 DP 90633

The establishment of rural fire stations throughout the Far North was through a mix of local community and Council support.

· Existing tenure is by way of Licence to Use that expired in June 2022.

· Since its creation under the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017, Fire & Emergency NZ has undertaken considerable capital investment in the fire stations.

· Fire & Emergency NZ has informed Council that it wants secured tenure to support future investment in the fire stations.

· It is proposed that the licence to use currently in place is replaced with a long term ground lease.

2) matapaki me NgĀ KŌwhiringa / Discussion and Options

Fire & Emergency NZ has invested considerably into the building and advised if the ownership of the buildings does not transfer into their ownership, that it will only to maintain the assets in their current condition and would look to the Council to fund future CAPEX expenditure, e.g., re-roofing, exterior painting, rewiring, recladding etc.

Option 1: Recommended

a) Enter into a 15-year ground lease with a further 15-year right of renewal at community rent ($113 + gst pa, FNDC Fees and Charges Schedule 2022/2023 - Community leases) for the sites.

b) Transfer ownership of all existing buildings and improvements to Fire & Emergency NZ for $1.00 and write off the book value against retained earnings for the site.

Option 2:

a) Enter into a 15-year ground lease with a further 15-year right of renewal for the site.

b) Council retains ownership of the buildings and improvements

Council would be responsible for all building maintenance and capital expenditure.

TAKE TŪTOHUNGA / REASON FOR THE RECOMMENDATION

Transferring the ownership of the building and improvements accompanied with a 30-year (15+15) ground lease, will provide Fire & Emergency NZ with its required security of tenure to enable it to undertake building and facility improvements in confidence, while relieving Council of ongoing maintenance requirements.

Council retention of land ownership provides the next generations of ratepayers with options for alternative uses for these lands in the future.

Fire & Emergency NZ expressed any existing arrangements involving shared space, access and occupancy with community groups would continue unabated.

3) PĀnga PŪtea me ngĀ wĀhanga tahua / Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

Under the Licence to Use FNDC does not charge rent for the use of the land and buildings.

If the recommendation to transfer the ownership of the building assets to Fire & Emergency NZ is adopted by Council and the associated lands are subject to ground leases, then a nominal ground rental of 113.00 + GST per annum is proposed for each site.

The current “book value” of both sites improvements is $159,325.97, It is proposed that the improvements will be disposed of, and the value written off to retained earnings. This is an accounting entry only and has no financial impact on rates.

Āpitihanga / Attachments

1. Response Export - FENZ Submissions 28.02.23 - A4149473 ⇩

Hōtaka Take Ōkawa / 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

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

He Take Ōkawa / Compliance Requirement	Aromatawai Kaimahi / 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	Low
State the relevant Council policies (external or internal), legislation, and/or community outcomes (as stated in the LTP) that relate to this decision.	Legislation Fire and Emergency Act 2017 until 2017 Council was the rural fire authority. The current Act provides for the handover of responsibility and duties along with documents and records to FENZ.LTP A vital function is ensuring firefighting performance standards are met in urban water supply areas.
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.	Delegation to the relevant Community Board enables them to hear submissions and make a recommendation to Council.
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. State the possible implications and how this report aligns with Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi.	Local Iwi, Te Rarawa and Ngāti Kahu have been consulted with the support from Te Hono
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).	Public consultation provides for the community as individuals and groups to make submissions which will form part of the deliberations prior to a recommendation to Council being made.
State the financial implications and where budgetary provisions have been made to support this decision.	All upgrade and maintenance costs fall to the lessee. A nominal rent for the land of $113.00 + GST per annum is proposed. FENZ responsible for all outgoings. Existing improvements with a book value of $159,325.97 will be written off.
Chief Financial Officer review.	The CFO has reviewed this report

Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda

1 June 2023

6.5 New Lease to FENZ - 1089 Broadwood Road, Broadwood

File Number: A4184182

Author: Tania Steen, Property Officer

Authoriser: Kevin Johnson, Group Manager - Delivery and Operations

Take Pūrongo / Purpose of the Report

For Council to consider the granting of a new 30-year (15+15) ground lease, subject to the Reserves Act 1977 and transfer of assets to Fire & Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) at 1089 Broadwood Road, Broadwood, Local Purpose (community buildings) Reserve being Lot 11 DP 38726

WhakarĀpopoto matua / Executive Summary

· FENZ currently have a Licence to Use for the 4 sites which expired in June 2022.

· FENZ has made significant capital investment in all four sites and advises that it requires long-term tenure of the land to justify future investment with preference to own the land and buildings.

· This matter was last before the Kaikohe - Hokianga Community Board on 11th May 2022 when the Board recommended Council grant a New Lease to FENZ.

· Due to public consultation being required and initiated on all other FENZ sites, Council staff felt it prudent to include this site in the consultation. – Due to the land being classified Local Purpose (community buildings) Reserve it did not require public consultation.

· Council resolved to initiate Public Consultation at the Council meeting held on 30^th June 2023

· Public consultation for all 4 sites ran from 30 January – 27 February 2023.

o A total of 15 submissions were received.

o 13 submissions were in support of the proposals.

o One member of the Broadwood community wished to be heard and required further information. Council staff have consulted with the community member and provided further information as requested which has resulted in the community member no longer wishing to be heard.

o One member from the Broadwood community was against and requested more information which Council staff have provided.

o See summary of submissions attached.

· The Kaikohe - Hokianga Community Board considered this report at their meeting held 12 April 2023 and made the following resolution.

TŪTOHUNGA / RECOMMENDATION

That Council:

a) approves a new ground lease under the Reserves Act 1977 to be issued to Fire & Emergency New Zealand over 1089 Broadwood Road, Broadwood, Local Purpose (community buildings) Reserve, being Lot 11 DP 38726,

The terms of the proposed lease shall be:

a. Term: 30 (15+15) years.

b. Rental: $113 plus GST for 2022/2023 and reviewed annually in conjunction with the FNDC Fees and Charges Schedule.

b) approves further conditions to be negotiated and agreed upon by the Group Manager Delivery and Operations and Fire and Emergency New Zealand

c) approves transferring ownership of buildings and improvements to Fire & Emergency New Zealand for $1.00.

1) TĀhuhu kŌrero / Background

Fire & Emergency NZ provides a highly valued service to the rural communities of the district and in some instances are a focal point for certain communities.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand occupy established rural fire stations at the following location:

· 1089 Broadwood Road, Broadwood, Local Purpose (community buildings) Reserve being Lot 11 DP 38726.

The establishment of rural fire stations throughout the Far North was through a mix of local community and Council support.

· Existing tenure is by way of Licence to Use that expired in June 2022.

· Since its creation under the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017, Fire & Emergency NZ has undertaken considerable capital investment in the fire station.

· Fire & Emergency NZ has informed Council that it wants secured tenure to support future investment in the fire station.

· It is proposed that the licence to use currently in place is replaced with a long-term ground lease.

· The Reserves Act 1977 provides for the administering body of a reserve to lease all or part of a reserve for an appropriate purpose.

The Reserves Act 1977 provides for the administering body of a reserve to lease all or part of a reserve for an appropriate purpose.

Council delegations: the role of the Board vs the role of the Council

Council’s delegations to Community Boards authorise the Boards to provide recommendations to the Council in respect of applications for the use and/or lease of reserves not contemplated by an existing reserve management plan.

The Kaikohe-Hokianga Community Board is therefore now required to deliberate upon the submissions received (see attached list of submissions), and then make a recommendation to Council in respect of the proposal.

Minister of Conservation 2013 Reserves Act delegation to Council: Council, in exercising the Ministers delegation is to wear both the Ministers hat and that of the Council by considering both the wider public interest as well as the interest of the local community and that the requirements of the Reserves Act have been followed.

2) matapaki me NgĀ KŌwhiringa / Discussion and Options

Option 1: Recommended

a) Enter into a 15-year ground lease with a further 15-year right of renewal at community rent ($113 + gst pa, FNDC Fees and Charges Schedule 2022/2023 - Community leases) for the site.

b) Transfer ownership of all existing buildings and improvements to Fire & Emergency NZ for $1.00 and write off the book value against retained earnings for the site.

Option 2:

a) Enter into a 15-year ground lease with a further 15-year right of renewal for the site.

b) Council retains ownership of the buildings and improvements

Council would be responsible for all building maintenance and capital expenditure.

TAKE TŪTOHUNGA / REASON FOR THE RECOMMENDATION

Council retention of land ownership provides the next generations of ratepayers with options for alternative uses for these lands in the future.

Fire & Emergency NZ expressed any existing arrangements involving shared space, access and occupancy with community groups would continue unabated.

