Minutes of Upper Harbour Local Board

11	Minutes of the Upper Harbour Local Board meeting held Thursday, 18 June 2020
	Note: That the open unconfirmed minutes of the Upper Harbour Local Board meeting held on Thursday, 18 June 2020, are attached at item 11 of the agenda for the information of the board only and were confirmed under item 4 of the agenda.

Local board input into the Emergency Budget 2020/2021

The Senior Local Board Advisor was in attendance to support the item.

The meeting adjourned at 10.48am and reconvened at 11.01am.

Resolution number UH/2020/66

MOVED by Chairperson M Miles, seconded by Member N Mayne:

That the Upper Harbour Local Board:

a) receive consultation feedback on the regional proposals in the Emergency Budget 2020/2021 from people and organisations based in the Upper Harbour Local Board area.

Questions consulted on as part of 2020/21 Emergency Budget

b) support an annual general rates increase of 3.5 per cent for the 2020/21 financial year as:

i) any rates increase set at a lower level (2.5 per cent or lower, including no rates increase) would make post COVID-19 pandemic recovery exponentially more difficult

ii) any rates increase set at a lower level (2.5 per cent or lower, including no rates increase) would result in council having to re-adjust other funding mechanisms accordingly to aid recovery, such as drastically increasing the debt-to-revenue ratio and relying more heavily on asset recycling / divestment as a means to fund council activities

iii) any rates increase set at a lower level (2.5 per cent or lower, including no rates increase) would have a significant negative impact at the community level, in that there would be a further reduction in service levels beyond those that are already proposed as part of a 3.5 per cent rates increase (such as further reductions in community facility hours of operation and programming, further reduction in the renewal and maintenance of community assets, further reduction in regional and local capital programmes of work etc.).

c) acknowledge the sentiments expressed by submitters regarding the need for council to continue to find savings in its operational model and to eliminate inefficiencies within the organisation to ensure efficient and effective operations into the future.

d) support the introduction of a COVID-19 Rates Postponement Scheme for the 2020/21 financial year as it:

i) reflects the nature of the feedback the board has received from its community in response to the question asked as part of consultation on the Emergency Budget (approximately 64 per cent of all respondents from the local board area indicated support for the proposal)

ii) allows ratepayers who are struggling financially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic to defer up to $20,000 of their rates for the 2020/21 financial year, noting that at the end of the postponement period, ratepayers accessing the scheme would have until 30 June 2022 to pay off the balance.

e) support the suspension of the Accommodation Provider Targeted Rate (APTR) for hotels, motels, hostels and accommodation businesses until 31 March 2021 as it:

i) reflects the nature of the feedback the board has received from its community in response to the question asked as part of consultation on the Emergency Budget (approximately 75 per cent of all respondents from the local board area indicated support for the proposal)

ii) will assist the accommodation sector who are struggling financially as a result of the COVID‑19 pandemic due to its negative impact on the tourism and accommodation industry, whilst noting that the APTR will only be charged for the last three months of the 2020/21 financial year (1 April – 30 June 2021).

Capital projects

f) is willing to accept deferral of uncommitted planned capital projects within the board area for the 2020/21 financial year, with the exception of those projects that the local board has resolved support for against the funding received from the sale of land as part of the New Zealand Transport Agency Northern Corridor Improvements project.

Service levels

g) accept a reduction in the funding of service levels by reducing the hours of operation for both the Albany Library and Albany Stadium Pool for the 2020/21 financial year, in the acknowledgment that such reduction in funding will help contribute to savings for the next financial year.

h) request that, in consideration of resolution g) above, that for future years beyond the 2020/21 financial year, the funding of service levels for both the Albany Library and Albany Stadium Pool be returned to historical or pre-financial year 2020/21 levels.

i) only support those operational savings derived from the activity outlined in resolution g) above and under the conditions outlined in resolution h) and strongly oppose a reduction in the funding of service levels for the maintenance of local parks and reserves, as such reductions will likely result in significant health and safety issues that will have a compounding impact on council’s ability to renew assets in future years.

