Ōrākei Local Board

 

OPEN MINUTES

 

 

 

Minutes of an extraordinary meeting of the Ōrākei Local Board held in the St Chads Church and Community Centre, 38 St Johns Road, Meadowbank on Thursday, 4 May 2017 at 5.00pm.

 

present

 

Chairman

Colin Davis, JP

 

 

 

Deputy Chairman

Kit Parkinson

 

 

 

Members

Troy Churton

 

 

 

 

Carmel Claridge

 

 

 

 

Toni Millar, QSM, JP

 

 

 

 

Ros Rundle

 

 

 

 

David Wong

 

 

 

 


 

1          Welcome

 

2          Apologies

 

There were no apologies.

 

3          Declaration of Interest

 

Member Claridge declared an interest relating to item 11, with respect to her membership of the Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance.

 

4          Leave of Absence

 

There were no requests for leave of absence.

 

5          Acknowledgements

 

There were no acknowledgements.

 

6          Petitions

 

There were no petitions.

 

7          Deputations

 

There were no deputations.

 

8          Public Forum

 

There was no public forum.

 

9          Extraordinary Business

 

There was no extraordinary business.

 

10        Notices of Motion

 

There were no notices of motion.

 

11

Annual Budget 2017/2018

 

Documents were tabled in support of this item. A copy has been placed on the official minutes and is available on the Auckland Council website as a minute attachment.

 

Resolution number OR/2017/70

MOVED by Chairman C Davis, seconded by Member T Millar:  

That the Ōrākei Local Board:

a)        receive the public feedback on its local projects and advocacy initiatives from submitters on the draft Annual Budget 2017/2018, who indicated their support;

                i.       for the Ōrākei Local Board to continue advocating for a Gowing Drive area feeder link to the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive Shared Path;

               ii.       to end the subsidies provided towards venue hire for specific groups and encouraging them to apply via the contestable local board grants rounds;

              iii.       to discontinue the Winter Splash event and to not implement an additional Movies in Parks event.

b)        receive the public feedback on its local projects and advocacy initiatives from submitters on the draft Annual Budget 2017/2018.

c)        agree its 2017/2018 locally driven initiatives opex budgets by activity area, within funding envelopes, as follows:

Activity

2017/2018

Local community services

$468,000

Local parks, sport and recreation

$210,000

Local environmental management

$395,000

Local economic development

$27,000

TOTAL

         $1,100,000

 

d)        agree that its key advocacy initiative for inclusion in the 2017/2018 Local Board Agreement is a feeder link in the Gowing Drive, Meadowbank area that will connect to the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive Shared Path and provide a safe, direct walking and cycling route between Meadowbank and Kohimarama.

Initiative

Description

Advocating to

Shared path connection between Gowing Drive and the Ōrākei Spine

Purpose:

The number one advocacy initiative of the Ōrākei Local Board is to develop a cycling and pedestrian feeder link from the Gowing Drive area to the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive Shared Path (the Shared Path). The main purpose of this connection is to provide a safe and direct transport connection between the Gowing Drive area and the Kohimarama area by crossing the Shared Path.

The board is advocating to the Governing Body to recognise the substantial contribution (up to $2 million) the Ōrākei Local Board is making and to join in partnership to assist in constructing the Gowing Drive feeder link.

Commissioners’ Recommendation:

One of the recommendations of the Commissioners following the hearing of the Notice of Requirement (NZTA) August 2016 was that the Requiring Authority (NZTA in this case) needed to provide additional connections to both sides of the Shared Path. They strongly supported a statement by a submitter that the Gowing Drive connection was necessary for the fulfilment of the objectives of the project.

The Hearing Report states... "The Commissioners endorse this point and strongly recommend that the Requiring Authority continue to investigate (and then assist in the funding) of linkages across the Pourewa Valley..."

Background:

The Shared Path currently has one of four sections complete, with the stage from St John’s Road to Ōrākei Basin currently in detailed design.

For the last two years, the Shared Path and Gowing Drive connection have been the two most heavily commented upon items in the Annual Budget feedback with near unanimous support for these projects.