3) PĀnga PŪtea me ngĀ wĀhanga tahua / Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

Under the Licence to Use FNDC does not charge rent for the use of the land and buildings.

The current “book value” of improvements is $73,642.07 It is proposed that the improvements will be disposed of, and the value written off to retained earnings. This is an accounting entry only and has no financial impact on rates.

Āpitihanga / Attachments

1. Response Export - FENZ Submissions 28.02.23 - A4153435 ⇩

Hōtaka Take Ōkawa / 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

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

He Take Ōkawa / Compliance Requirement	Aromatawai Kaimahi / 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	Low
State the relevant Council policies (external or internal), legislation, and/or community outcomes (as stated in the LTP) that relate to this decision.	Legislation Fire and Emergency Act 2017 until 2017 Council was the rural fire authority. The current Act provides for the handover of responsibility and duties along with documents and records to FENZ.LTP A vital function is ensuring firefighting performance standards are met in urban water supply areas.
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.	Delegation to the relevant Community Board enables them to hear submissions and make a recommendation to Council.
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. State the possible implications and how this report aligns with Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi.	Local Iwi Te Rarawa have been consulted with the support from Te Hono
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).	Public consultation provides for the community as individuals and groups to make submissions which will form part of the deliberations prior to a recommendation to Council being made.
State the financial implications and where budgetary provisions have been made to support this decision.	All upgrade and maintenance costs fall to the lessee. A nominal rent for the land of $113.00 + GST per annum is proposed. FENZ responsible for all outgoings. Existing improvements with a book value of $73,642.07 will be written off.
Chief Financial Officer review.	The Acting CFO has reviewed this report.

Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda

1 June 2023

6.6 New Lease to FENZ - 699 Rangiputa Road, Karikari Peninsula

File Number: A4184282

Author: Tania Steen, Property Officer

Authoriser: Kevin Johnson, Group Manager - Delivery and Operations

Take Pūrongo / Purpose of the Report

For Council to consider the granting of a new 30-year (15+15) ground lease, subject to the Reserves Act 1977 and transfer of assets to Fire & Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) at 699 Rangiputa Road, Karikari, Recreation Reserve, being part of section 19 BLK 11 Rangaunu SD.

WhakarĀpopoto matua / Executive Summary

· FENZ currently have a Licence to Use for the 4 sites which expired in June 2022.

· FENZ has made significant capital investment in all four sites and advises that it requires long-term tenure of the land to justify future investment with preference to own the land and buildings.

· This matter was last before the Te Hiku Community Board on 10 May 2022 when the Board recommended initiation of the public consultation process to Council.

· Council resolved to initiate Public Consultation at the Council meeting held on 30^th June 2023

· Public consultation for all 4 sites ran from 30 January – 27 February 2023.

· A total of 15 submissions were received.

o 13 submissions were in support of the proposals.

o One member from the Broadwood community was against and requested more information which Council staff have provided.

o See summary of submissions attached

· The Te Hiku Community Board considered this report at their meeting held 11 April 2023 and made the following resolution.

tŪtohunga / Recommendation

That Council:

a. approves a new ground lease under the Reserves Act 1977 to be issued to Fire & Emergency New Zealand over 699 Rangiputa Road, Karikari, 1600 square meters more or less, subject to survey of the land, being part of section 19 BLK 11 Rangaunu SD being 13.8225 hectares and vested in Far North District Council as Recreation Reserve.

The terms of the proposed lease shall be:

a. Term: 30 (15+15) years.

b. Rental: $113 plus GST for 2022/23 and reviewed annually in conjunction with the FNDC Fees and Charges Schedule.

b. approves the change of classification of the (sqm 1600) of land at 699 Rangiputa Road, Karikari, subject to the lease as Local Purpose (community building) Reserve, with the balance remaining as Recreation Reserve under the Reserves Act 1997.

c. approves further conditions to be negotiated and agreed upon by the Group Manager Delivery and Operations and Fire and Emergency New Zealand

d. approves transferring ownership of buildings and improvements to Fire & Emergency New Zealand for $1.00.

1) TĀhuhu kŌrero / Background

Fire & Emergency NZ provides a highly valued service to the rural communities of the district and in some instances are a focal point for certain communities.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand occupy established rural fire stations at the following location:

· 699 Rangiputa Road, Karikari, Recreation Reserve, being part section 19 BLK 11 Rangaunu SD

The establishment of rural fire stations throughout the Far North was through a mix of local community and Council support.

· Existing tenure is by way of Licence to Use that expired in June 2022.

· Since its creation under the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017, Fire & Emergency NZ has undertaken considerable capital investment in the fire stations.

· Fire & Emergency NZ has informed Council that it wants secured tenure to support future investment in the fire stations.

· It is proposed that the licence to use currently in place is replaced with a long term ground lease.

· The Reserves Act 1977 provides for the administering body of a reserve to lease all or part of a reserve for an appropriate purpose.

In reference to - 699 Rangiputa Road, Karikari Peninsula – Recreation Reserve

The Reserves Act provides for the administering body of a reserve to lease all or part of a reserve for an appropriate purpose. Public consultation, giving full consideration to all submissions, is to be undertaken prior to the granting of a lease.

By way of the Reserves Act 1997 (The Act) it is further proposed to change the classification of 1600 square meters (more or less) being the land currently occupied by Fire & Emergency NZ to Local Purpose (community building) Reserve with the balance of the reserve land remaining as Recreation Reserve.

Part Section 19 BLK 11 Rangaunu SD is vested in Council as a classified Recreation Reserve. The Act requires Council as the local authority to classify vested reserves according to their primary purpose. The proposed change of classification will see the fire station site classified appropriately. The Act allows for part of a reserve to be classified for one purpose and the other part of the same reserve for another purpose. Prior to changing a reserve classification, the local authority is to undertake public notice, giving full consideration to all submissions.

Council delegations: the role of the Board vs the role of the Council

2) matapaki me NgĀ KŌwhiringa / Discussion and Options

Option 1: Recommended

a) Enter into a 15-year ground lease with a further 15-year right of renewal at community rent ($113 + gst pa, FNDC Fees and Charges Schedule 2022/2023 - Community leases) for the sites.

b) Transfer ownership of all existing buildings and improvements to Fire & Emergency NZ for $1.00 and write off the book value against retained earnings for the site.

c) Change the classification of 1600sqm (more or less) of land at 699 Rangiputa Road, Karikari, subject to the lease, to Local Purpose (community building) Reserve, with the balance remaining Recreation Reserve under the Reserves Act 1997.

Option 2:

a) Enter into a 15-year ground lease with a further 15-year right of renewal for the site.

b) Council retains ownership of the buildings and improvements

Council would be responsible for all building maintenance and capital expenditure.

TAKE TŪTOHUNGA / REASON FOR THE RECOMMENDATION

Council retention of land ownership provides the next generations of ratepayers with options for alternative uses for these lands in the future.

Fire & Emergency NZ expressed any existing arrangements involving shared space, access and occupancy with community groups would continue unabated.

3) PĀnga PŪtea me ngĀ wĀhanga tahua / Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

Under the Licence to Use FNDC does not charge rent for the use of the land and buildings.

The current “book value” of both sites improvements is $171,785.58, It is proposed that the improvements will be disposed of, and the value written off to retained earnings. This is an accounting entry only and has no financial impact on rates.

Āpitihanga / Attachments

1. FENZ Submission Receipt Redacted - A4149550 ⇩

2. Response Export - FENZ Submissions 28.02.23 - A4149663 ⇩

Hōtaka Take Ōkawa / 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

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

He Take Ōkawa / Compliance Requirement	Aromatawai Kaimahi / 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	Low
State the relevant Council policies (external or internal), legislation, and/or community outcomes (as stated in the LTP) that relate to this decision.	Legislation Fire and Emergency Act 2017 until 2017 Council was the rural fire authority. The current Act provides for the handover of responsibility and duties along with documents and records to FENZ.LTP A vital function is ensuring firefighting performance standards are met in urban water supply areas.
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.	Delegation to the relevant Community Board enables them to hear submissions and make a recommendation to Council.
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. State the possible implications and how this report aligns with Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi.	Local Iwi Ngāti Kahu have been consulted with the support from Te Hono
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).	Public consultation provides for the community as individuals and groups to make submissions which will form part of the deliberations prior to a recommendation to Council being made.
State the financial implications and where budgetary provisions have been made to support this decision.	All upgrade and maintenance costs fall to the lessee. A nominal rent for the land of $113.00 + GST per annum is proposed. FENZ responsible for all outgoings. Existing improvements with a book value of $171,785.58 will be written off.
Chief Financial Officer review.	The CFO has reviewed this report

Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda

1 June 2023

6.7 New Lease to FENZ - 721 Taupo Bay Road

File Number: A4184976

Author: Tania Steen, Property Officer

Authoriser: Kevin Johnson, Group Manager - Delivery and Operations

Take Pūrongo / Purpose of the Report

For Council to consider the granting of a new 30-year (15+15) ground lease and transfer of assets to Fire & Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) at 721 Taupo Bay Road, Mangonui, being Lot 1 DP 200100 – Fee simple.