Debt-to-revenue ratio

j) support a small increase in council’s debt-to-revenue ratio beyond those established within council’s financial policies, as long as this does not result in negative long-term consequences for council via a credit rating downgrade, or higher interest rates and charges incurred through borrowing.

Asset recycling

k) do not support the potential sale of the Wasp Hangar building and land located within the Hobsonville Point precinct, as both the land and the facility have been identified by both the local board and council staff as fulfilling a service need (development of an indoor court facility).

l) restate the Upper Harbour Local Board resolution number UH2020/17, passed at the board’s 19 March 2020 meeting, through which the local board:

i) endorsed the Wasp Hangar: Community Recreation Facility Project application to the regional 2019/20 Sport and Recreation Facility Investment Fund

ii) reallocated $500,000 of the board’s locally driven initiatives capital expenditure to the Wasp Hangar: Community Recreation Facility Project

iii) supported the transition of the Wasp Hangar into council’s service asset portfolio.

m) support the retention and allocation of funding provided through the Sport and Recreation Facility Investment Fund for the 2020/21 financial year, regardless of the outcome of Governing Body decision-making around the level of rates set for the 2020/21 financial year.

n) support the concept of asset recycling and the sale of council assets / holdings as a means of increasing revenue to fund council initiatives, but only if those assets proposed for recycling or divestment have been identified as not serving any current or future service requirement.

o) do not support the divestment or sale of park or reserve land or other open space that currently fulfils a service requirement, or any other land that has been identified as needed to respond to future growth / demand.

p) support in principle the sale of the land identified at R33A Tauhinu Road, Greenhithe, subject to the conditions set out in resolutions n) and o) above have been met upon further investigation by staff and subsequent discussion with the Upper Harbour Local Board.

q) note the resolution passed at the September 2018 Planning Committee, which recommended the Finance and Performance Committee ‘not proceed with the sale of any marina land pending the development of a strategy and forward plan regarding the future of Auckland’s marinas’.

r) do not support the sale of land at West Park Marina (West Harbour Marina), West Harbour, in advance of completion and thorough consideration of the region-wide marina strategy that was endorsed for completion by council’s Planning Committee at its March 2019 meeting, and referenced in the September 2018 Planning Committee resolution outlined in resolution q) above.

s) advocate strongly that local board views and preferences are sought formally as part of any future decisions made regarding the recycling or sale of assets in the local board area, which will ensure community views are considered as part of the process.

One local initiative (OLI) – destination indoor court facility

t) reiterate its strong support for the local board’s ‘one local initiative’, which is a destination indoor court facility located within the Upper Harbour Local Board area, for the following reasons:

i) the need for such a facility has been identified in a variety of studies and investigations completed to date, such as:

A) the Auckland Sport Sector: Facilities Priority Plan, which states that a total of 21 indoor court facilities are needed in Auckland by 2021, and a total of 42 courts are needed by 2031

B) the National Facilities Strategy for Indoor Sports that indicates the current high demand for multi-sport facilities in Auckland, which is expected to increase further over the next several decades

C) the Sport New Zealand Future Sport report

D) the Sport and Recreation Strategic Action Plan, which acknowledges that ‘growth, intensification and changing population composition will create more pressure on existing facilities and resources, some of which are struggling to meet demand now’

ii) data and information contained within submissions and completed survey that illustrate both the need and desire for such a facility within the Upper Harbour area, such as:

A) submissions to the 2018/28 Long-term Plan (LTP) received from Aktiv-Auckland Sport and Recreation, Sport New Zealand, Sport Waitākere and Sport Auckland, which highlight the current shortfall of 30 indoor courts, with a further 10 courts required within the 10-year LTP period

B) submission received as part of consultation on the 2017 Upper Harbour Local Board Plan, where 35 respondents cited a need for an indoor court facility in the local board area, 27 of which specifically mentioned the need for indoor basketball courts

C) Sport New Zealand’s ‘Active New Zealand 2017’ survey, which highlighted the growth in sport participation in the North Harbour area and among the community’s growing Asian population.

u) oppose strongly the deferral of any funding in the 2020/21 financial year for the completion of a detailed business case to inform the progression of the destination indoor court facility referenced in resolution t) above as such delay would:

i) significantly impact consideration of the project as part of deliberations on the 2021-2031 Long-term Plan (LTP) which will be occurring over the next 12 months

ii) result in no benefit being realised from the investment in work undertaken to date on the business case (approximately $100,000), and will likely mean that such investment is wasted in the event that the business case is not completed in time for the 2021/31 LTP as any work would need to commence from scratch at a future date, thereby setting back progress on the initiative for many years.