There are three other main feeder links that are confirmed for the Shared Path - from John Rymer Place, Kepa Bush and Tahapa Reserve connections. The Gowing Drive connection will enable a nearly direct transport mode across the Shared Path to local schools, shopping and community facilities. Currently most school pupils who live in the St Johns/Meadowbank area get to and from school by car.  This involves a circuitous route driving up through the suburban streets then entering the traffic flow along St Johns Road then into Kohimarama Road.  This route becomes severely congested on weekdays between 8-9 am and 3-6pm. Links to the pathway from both the Kohimarama and St Johns/Meadowbank sides of the pathway are necessary to make walking to and from school for local students via the pathway a safe and realistic proposition. A direct connection between both sides of the Shared Path will assist greatly at peak time in getting cars off the St Johns/ Kohimarama arterial roads.

Strategy:

Given that the section of the Shared Path that this Gowing Drive connection will attach to is now in detailed design, there is urgency to confirm funding so that the connection can be added to the design.

The Local Board sees this project as having local, sub-regional and regional significance which can realise the co-benefits of active transport and connecting communities. Due to the wider than local benefits of this link, the board is seeking partnership between the Governing Body, NZTA, Auckland Transport and the Local Board.

The Ōrākei Local Board is prepared to commit up to $2 million of discretionary local board funding for this feeder link and is inviting the other bodies to collaborate with it in funding this significant connection to realise the benefits of the Shared Path, noting that without other parties contributing funding this project cannot go ahead.  Pending further feasibility studies, the current best estimates of the connection are between $3-6 million depending which connection option – underpass or overbridge, is deemed most feasible.

Governing Body and Auckland Transport

 

 

e)        agree to allocate up to $2,000,000 of discretionary capital funding to a feeder link directly connecting Gowing Drive to the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive Shared Path, based on the condition that the Governing Body, Auckland Transport and NZTA collaborate with the Ōrākei Local Board to provide the remaining funding of this feeder link which was recognised by the Hearing Commissioners as necessary for the fulfilment of the objectives of the Government/ NZTA Shared Path project.

f)         request that Auckland Transport release up to $150,000 from the Local Board Transport Capital Fund to conduct phase 2 of the feasibility study for the Gowing Drive link to the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive Shared Path .

g)        provide to the Governing Body the following views on regional financial policy issues based on feedback from Ōrākei residents:

                i.       note that 81 per cent of respondents indicated that they did not want a rates increase any higher than 2.5 per cent; 

               ii.       support the same percentage rates increase be applied to both business and residential ratepayers in 2017/2018;

              iii.       support in principle, the 2017/2018 Annual Budget proposal for a targeted rate for all commercial accommodation providers, subject to any necessary amendments which ensure practicality and fairness;

              iv.       support the 2017/2018 Annual Budget proposal to change the Auckland Council funding policy to allow for the use of targeted rates, alongside existing growth charges, to fund infrastructure for new development where this reduces the incentive for land banking and that a percentage of development contributions collected from the local board area are spent on infrastructure development in the local board area in which the development contribution is collected;

               v.       note that the 2017/2018 Annual Budget proposal to implement a living wage policy for staff of Auckland Council and its substantive council-controlled organisations was the least supported by Ōrākei Local Board residents.

h)        recommend to the Governing Body the release of $183,594 from the Parking Reserve Fund for the Shore Road East Reserve and Waiatarua Reserve car park upgrades.

i)          recommend that $229,000 of 2016/2017 locally driven initiatives budgets to be deferred to 2017/2018:

                i.       Coastal ecological restoration – Hobson Bay Mangrove $64,000

               ii.       Coastal ecological restoration – Tahuna Torea Mangrove $60,000

              iii.       OBAG state of basin management plan revision $5,000

              iv.       Enhancing council-owned heritage features in the area $75,000

               v.       Economic development planning initiatives $25,000.

j)          note the tabled information from the St Heliers regional annual budget consultation event hosted by the St Heliers/Glendowie Residents Association.

k)        request  the PSR Portfolio Manager, as part of the 2017/2018 work programme, to expedite an expression of interest process commencing in June 2017 to seek proposals for the redevelopment of Liston Park.

CARRIED

 

Attachments

a     St Heliers regional annual budget consultation event feedback

 

Secretarial note:       Member Claridge requested that her vote against resolution g) iii. be recorded.

 

12        Consideration of Extraordinary Items

 

There were no extraordinary items.   

 

 

 

 

5.13 pm                                              The Chairman thanked Members for their attendance and attention to business and declared the meeting closed.

 

CONFIRMED AS A TRUE AND CORRECT RECORD AT A MEETING OF THE Ōrākei Local Board HELD ON

 

 

 

DATE:.........................................................................

 

 

 

CHAIRMAN:........................................................