WhakarĀpopoto matua / Executive Summary

· FENZ currently have a Licence to Use for the 4 sites which expired in June 2022.

· FENZ has made significant capital investment in all four sites and advises that it requires long-term tenure of the land to justify future investment with preference to own the land and buildings.

· This matter was last before the Bay of Islands - Whangaroa Community Board on 2^nd June 2022 when the Board recommended initiation of the public consultation process to Council.

· Council resolved to initiate Public Consultation at the Council meeting held on 30^th June 2023

· Public consultation for all 4 sites ran from 30 January – 27 February 2023.

o A total of 15 submissions were received.

o 13 submissions were in support of the proposals.

o One member from the Broadwood community was against and requested more information which Council staff have provided.

o See summary of submissions attached.

· The Bay of Islands - Whangaroa Community Board considered this report at their meeting held 13 April 2023 and made the following resolution.

TŪTOHUNGA / RECOMMENDATION

That Council:

a) approves a new ground lease to be issued to Fire & Emergency New Zealand over 721 Taupo Bay Road, Mangonui, being Lot 1 DP 200100.

The terms of the proposed lease shall be:

a. Term: 30 (15+15) years.

b. Rental: $113 plus GAT for 2022/23 and reviewed annually in conjunction with the FNDC Fees and Charges Schedule.

b) approves further conditions to be negotiated and agreed upon by the Group Manager Delivery and Operations and Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

c) approves transferring ownership of buildings and improvements to fire & Emergency New Zealand for $1.00.

1) TĀhuhu kŌrero / Background

Fire & Emergency NZ provides a highly valued service to the rural communities of the district and in some instances are a focal point for certain communities.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand occupy established rural fire stations at the following location:

· 721 Taupo Bay Road, Mangonui. – Fee Simple

The establishment of rural fire stations throughout the Far North was through a mix of local community and Council support.

· Existing tenure is by way of Licence to Use that expired in June 2022.

· Since its creation under the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017, Fire & Emergency NZ has undertaken considerable capital investment in the fire station.

· Fire & Emergency NZ has informed Council that it wants secured tenure to support future investment in the fire station.

· It is proposed that the licence to use currently in place is replaced with a long-term ground lease.

2) matapaki me NgĀ KŌwhiringa / Discussion and Options

Option 1: Recommended

a) Enter into a 15-year ground lease with a further 15-year right of renewal at community rent ($113 + gst pa, FNDC Fees and Charges Schedule 2022/2023 - Community leases) for the site.

b) Transfer ownership of all existing buildings and improvements to Fire & Emergency NZ for $1.00 and write off the book value against retained earnings for the site.

Option 2:

a) Enter into a 15-year ground lease with a further 15-year right of renewal for the site.

b) Council retains ownership of the buildings and improvements

Council would be responsible for all building maintenance and capital expenditure.

TAKE TŪTOHUNGA / REASON FOR THE RECOMMENDATION

Council retention of land ownership provides the next generations of ratepayers with options for alternative uses for these lands in the future.

Fire & Emergency NZ expressed any existing arrangements involving shared space, access and occupancy with community groups would continue unabated.

3) PĀnga PŪtea me ngĀ wĀhanga tahua / Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

Under the Licence to Use FNDC does not charge rent for the use of the land and buildings.

The current “book value” of improvements is $99,470.51, It is proposed that the improvements will be disposed of, and the value written off to retained earnings. This is an accounting entry only and has no financial impact on rates.

Āpitihanga / Attachments

Nil

Hōtaka Take Ōkawa / 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

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

He Take Ōkawa / Compliance Requirement	Aromatawai Kaimahi / 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	Low
State the relevant Council policies (external or internal), legislation, and/or community outcomes (as stated in the LTP) that relate to this decision.	Legislation Fire and Emergency Act 2017 until 2017 Council was the rural fire authority. The current Act provides for the handover of responsibility and duties along with documents and records to FENZ.LTP A vital function is ensuring firefighting performance standards are met in urban water supply areas.
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.	Delegation to the relevant Community Board enables them to hear submissions and make a recommendation to Council.
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. State the possible implications and how this report aligns with Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi.	Local iwi, Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa and Ngāpuhi/Ngāti Kahu ki Whaingaroa have been consulted with the support from Te Hono
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).	Public consultation provides for the community as individuals and groups to make submissions which will form part of the deliberations prior to a recommendation to Council being made.
State the financial implications and where budgetary provisions have been made to support this decision.	All upgrade and maintenance costs fall to the lessee. A nominal rent for the land of $113.00 + GST per annum is proposed. FENZ responsible for all outgoings. Existing improvements with a book value of $99,470.51 will be written off.
Chief Financial Officer review.	The CFO has reviewed this report

Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda

1 June 2023

6.8 Kaitaia Saturday Market - Licence to Occupy

File Number: A4184708

Author: Graham Norton, Team Leader - Facilities Operations

Authoriser: Kevin Johnson, Group Manager - Delivery and Operations

Take Pūrongo / Purpose of the Report

WhakarĀpopoto matua / Executive Summary

· Shirley Williams has approached Council for renewal of a long-standing over the Melba Avenue Carpark in Kaitaia in order to provide a defined home for the Kaitaia Saturday Market.

· The Kaitaia Saturday Market has occupied this space under a LTO since at least February 2000.

· At the meeting held 11 April 2023 the Te Hiku Community Board made the following recommendation to Council.

tŪtohunga / Recommendation

That Council;

a) approve the Licence to Occupy to be issued to Shirley Williams for the Melba Avenue Carpark, Lot 3 DP 179628 NA110D/257 for a 12-month term with a Right to Renew, and

b) any subsequent markets held be charged at the daily fee as an additional charge.

1) TĀhuhu kŌrero / Background

The Kaitaia Saturday Market has been held on the designated site on Melba Avenue Carpark since at least February 2000 under a Licence to Occupy Agreement and provides considerable value to the town through increased visitor traffic (local, district and tourist). This was transitioned over to a new holder in approximately FY21-22 without any wider consultation. As the Licence to Occupy is now due for renewal it was felt appropriate to provide the Community Board an opportunity to review the agreement and provide comment and a recommendation to Council on the renewal.

2) matapaki me NgĀ KŌwhiringa / Discussion and Options

· It is suggested that the existing agreement be retained with minor amendments to the clauses to include a requirement of an Annual Report, providing improved transparency around the market operation, site occupation numbers, and reinvestment into the community from the LTO holder.

The current Licence to Occupy agreement is written to provide considerable flexibility should anything change and the space need to be returned to council control so poses low risk to council.

The daily fee would increase to $215.00 to reflect 7.5% inflation costs.

· The Licence to Occupy can be declined but there is a degree of reputational risk associated with this given the community value of this event and duration that the LTO has been in place. Ultimately declining the LTO does not stop the event progressing but does remove certainty as other users may book the space for alternative events – the report writer is not aware of any historical conflict over the space the Saturday Market occupies that would warrant this change. If the Market books on a per event basis we would see increased workload for council staff in processing applications, potentially taking focus away from other community events.

TAKE TŪTOHUNGA / REASON FOR THE RECOMMENDATION

3) PĀnga PŪtea me ngĀ wĀhanga tahua / Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

Negligible – if approved there will be a minor increase in revenue.

Āpitihanga / Attachments

1. 230323GN KTA Market LTO - Copy - A4142887 ⇩

2. 230323GN KTA Market LTO - Feb 2000 - A4142985 ⇩

3. 230323GN KTA Market Report Jan - Feb - A4142886 ⇩

Hōtaka Take Ōkawa / 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

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

He Take Ōkawa / Compliance Requirement	Aromatawai Kaimahi / 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
State the relevant Council policies (external or internal), legislation, and/or community outcomes (as stated in the LTP) that relate to this decision.	The market pulls the community together, promotes local business and attracts visitor income into the area.
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.	Delegation to the relevant Community Board enables them to hear submissions and make a recommendation to Council.
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. State the possible implications and how this report aligns with Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi.	This is not considered a significant decision as the LTO benefits all groups, only impacts a small area within a built environment and has considerable built in flexibility. As such consultation has not been undertaken.
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).	No Impact
State the financial implications and where budgetary provisions have been made to support this decision.	Minimal – under financial implications
Chief Financial Officer review.	NA

Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda

1 June 2023

6.9 Adoption of Amended Class 4 Gaming and TAB Venue Policy

File Number: A4196242

Author: Anne Wolterbeek, Policy Advisor

Authoriser: Roger Ackers, Group Manager - Planning & Policy

Take Pūrongo / Purpose of the Report

To approve the adoption of the amended Class 4 Gaming and TAB Venue Policy.