General / other comments

v) do not support the introduction, either permanently or on a trial basis, of user pays charges at Auckland Transport owned, managed and operated park and ride facilities located within the local board area (namely Albany and Constellation bus stations) as:

i) such facilities encourage and support the use of public transport, particularly as there are very few alternatives in terms of feeder bus services and safe active transport modes

ii) the introduction of a user-pays scheme at park and ride facilities will likely result in the unintended consequence of reduced patronage / use of public transport.

w) do not support any reduction to the Community Safety Fund as the local board strongly values the importance and necessity of investing in road safety improvements, and expresses serious concern regarding the likely increase in the number of deaths and serious injury caused as a result of budget cuts or deferrals in this area.

x) do not support any proposed cuts to the Auckland Transport Local Board Transport Capital Fund (LBTCF) as included as part of the proposed reductions under a 3.5 per cent or 2.5 per cent rates increase.

y) accept that the local board may need to absorb a 10 per cent reduction in its locally driven initiative operational budget for the 2020/21 financial year as part of a 3.5 per cent rates increase as a result of lost revenue associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, and note that the local board will work with council staff to identify agreed savings as part of the board’s 2020/21 work programmes.

z) do not support any reduction to the local board’s locally driven initiatives (LDI) operational budget beyond 10 per cent as indicated in resolution y) above for the following reasons:

i) this budget is used to fund important front-line services, and any reduction will have a widespread and significant impact on the local community and community groups / organisations

ii) during the post COVID-19 rebuilding period, the local board needs the ability to respond to the new reality with greater focus on support for the community, as well as ensuring that previously provided community activities, events and services are maintained.

aa) do not support the deferral of any Natural Environment Targeted Rate (NETR) funding projects planned in the financial year 2020/21 for the local board area, including any deferral of kauri dieback mitigation, enforcement and track works that are supported through this funding stream.

bb) do not support any cut or reduction to budgets associated with addressing the impacts of climate change and the delivery of such programmes as:

i) Auckland is already playing ‘catch-up’ in terms of responding to the impacts/effects of climate change

ii) the impacts of climate change, if left unaddressed, will have a negative impact on a range of council services in the future.

cc) request that, in the event that budgets associated with addressing the impacts of climate change are reduced for the 2020/21 financial year, those budgets be reinstated in full and increased as part of the Long-term Plan 2021-2031.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

New road names in the Hobsonville Development Limited subdivision at 96 Hobsonville Road, Hobsonville

Resolution number UH/2020/67

MOVED by Member B Neeson, seconded by Member A Atkinson:

That the Upper Harbour Local Board:

a) approve the following two road names for new roads in the Hobsonville Development Limited subdivision at 96 Hobsonville Road, Hobsonville, as referenced in Attachments A and B to the agenda report:

i) Road 1 – Te Ahurea Street

ii) Road 2 – Inanga Street.

CARRIED

Record of the Upper Harbour Local Board workshops held on Thursday 11 and 25 June 2020

Resolution number UH/2020/68

MOVED by Chairperson M Miles, seconded by Member N Mayne:

That the Upper Harbour Local Board:

a) receive the records of the Upper Harbour Local Board workshops held on Thursday 11 and 25 June 2020 (refer to Attachments A and B to the agenda report).

CARRIED

15 Consideration of Extraordinary Items

There was no consideration of extraordinary items.

11.43am The Chairperson 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 Upper Harbour Local Board HELD ON

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

CHAIRPERSON:........................................................

Chairperson	Margaret Miles, QSM, JP
Deputy Chairperson	Lisa Whyte
Members	Anna Atkinson
	Uzra Casuri Balouch, JP	via electronic attendance
	Nicholas Mayne
	Brian Neeson, JP