WhakarĀpopoto matua / Executive Summary

· On 24 February 2022, the Policy was reviewed under section 102 of the Gambling Act 2003 and section 97 of the Racing Industry Act 2020. Council resolved that the policy should continue with amendment (Resolution 2022/5).

· On 9 Feb 2023 Council approved a proposal for an amended Class 4 Gaming and TAB Venue Policy be released for public consultation.

· Consultation took place from 15 February to 15 March 2023 and oral submissions were heard on 6 April 2023.

· Council staff have analysed the submissions and recommend changes to the draft amended Policy in response to these submissions (attachment 1).

· Attachment 2 is the proposed final amended policy for adoption.

tŪtohunga / Recommendation

That Council:

a) approves, the recommendations in the staff report on Class 4 Gaming and TAB Venue Policy submissions and recommendations for consideration in attachment 1 that:

i) No changes are made to clauses 1, 2 (a, c, d, e, f, g, h & i), 3 & 4.

ii) Clause 2b is amended as per the recommendations in section 4 of the staff report Analysis of Submissions of Class 4 Gaming and TAB Venue Policy in attachment 1.

b) makes, the Class 4 Gaming and TAB Venue Policy under section 101 of the Gambling Act 2003 and section 96 of the Racing Industry Act 2020.

1) TĀhuhu kŌrero / Background

The Council is required to have a Class 4 gaming policy under section 101 of the Gambling Act

2003. The Council is also required to have a TAB venue policy under section 96 of the Racing

Industry Act 2020. When adopting or reviewing this policy, the Council must have regard to the social impact and harm prevention of gambling within the district.

On 24 February 2022, the Policy was reviewed under section 102 of the Gambling Act 2003 and section 97 of the Racing Industry Act 2020. Council determined the policy continue with amendment (Resolution 2022/5 refers).

On 9 Feb 2023, Council approved a proposal for an amended Class 4 Gaming and TAB Venue Policy for public consultation.

The period during which people could make submissions on the proposal was from 15 February to 15 March 2023. Thirty written submissions were received, with 11 received online and 19 via email. Six of those who made written submissions also made oral submissions to the Council and these submissions were heard by the Council on 6 April 2023.

2) matapaki me NgĀ KŌwhiringa / Discussion and Options

The report in Attachment 1 summarises the public submissions and makes recommended changes to one of the clauses in the amended policy in response to these submissions.

If these recommendations are agreed to, Council staff advise that the amended Class 4 Gaming and TAB Venue Policy in Attachment 2 is an appropriate form of policy for the purposes of section

Section 102 of the Gambling Act 2003 and section 97 of the Racing Industry Act 2020.

Content and form of the proposed policy

Council staff have addressed content and form by ensuring the Policy:

• is certain (clear)

• consistently follows the intent of a sinking lid policy

• applies a sinking lid policy to both Class 4 gaming venues and TAB venues

• consistent with relevant laws and legislation

TAKE TŪTOHUNGA / REASON FOR THE RECOMMENDATION

The Class 4 Gaming and TAB Venue Policy is amended as it is consistent with relevant laws and legislation and to minimises harm caused by gambling in the Far North District.

3) PĀnga PŪtea me ngĀ wĀhanga tahua / Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

The costs to implement the amended Policy will come from existing operational budgets.

Āpitihanga / Attachments

1. Analysis Report on Gaming Policy Submissions 2023 - A4193880 ⇩

2. Class 4 Gaming and TAB Venue Policy - A4198494 ⇩

Hōtaka Take Ōkawa / 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

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

He Take Ōkawa / Compliance Requirement	Aromatawai Kaimahi / 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	In line with the Significance and Engagement Policy, the recommendation to continue the policy with amendments will have little effect on financial thresholds, ratepayers, specific demographics or levels of service. Therefore, the level of significance is low.
State the relevant Council policies (external or internal), legislation, and/or community outcomes (as stated in the LTP) that relate to this decision.	Sections 102 of the Gambling Act 2003, section 97 and 98 of the Racing Industry Act 2020 and sections 10 and 83 of the Local Government Act 2002 applies to the decision recommended in this report.
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.	The proposal has District wide relevance and therefore the Community Boards views have not been sought.
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. State the possible implications and how this report aligns with Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi.	The decision in this report is not significant and does not relate to land and/or any body of water. However, Māori are significantly more likely than non-Māori to be negatively impacted by the harmful effects of gambling. Māori have been given the opportunity to share their views and preferences through the consultation process. Two kaupapa Māori health providers engaged in consultation providing both written and oral submissions. These were Ngā Manga Pūriri and Te Hau Ora o Ngāpuhi (a subsidiary of Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi-Ō-Ngāpuhi).
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).	Affected and interested parties have been given the opportunity to share their views and preferences during the consultation period which included: • community groups concerned about class 4 gaming and TAB venues in their community • gaming trust industry • Ngā Tai Ora – Public Health Northland · social service organisations
State the financial implications and where budgetary provisions have been made to support this decision.	The cost to implement the Policy will come from existing operation budgets.
Chief Financial Officer review.	This report has been reviewed by the Chief Financial Officer

Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda

1 June 2023

6.10 Speed Limit Review Kerikeri Bay of Islands (Author: Shawn Baker - Northland Transportation Alliance Contractor)

File Number: A4208744

Author: Dan Bowmar, Policy Advisor

Authoriser: Roger Ackers, Group Manager - Planning & Policy

Take Pūrongo / Purpose of the Report

To adopt the Recommendations Report and Interim Speed Management Plan for the Kerikeri Bay of Islands Catchment Speed Limit Review.

WhakarĀpopoto matua / Executive Summary

· This agenda item seeks the adoption of recommendations arising from a review of speed limits in the Kerikeri Bay of Islands area and associated consultation.

· The agenda also seeks the adoption of an Interim Speed Management Plan for Kerikeri Bay of Islands, which is now the legal mechanism for setting speed limits. This speed limit review has been undertaken as part of the implementation of the government’s Road to Zero National Road Safety Strategy and a new Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2022.

tŪtohunga / Recommendation

That the Council:

a) adopts the Regional Speed Limit Review Kerikeri Bay of islands Catchment Recommendations Report (Attachment 1)

b) adopts the Interim Speed Management Plan for Kerikeri Bay of Islands (Attachment 2)

c) receives the report Regional Speed Limit Reviews – Bay of islands and Kerikeri Technical Report (Attachment C) (distributed electronically due to size of the document - 159 pages)

d) delegates the Chief Executive (or nominee) to make any necessary minor drafting or presentation amendments to the attached Recommendations Report (Attachment A) and Interim Speed Management Plan for Kerikeri Bay of islands (Attachment B) and to approve the final design and layout of the documents prior to final printing and publication.

1) TĀhuhu kŌrero / Background

Proposed new speed limits in the Kerikeri Bay of Islands Catchment area were publicly notified in accordance with Section 3.9 of the Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2022; with feedback being sought from 26th October to 5th December 2022. Hearings were held at Council Chambers in Kaikohe on March 21st, 2023.

A total of 253 submissions were received with 11 submitters attending the Hearing.

This Agenda item provides Council with recommended changes to speed limits in the Kerikeri Bay of Islands Catchment area. The Recommendations Report (Attachment 1) takes account of all submissions received, including the requirements of the Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2022; Road to Zero, National Road Safety Strategy 2020-2030; and National Speed Management Guidance.

Based on the attached Recommendations, an Interim Speed Management Plan has been produced (Attachment 2). This Interim Speed Management Plan is the document that is forwarded to the director of Waka Kotahi (NZTA) for certification under the Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2022.

The Technical Report that sets out the technical matters that must be considered under the Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2022 is attached (Attachment C distributed electronically due to size of the document – 159 pages). The inclusion of this Report within the decision documentation completes the documentation to show that council has considered all matters required under the relevant legislation. The Technical Report was publicly available as background information as part of the public consultation process.

Adopting the Recommendations Report and Interim Speed Management Plan enables staff to certify the Interim Speed Management Plan and commence the procurement and implementation phase of the Speed Limit Review.

No further decisions will be required to implement the new speed limits in the Kerikeri Bay of islands catchment.

2) matapaki me NgĀ KŌwhiringa / Discussion and Options

Submissions

A total of 253 submissions were received with 11 submitters presenting in support of their submissions at a formal hearing on 21st March 2023; held in Council Chambers in Kaikohe.

In preparing the Recommendations Report, all submissions were reviewed alongside the technical assessments required under the Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2022. Where required, additional site visits and engineering assessments were undertaken.

Decision process

This Agenda Item and Attachments provide all the information that Council, in its capacity as Road Controlling Authority, must consider when setting new speed limits. The recommendations on new speed limits have been informed by community feedback and meet national speed management guidance and legal requirements for setting speed limits.

Once the Recommendations Report and Interim Speed Management Plan are adopted, staff will commence the certification process by Waka Kotahi (NZTA). Certification is a legal requirement and ensures that the requirements the Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2022 has been met and ensures national consistency in speed limit setting.

Final detailed design of physical infrastructure (signage etc) and procurement will commence once the Interim Speed Management Plan has been certified. It is expected that the new speed limits will come into force in the second half of 2023.

Technical information

Section 3.15(2) of the Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2022 sets out a range of matters that must be considered when setting a speed limit. The Regional Speed Reviews – Kerikeri Bay of Islands Catchment Technical Report (Attachment C distributed electronically due to size of the document – 159 pages) sets out all the technical information required under Section 3.15(2), except for community feedback.

The Technical Report, along with the Recommendations Report sets out all the information required to support both the originally proposed speed limits and recommended speed limits.

The requirement to consider community feedback is satisfied by the consultation process undertaken and the resulting Recommendations Report.

OPTIONS

Option 1: Council may adopt the Recommendations Report and Interim Speed Management Plan in full. This option will enable certification and implementation of the new speed limits.

Option 2: Council may adopt the Recommendations Report and Interim Speed Management Plan with amendments. If Council decide on any amendments, additional assessments may be required to ensure that the amendments meet the requirements of the Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2022 and National Speed Management Guidance.

Option 3: Council may reject the Recommendations Report in its entirety. This option is not recommended as it may result in a need to re-consult.

The recommended option is option 1.

Next steps

Once the Recommendations Report and Interim Speed Management Plan is adopted, staff will finalise the certification of the Interim Speed Management Plan and commence the procurement and implementation process.

TAKE TŪTOHUNGA / REASON FOR THE RECOMMENDATION

The Recommendations arising from consultation and the resultant Interim Speed Management Plan must be adopted by Council before the Speed Management Plan can be certified and implemented.

3) PĀnga PŪtea me ngĀ wĀhanga tahua / Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

The installation and removal of the required signage will be funded from the Low-Cost Low Risk (LCLR) Speed Limit budget as part of the 2023-2024 financial year budgets. Additional funding for some physical works to support new speed limits may be sought through the future LTP process.

Āpitihanga / Attachments

1. Regional Speed Limit Review Kerikeri Bay of islands Catchment Recommendations Report Attachment 1 - A4208708 ⇩

2. Interim Speed Management Plan for Kerikeri Bay of Islands Attachment 2 - A4222890 ⇩

Hōtaka Take Ōkawa / 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

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

He Take Ōkawa / Compliance Requirement	Aromatawai Kaimahi / 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	Significance has been determined as “Low” under Councils Significance and Engagement Policy.
State the relevant Council policies (external or internal), legislation, and/or community outcomes (as stated in the LTP) that relate to this decision.	Land Transport Act 1998 Land Transport (Register of Land Transport Records – Speed Limits) Regulations 2022. Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2022
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.	This decision is procedural in nature and does not impact on the district.
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. State the possible implications and how this report aligns with Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi.	There are no implications for Māori as the decision is procedural as part of the enactment of national legislation.
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).	There are no persons likely to be affected as this decision is procedural in nature.
State the financial implications and where budgetary provisions have been made to support this decision.	There are no ongoing financial implications associated with this decision.
Chief Financial Officer review.	The Chief Financial Officer has reviewed this report

Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda

1 June 2023

6.11 Alternative Options - Asset Management Systems

File Number: A4209270

Author: Ian Larsen, IT Project Manager

Authoriser: Janice Smith, Acting Chief Executive

Take Pūrongo / Purpose of the Report

As requested by the Te Miromiro – Assurance, Risk & Finance Committee (Public Excluded resolution 2022/9-part d) on August 31, 2022), this report presents an assessment and recommendations relating to the approach to Asset Management within Council in the light if the Far North Waters Alliance reset, 3 Water Reform and the decision to terminate Programme Darwin.

WhakarĀpopoto matua / Executive Summary

· As far back as 2013, Council embarked on an ambitious project to replace a legacy Asset Management System (AMS) with a new solution.

· In 2018 it was decided that an Enterprise Class Asset Management Solution would be adopted.

· Only Technology One and Infor (IPS) provided responses.

· Infor were awarded the contract, but it was based upon a less featured, affordable on-premises offering that excluded some key features demonstrated to the selection panel during the procurement assessment.

· In particular, the Data Lake and “Living Asset Management Plan” features were demonstrated but not included in the procurement.

· In August 2022, the Assurance Risk & Finance (ARF) Committee endorsed a report recommending a suspension of the AMS project pending further analysis of the business needs in a vastly changed operating environment and identification of alternative solutions.

tŪtohunga / Recommendation

That Council approves:

a) permanently terminating the deployment of Infor Public Sector (IPS) for non-3 Waters asset management

b) staff investigate an alternate, size-appropriate, fit-for-purpose system

c) staff continue working with the National Transition Unit (NTU) and Watercare to implement Far North Waters Alliance (FNWA) 3 Waters Asset Management on the appropriate platform

1) TĀhuhu kŌrero / Background

This report is prepared with consideration for the potential impact of the 3 Waters reform and the Far North Waters Alliance (FNWA) reset. The existing Northland Transport Alliance (NTA) structures will retain the responsibility for roading assets and therefore these assets are out of scope for this report.

The 3 Waters reform has imposed a cessation of local data transformation activities pending a final resolution of the reform; however, the ongoing business need of Council requires that we actively manage the 3 Waters assets of the District. The 3 Waters Asset Management function is expected to reside within the FNWA until a final disposition of the 3 Waters Reform is determined post the General Election in 2023. A separate initiative has been established that is taking Waters Assets into a 3 Waters NTU/Watercare asset management system for the FNWA.

The focus for ongoing activities will be on the District Facilities assets (incl. solid waste) and the processes that support the management of those assets. The concept of non-water asset management has been broadened in this report to include ANY asset under Council control that requires formal management.

The scale of the remaining asset management business need should be considered as a response to the number of assets that would be under formal management. Currently, the scope only includes approximately 6,500+ District Facilities assets. This would tend to indicate a more compact, size-appropriate solution should be sought. Even when considering other assets the Council manages, that were not in the original scope but that could be placed under formal management, the number of assets does not climb to a level where an enterprise class platform (e.g. Infor IPS) is appropriate. Market analysis of medium scale systems has, therefore, been carried out to provide input to this report.

2) matapaki me NgĀ KŌwhiringa / Discussion and Options

Council Asset Management framework

Non-Water Assets remain in the Council remit for financial prudence irrespective of the outcomes of any potential future outcome of the 3 Waters Reform. There are more assets in Council than those currently and solely governed in the Infrastructure Asset Management arena. The high-level requirements developed several years ago have been reviewed in this context.

The high-level outcomes for any solution to support Asset Management functions are:

· A consolidated asset register

· The ability to identify and monitor critical assets

· Understand the asset register in terms of condition, performance and risk

· To develop and operate assets plans across the complete lifecycle

· Demonstrate an evidence-based renewal programme

· To scope, plan and execute a capital works programme

· To understand the financial implications of assets

· The ability to record, store and retrieve key artefacts (e.g. plans, images)

Data Quality

Perhaps one of the most critical aspects of any system that helps organisations manage their information is the issue of the quality control of the data involved in the system. For several years now, the asset data in the IAM area of Council has been managed in what has been inaccurately referred to as a “spreadsheet”. This data source is effectively a flat structure wherein all data for any singular asset is held in a single record with zero system-imposed controls to ensure data quality with a significant reliance on the experience and knowledge of a very small group of experienced staff. This legacy data has no ability for historic record keeping nor any audit trail of actions.

The primary aim of systematization of asset data is to implement processes and controls that ensure the consistent recording and updating of information related to the assets themselves. This is imposed by the use of standard data structures (e.g. use of the BIM data standards), common data entry from lists and the creation of cross-referencing in the core database. For example, creating a data hierarchy which can group assets by class/type and sub-class/type.

The challenge facing Council is to take the unstructured and ungoverned data from the legacy dataset and insert it into a competent system. Some of the activities will be:

· Update of data for spelling errors and other nominal errors

· Design of the data transformation algorithms for the chosen platform

· Replace incorrect data elements with standardized values

· Eliminate redundant data

· Inject additional data relevant to the new data hierarchy

· Verify all assets are cross-referenced in other Council systems (e.g. FMIS)

Infrastructure Assets classes included:

· Facilities

· Solid waste

Additional asset classes under consideration

· Fleet

· IT infrastructure

· Non-tangible assets

· Digital Assets

Assets NOT included in the report scope

The growing number of internet-connected telemetry (IoT) devices are not included in the scope of this review. These assets may be managed in a specialised system that focuses on telemetry-based management and reporting of such devices. This is due to the nature of most AMS systems investigated not being focused on operational telemetry data but on the life-cycle management of the assets themselves.

Those assets that are in the presumed initial scope of the 3 Waters Reform are being dealt with in another, separately funded, activity focused on establishing the Far North Waters Alliance. This includes fresh water, wastewater and stormwater point/static and linear assets. Until and unless the 3 Waters Reform dictates an alternative, these assets will move into the platform which will be identified by the appropriate authority.

Because of the FNWA activities surrounding 3 Waters assets, this report assumes that those assets and any system hosting them do not factor into considerations.

Analysis/Findings

Business process change

Attached to this report is a review conducted on People, Processes and Tools related to Asset Management which highlights a broad range of opportunities to improve. Additionally, the implications of both the 3 Waters Reform and the FNWA significantly change the Asset Management scope and purpose. Consequently, this report proposes that the recommendations in the review related to the practices of the wider asset management community within Council be reviewed and seriously considered for inclusion and implementation in the changed context.

This structural review should include other areas of the Council that are custodians of assets of considerable value that require financially prudent management. Areas identified as candidates for revision of asset management practices are:

· District Facilities (originally in scope)

· Finance

· Vehicle Fleet

· IT Assets

The adoption of an Asset Management System for non-3 waters assets is important to the understanding of Councils’ social infrastructure and asset operating costs. The information gathered in the system can help to inform future needs, which links to the development of a Development Contribution policy for identified growth requirements.

Data Migration/Quality action

It is acknowledged that there has been significant work done on preparing for migration from the “interim” solution to the Infor IPS platform. This work is not a sunk cost and can be built upon to move data to a selected solution. The project team settled upon the BIM Standard 2.01 as the basis for the new data hierarchy for non-waters assets. This standard (or an updated version) can be applied universally to any target system. Where the BIM standard does not apply (e.g. solid waste), a similar applicable standard or best practice will be sought.

The effort required to move to ANY target system is significant and will involve specialist data practitioners as well as operational staff with specific knowledge of the assets under migration. The expertise of these operational staff is essential to enable clarification of asset information to comply with the identified standard(s).

Options

In order to compile this report, the team conducted some additional market research into the availability of size appropriate platforms for asset management. Additional investigations were undertaken to look at alternative solutions to the problem. The following are the high-level assessments of these research findings. The analysis is broken down into 3 main categories:

1. Do nothing

2. Carry on with the existing plan

3. Do something different

Please note: A further and more expansive budget process would be needed for any selected option. All due care has been given to providing fair and comparable figures for each option. Where the additional solutions have been assessed, a formal and standardised Request for Information (RFI) was conducted to ensure information gathered answered a common set of “Desired Outcomes”.

Alternatives considered

The following have been considered in the process of preparing this report and developing recommendations:

o Do nothing

o Continue to use the IPS platform as planned

o “SPM Assets” as a SaaS platform

o “Univerus Assets (Asset Finda)” as a SaaS platform

o “CityWorks” as a SaaS platform

o “Blackhawk” as a SaaS platform

For full detail on the alternatives considered, refer to the Appendix 1: Appendix to Alternative Options - Asset Managment Systems. The appendix describes each option and lists the “Pro/Con” analysis for each along with financial implications where appropriate.

Appendix 2: Far North District Council – Service Review Report will be distributed electronically due to the size of the document – 62 pages.

TAKE TŪTOHUNGA / REASON FOR THE RECOMMENDATION

The analysis of a recommended option is complicated in this situation due to the existence of 3 possible futures for the Council in terms of asset management.

One outcome is that the proposed 3 Waters Reform plan (as currently understood) will proceed as intended and this will divest the Council of the responsibility for 3 Waters infrastructure (subject to resolution of the scale of Stormwater assets inclusion) irrespective of any FNWA activity in the interim.

Secondly, it may eventuate that a change of central government policy may abandon the current reform plan but may also continue to identify the need for some level of reform. In either case, the Council would need to completely revise (again) the proposition of 3 Waters asset management

Thirdly, a change of government policy may completely abandon the 3 Waters Reform imposing ongoing responsibility of infrastructure assets back on the Council.

As this review has been framed in the context of only those assets that will remain under Council control irrespective of the outcomes of the 3W reforms or the FNWA, the recommendations herein are made exclusive of these considerations.

Staff have assessed the above options and are recommending the following actions:

1. Complete cessation of the activities toward the implementation of Infor IPS (rather than the temporary “hold” initiated in August of 2022)

2. Execution of a limited market search from 3-4 vendors be conducted to source a more size appropriate asset management platform.

3. Revision of the project budget aligned to the selected product and the organisational changes

3) PĀnga PŪtea me ngĀ wĀhanga tahua / Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

The recommendations in this report are primarily influenced by the need to review the scope of the AMS project in the context of the 3 Waters Reform and/or the FNWA related structural changes.

The Elected Members will need to decide if there is an appetite for the capital and operational investment required. The remaining approximate $570k capital funds in the LTP allocation can be utilized and/or reallocated and the projected $70k annual IPS licence OPEX allocation can defray the operational cost of any selected SaaS solution. The challenge the Council will face relates to the recent advice on how to account for SaaS platform costs.

Āpitihanga / Attachments

1. Appendix to Alternative Options - Asset Managment Systems - A4179568 ⇩

Hōtaka Take Ōkawa / 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

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

He Take Ōkawa / Compliance Requirement	Aromatawai Kaimahi / 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	Low
State the relevant Council policies (external or internal), legislation, and/or community outcomes (as stated in the LTP) that relate to this decision.	This report relates to the LTP Strategic Priorities: · Better data and information · Affordable core infrastructure · Address affordability
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.	Asset Management is a District-wide activity. Specifically, the District Facilities area of Council operations is the focus of this report.
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. State the possible implications and how this report aligns with Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi.	This report has implications on all members of the Far North District community including Māori with respect to fiscally responsible operation of the Council.
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).	All ratepayers in the Far North District expect that the staff of the Council conduct operations in the most fiscally prudent manner possible.
State the financial implications and where budgetary provisions have been made to support this decision.	Budget requirements will need to be amended once an alternative solution has been identified
Chief Financial Officer review.	The CFO has reviewed this report

Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda

1 June 2023

6.12 Kerikeri Water Source - Options Review

File Number: A4214365

Author: Glenn Rainham, SHEQ & Compliance Manager

Authoriser: Janice Smith, Acting Chief Executive

Take Pūrongo / Purpose of the Report

To provide a review of potential water sources for the Kerikeri water supply scheme to enable a decision to be reached as to whether to conditionally commit to the Otawere Dam proposal

WhakarĀpopoto matua / Executive Summary

· The Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust have submitted a proposal to Council seeking a commitment to purchase shares in the Otawere Dam Reservoir that would provide an additional raw water source for the Kerikeri/Waipapa area

· The proposal has identified a number of both economic and social benefits.

· The costs associated with this proposal would require Council to seek sign-off from the Department of Internal Affairs under the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) Significant Decisions policy

· FNDC commissioned an extensive study in 2021 into the longer-term water needs for Kerikeri/Waipapa and the recommendations of that study were to investigate three raw water source options (seeking an increased allocation from KIC Lake Waingaro, investigating ground water options, and investigating a dam option).

· While the plant and reticulation recommendations from the study have been included within the Long-term Plan (LTP), the investigations into the three raw water source options have not progressed to date

· While acknowledging the economic benefits that the project the Trust are proposing would bring, without the investigative work identified by the strategic study being completed, it is difficult to assess whether the Otawere proposal is the most cost effective (it’s further away than Lake Waingaro and probably groundwater options), it may also suffer from algae issues, and the ongoing costs of maintaining the long pipe network from source to scheme are unknown.

tŪtohunga / Recommendation

That Council:

a) indicate to the Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust its support for the proposal with the economic and social benefits it will potentially bring to the District, however, are declining the opportunity to invest based on both timing and priority of spend considerations; and

b) request that the investigative work for water source options identified in the Kerikeri Water Supply Strategy study be prioritised for 2023/2024

1) TĀhuhu kŌrero / Background

1.1 The Kerikeri water supply scheme currently utilises two water sources:

· Puketotara Stream

· Lake Waingaro

Lake Waingaro is the primary source into the WTP with the Puketotara Stream acting as a minor, secondary (often supplementary) source during high demand periods or when water quality from Lake Waingaro is poor due to algal blooms. Approximately 70% of the scheme’s water is sourced from Lake Waingaro with the balance supplied from the Puketotara Stream.

1.2 Puketotara Stream

The Puketotara source is the only source for the Kerikeri scheme that FNDC has direct access to. Water is sourced from the Puketotara Stream under a water take consent FNDC has from the NRC. This allows the following to be abstracted.

· 3,200 m3/day for 28 days per year = 89,600m3

· 2,400 m3/day for 28 days per year = 67,200m3

· 960 m3/day for 309 days per year = 296,640m3.

The water take consent is subject to certain conditions such as maintaining minimum residual flows in the stream. These can restrict the times and volumes that water can be abstracted from this source.

Water is abstracted from the stream using a well with submersible pumps that pump the raw water through a rising main to the Kerikeri WTP. The Puketotara stream only contributes to ~30% of Kerikeri scheme water supply and despite being Council’s only direct source, it cannot be considered to be the primary source of the Kerikeri scheme.

1.3 Lake Waingaro Reservoir

The Lake Waingaro Reservoir southwest of Kerikeri forms part of the Kerikeri Irrigation Scheme and is owned and operated by the KIC.

FNDC contract with KIC to receive an annual allocation of 736,000m3/ year of raw water. The

irrigation scheme includes a distribution system that KIC also own and operate. FNDC have a metered connection point on the KIC distribution at the intersection of Kerikeri Rd and Maraenui Drive. Upstream of this point, raw water is conveyed from the reservoir via predominantly AC pipes along a route that passes under the Bay of Islands airport before connecting to Wiroa Road and Kerikeri Road. This pipeline is a 375 mm diameter asbestos cement (AC) pipe at the FNDC connection point and flow through the connection is limited 30l/s to avoid adverse pressure drops to other KIC users. The maximum draw is 2,592 m3/day.

From the KIC metered connection point, an FNDC raw water pipeline runs along Kerikeri Rd to connect with the Kerikeri WTP.

The KIC scheme does come with its own set of issues. Mainly infrastructure that we don’t control the maintenance and renewal programmes together with occasional blooms of blue green algae in the reservoir.

· The AC pipe owned by KIC has had a history of breakages, potentially exasperated with long dry periods causing ground movements that place additional loads on the pipe. However, in the past two-years KIC has carried out a detailed condition assessment study of this line and is nearing completion of a number of works to improve its performance. The major remaining upgrade works required will be the section running under the BOI Airport runway.

· The reservoir is also susceptible to occasional blooms of cyanobacteria (blue green algae) which can potentially form toxins. This can cause significant issues with water treatment. FNDC has previously considered introducing aerators to the reservoir to mitigate this risk but it has not progressed as it would need to be co-ordinated with KIC since they own and operate the asset. The algal blooms tend to be located in the warmer upper levels of the reservoir. KIC have the ability to draw water from the reservoir at lower levels which can sometimes avoid the algal bloom layers. However, water from the lower levels can be subject to other quality issues.

In addition to the issues with the current water sources, there are also challenges with the condition and future capacity of the WTP and constraints on the piped distribution system.

The Kerikeri water supply scheme has a defined service area that covers parts of Kerikeri and Waipapa. However, in times of drought, the scheme is used to fill water tankers servicing properties outside the service area. The tankering activity coincides with peak demand from the service area and this places an extra demand on the capacity of the scheme.

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1.4 Kerikeri Water Supply Strategy

In 2021 consultants prepared the Kerikeri Water Supply Strategy, being a study that sets out how forecast increases in water demand for Kerikeri and Waipapa could be met over the next 30 years This study applies an assumed growth rate of 2% p/a to the existing service area, it does not factor additional demand that could be generated if the service area is expanded in Kerikeri and Waipapa to include all land that is urban zoned in accordance with the Far North Proposed District Plan (PDP).

The Kerikeri Water Supply Strategy establishes a base water demand in 2020 of approximately 600,000m³ per annum (average usage, not peak), using the applied growth rated, this demand is expected to increase to 1,000,000m³by 2045. An initial study of additional water demand expected to be generated by increasing the water supply service area to land zoned urban in Waipapa (including the Heavy Industrial Zone) in the PDP indicates that a further 200,000m³ per annum (by 2053) will be required.

The Kerikeri Water Supply Study includes a desktop analysis of a range of potential raw water source options including the option of a new dam. The positive aspect identified for this option is FNDC would have control. The negative aspects identified with this option are:

i. site yet to be identified or consented;

ii. significant landowner and consenting issues likely; and

iii. significant new infrastructure required/high cost. Given that the Otawere Dam Reservoir location has been identified with a high-level cost, some of the negative aspects associated with the new dam option are no longer relevant.

The Kerikeri Water Supply Study identifies two preferred options for additional raw water sources:

i. engaging with KIC to explore opportunities to increase FNDC’s allocation from Lake Waingaro and

ii. investigating potential new groundwater supply sources with the aim of securing a water source that is not reliant on surface water. The Study also recommends investigating opportunities for a new dammed reservoir.

Now that a new dam location and design has been progressed it is considered appropriated to reassess this option alongside progressing investigations into the two preferred options (greater allocation from Lake Waingaro and groundwater source options).

The Kerikeri Water Supply Study also recommended progression of investigative and design work for upgrading existing WTP and water abstraction infrastructure. Staff have been implementing the infrastructure upgrades recommended in the Kerikeri Water Supply Study however investigations into alternative sources have not yet commenced.

2) matapaki me NgĀ KŌwhiringa / Discussion and Options

2.1 Water being an enabler of both economic and social prosperity

Due to the time constraints in pulling this paper together, the following areas are not an exhaustive commentary nevertheless do address a number of these benefits and opportunities.

2.1.1 Economic and social well-being opportunities

There is a term being used in this space called ‘inclusive growth’. Inclusive growth is described as broad-based growth that enables the widest range of people and places to both contribute to and benefit from economic success. Its purpose is to achieve more prosperity alongside greater equity in opportunities and outcomes.

There are several features that follow an inclusive growth approach including:

· local job creation with career pathways,

· local procurement – where all efforts are being made to source local suppliers in construction and development,

· community wealth creation – where new institutions and organisations are formed locally and where new assets are being created that hold wealth on behalf of the community such as multiply-owned Māori land holdings, post-settlement governance entities and trusts,

· Economic gardening – where the economy is developed from the ground up building on local know how, assets and resources rather than hunting for and subsidising new industries to locate in the region.

These combined efforts lead towards a regenerative economy where wealth is created in, and circulated around, the local community.

2.1.2 Land use shift

The availability of water creates opportunities to shift the land use balance in Northland away from a predominance of livestock production towards plant-based food production. De-risking investment in horticulture and ensuring a sustainable water supply will enable viable horticultural businesses to be established.

According to the July 2020 Horticulture Post Covid Recovery Strategy, ‘Horticulture is the most trusted sector in the primary industry and the ROI per hectare on horticulture producing land is the highest in the primary sector with the least impact on water quality, the environment and carbon emissions.’

The Far North Proposed District Plan (PDP) introduced a new special purpose Horticulture Zone in and around Kerikeri and Waipapa. The purpose of this new zone is to protect this area for horticultural activities for the benefit of current and future generations and support sustainable growth of the horticulture sector.

The PDP has up-zoned Rural Production land in Waipapa to meet expected demand for business zoned land in Kerikeri and Waipapa. Funding infrastructure required to service this growth is expected to be met in part through a schedule of fees associated with FNDC’s development contributions policy. Further analysis will be required during establishment of the schedule of fees to determine what proportion of the costs associated with purchasing the allocation from Otawere Dam Reservoir can be reclaimed as growth related through development contributions.

As part of the rural work on the PDP, Council undertook an economic assessment on the benefits of water and activating land changes to horticulture. This report is Appendix C: Rural Environment Economic Analysis distributed electronically due to the size of the document - 237 pages.

2.2 Otawere Dam Proposal – OPTION 1

2.2.1 The Proposal

The Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust (“Trust”) have approached FNDC with a proposal to invest in a planned Otawere Dam reservoir near Waimate North that would provide additional water sources for the Kerikeri municipal water supply.

The proposed Otawere Reservoir, near Waimate North, is the third of the Trust’s projects: a 4,000,000 cubic metre reservoir at a budgeted cost of $41 million (including $5 million of contingency). This project received a resource consent from the COVID-19 Fast Track Panel in July 2022, and the necessary land has been secured.

Having determined that the Otawere Reservoir would, on the basis of the $41 million construction price, be commercially viable, the Trust has focused its attention on securing the funding to enable construction to proceed. It is proposed that construction would take place over the 2023-24 and 2024-25 summer months, with water supply becoming available following the winter of 2025.

To date, funding has been secured from:

· MBIE – loan funding of $17.5 million

· NRC – convertible notes of $5 million

The Trust seeks to raise the remaining $18.5m through:

· Sale of shares to landowners, horticultural industry, iwi and other partners: $11m

· Sale of 200 shares to FNDC: $7.5m.

There would be additional shared costs on the construction of a watermain to a connection near the Treatment Plant. This cost could be in the range of $5m – $10m

The Trust asks that FNDC consider the purchase of 200 shares (600,000m³ of raw water) on the basis that:

a) The reservoir would provide strategic options which future-proof municipal water supply for Kerikeri and its surrounds.

b) The reservoir will be a catalyst for substantial economic and employment growth for the wider region.

c) The reservoir will enable high quality land in the region to be converted to its highest value and best use, commercial horticulture, as opposed to lifestyle subdivision.

d) The reservoir will serve as a catalyst for the development of horticulture of substantial blocks of Māori land.

2.2.2 Economic and social well-being opportunities

The Trust have derived the economic impacts that their Otawere reservoir proposal would bring to the surrounding area.

2.2.2.1 Derived economic impacts

The proposed Otawere reservoir will hold 4,000,000 cubic metres of water, sufficient to irrigate approximately 1,350 hectares of horticulture. This will enable large scale conversion of pastoral land to horticulture. With demand focused mainly on kiwifruit and avocado this would result in derived economic impacts of:

a) Over $636million investment in the development of horticulture, based on 800ha being converted to kiwifruit at the industry average of $750,000 per hectare and 300ha being planted in avocado at $120,000 per hectare. This does not include the cost of development for the remaining 250ha which would increase this estimate should further land be developed. The increased land value has been excluded from this calculation.

b) An estimated 490 full time equivalent (FTE) horticultural jobs and 62 post-harvest jobs based on assumed industry figures of 0.3 FTE per ha for avocado and 0.5 FTE per ha for kiwifruit plus post-harvest workers.

c) New infrastructure investment of around $38m in post-harvest facilities (including packing facilities and cool storage) to process additional product, conservatively based on $3 per tray to process an anticipated additional 12.5m trays of fruit. Kerikeri’s existing packing and cool storage facilities will come under pressure due to the recent increased plantings around Kerikeri.

d) A multiplier effect on employment is estimated to create an additional 520 FTEs on top of direct horticultural employment of 490 FTEs (due to backward and forward linkages) based on analysis conducted on the Northland kiwifruit industry.

2.2.2.2 Indirect Economic Impacts:  

The multiplier effect for the construction of the Otawere Reservoir using an input/output model of both upstream and downstream multipliers predicts a multiplier of 3:1. Meaning for every dollar spent in construction a further three dollars are spent in related economic activity. This indicates that the value of Otawere from direct economic impacts (above) has a wider economic impact of $99.9million. Taking the lower estimate, derived economic impacts for the Otawere Reservoir would be $1.908billion in development costs with an ongoing revenue multiplier of $619,400,000 per annum in today’s dollars. Increased production, expansion, inflation, and value added in the industry would see that figure grow.

2.2.3 Opportunities for Iwi

There are considerable opportunities for Maori landowners to develop their land through the delivery of a secure water source.

The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI), in partnership with Ngapuhi, completed a study in 2015 to identify fragmented Māori freehold land blocks in the Mid North and to look at potential land use options available to bring unproductive or underutilised land into higher production. Access to reliable water was identified as the critical enabler for approximately 5,000ha of land suitable for horticulture. A crude calculation of return per hectare (revenue), if all land was fully utilised with half in avocados and half in kiwifruit, would see revenue of $745million accruing to Māori landowners. This is aside from significant job opportunities in the construction of Otawere, and ongoing employment.

Productivity will be substantially improved with the development of further water schemes and the derived horticulture developments. The combination of water schemes will also provide increased community resilience in areas that are both flood and drought prone.

Horticulture also offers one of the highest rates of exports (approx. 2/3 of production) of any sector in New Zealand, which provides plentiful opportunity for innovation and growth.

2.3 Kerikeri Water Supply Strategy Preferred Outcomes – OPTION 2

The overall objective of this study is to determine the most appropriate solution to meet the future water needs of Kerikeri and Waipapa so that appropriate allowances can be provided for in FNDC’s Long Term Plan.

Based on the average usage demand curve the following approximate annual volumes of water are required for the projected demand for Kerikeri and Waipapa.

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Key conclusions (a to c) and recommendations (1 to 5) of this study include:

a) There is an immediate need to upgrade at least some elements of the Kerikeri WTP and a further need to increase its capacity within the next 5 years

b) There is a need to upgrade parts of the Kerikeri distribution network over the next 5 years to meet levels of service under anticipated growth in demand

c) it is possible, subject to satisfactory agreement with Kerikeri Irrigation Company, for Kerikeri’s water sourcing needs to be met by the Lake Waingaro Reservoir for the next 30 years

1) FNDC engages with KIC to explore opportunities to increase their water allocation from Lake Waingaro Reservoir

2) Investigation into potential new groundwater supply sources be investigated with the aim securing a water source that is not reliant on surface water

3) Investigate opportunities for a new dammed reservoir with a hydrological review of flood frequency and identification of potential dam sites

4) Investigation and design worked is progressed for an upgrade of the Kerikeri WTP on its current site

5) Investigation and design work is progressed for an upgrade of the existing Puketotara Stream abstraction well and raw water line to the Kerikeri Water Treatment Plant

Further details can be found in the Kerikeri Water Supply Strategy Attachment 3 will be distributed electronically due to the size of the document - 119 pages.

TAKE TŪTOHUNGA / REASON FOR THE RECOMMENDATION

Option 1 will unlock economic benefits and opportunities to the surrounding area with the investment from Council potentially being met by Entity-A. Purchasing an annual allocation of 600,000m3 from the Otawere Dam Reservoir is considered likely to meet the water demand profile discussed above until at least 2045, perhaps longer depending on actual growth rates across that time.

However, this option has not been assessed against alternative (and recommended) additional raw water source options (as discussed in Option 2), one of which could end up being closer to Kerikeri Waipapa and/or lower cost and/or higher water quality (noting that the dam has the potential to suffer from algal blooms the same way Lake Waingaro and Lake Manuwai do). The author is not aware of the extent of mana whenua engagement on this option in terms of it being a preferred option to service the future water demand of Kerikeri and Waipapa.

For these reasons, Option 2 is recommended. Without having progressed discussions with KIC and investigations into potential new groundwater sources, how can we satisfactorily determine which is preferred from a water source and cost perspective.

3) PĀnga PŪtea me ngĀ wĀhanga tahua / Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

Based on the recommendation there is no financial implications.

However should the proposal from the Trust be supported under Option 1, then the shares would require an unbudgeted investment of $7.5m and cost-share arrangements for the raw watermain of approximately $5m.

This cost could potentially be met by Entity-A under the 3-Waters Reform programme.

Āpitihanga / Attachments

1. Copy of Presentation from Tai Tokerau Waters Trust to FNDC - A4204032 ⇩

2. Otawere Proposal Briefing Paper - A4204035 ⇩

Hōtaka Take Ōkawa / 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

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

He Take Ōkawa / Compliance Requirement	Aromatawai Kaimahi / 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	Not applicable. Based on Recommendation
State the relevant Council policies (external or internal), legislation, and/or community outcomes (as stated in the LTP) that relate to this decision.	Not applicable. Based on Recommendation
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.	Not applicable. Based on Recommendation
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. State the possible implications and how this report aligns with Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi.	It is unclear under the proposal from the Trust what level of engagement has taken place with mana whenua outside of members of the TTTWT.
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).	Not applicable. Based on Recommendation
State the financial implications and where budgetary provisions have been made to support this decision.	Not applicable. Based on Recommendation
Chief Financial Officer review.	The Chief Financial Officer has reviewed this report.