Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Community Forum

OPEN MINUTES

Minutes of a meeting of the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board held on Tuesday, 25 August 2020 at 5.00pm.

Either a recording or written summary will be uploaded on the Auckland Council website.

present

Chairperson	Aidan Bennett, QSM
Deputy Chairperson	George Wood, CNZM
Members	Trish Deans
	Ruth Jackson
	Jan O'Connor, QSM
	Toni van Tonder

ABSENT

ALSO PRESENT

IN ATTENDANCE

Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Community Forum 25 August 2020

1          Welcome/ Karakia

Member Toni van Tonder opened the meeting with a karakia.

2          Apologies

There were no apologies.

3          Declaration of Interest

There were no declarations of interest.

4          Confirmation of Minutes

Resolution number DTCF/2020/14

MOVED by Chairperson A Bennett, seconded by Deputy Chairperson G Wood:

That the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Community Forum:

a) confirm the ordinary minutes of its meeting, held on Tuesday, 30 June 2020, as true and correct.

CARRIED

5          Leave of Absence

There were no leaves of absence.

6          Acknowledgements

There were no acknowledgements.

7          Petitions

There were no petitions.

8          Deputations

8.1	Peter Gearing: Wastewater Recycling Proposal for Rosedale Park
	A document was tabled. A copy has been placed on the official minutes and is available on the Auckland Council website as a minutes attachment.
	Resolution number DTCF/2020/15 MOVED by Chairperson A Bennett, seconded by Member J O'Connor: That the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Community Forum: a)      receive the presentation from Peter Gearing and thank him for his attendance. CARRIED

8.2	Keith Robinson: Road safety and traffic calming on Vauxhall Road, Devonport
	A document was tabled. A copy has been placed on the official minutes and is available on the Auckland Council website as a minutes attachment.
	Resolution number DTCF/2020/16 MOVED by Chairperson A Bennett, seconded by Member J O'Connor: That the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Community Forum: a)      receive the presentation from Keith Robinson and thank him for his attendance. CARRIED
	Attachments a     25 August 2020 - Item 8.2 - Keith Robinson: Road safety and traffic calming on Vauxhall Road, Devonport - Presentation

8.3	Devonport Peninsula Trust: Devonport Community Covid-19 Response
	A document was tabled. A copy has been placed on the official minutes and is available on the Auckland Council website as a minutes attachment.
	Resolution number DTCF/2020/17 MOVED by Chairperson A Bennett, seconded by Member T Deans: That the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Community Forum: a)      receive the presentation from the Devonport Peninsula Trust and thank them for their attendance. CARRIED

8.4	Kristian Eek: Filiming in the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area
	Resolution number DTCF/2020/18 MOVED by Chairperson A Bennett, seconded by Deputy Chairperson G Wood: That the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Community Forum: a)      receive the presentation from Kristian Eek and thank him for his attendance. CARRIED

9          Public Forum

There was no public forum.

10        Extraordinary Business

There was no extraordinary business.

11

CCO Review report feedback

Resolution number DTCF/2020/19

MOVED by Member R Jackson, seconded by Deputy Chairperson G Wood:

That the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Community Forum:

General comments

a) acknowledges the excellent Council-Controlled Organisation (CCO) Review Report by the Independent Review Panel published in August 2020. The report and recommendations are clear, concise, and expressed in language that is easy to understand.

b) note this is the first independent review of the Auckland Council and CCO model since its inception in 2010 and recommend that independent reviews be undertaken at more frequent and regular intervals in future.

c) notes the Independent Review Panel’s conclusion that the CCO model is the right one for Auckland, and their view that it is capable of delivering tangible benefits to Auckland.

d) supports the Independent Review Panel’s many comments and recommendations designed to achieve:

i. clear and effective Council direction, oversight and monitoring of CCOs

ii. close and effective working relationships between CCOs and local boards, ensuring local boards have meaningful involvement in each CCO’s activities in their area

iii. effective and timely communication with local boards and the public

e) indicates its genuine desire and willingness to work alongside CCOs in a collaborative and respectful fashion in order to achieve positive outcomes across the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area.

f) requests clear timeframes on when the recommendations in the Independent Review Panel’s report will be implemented.

g) notes that the scope of this review is limited to CCOs and believes that a similar review of Council would be beneficial and would ensure a holistic approach and consistency across the entire organisation.

CARRIED

Resolution number DTCF/2020/20

MOVED by Member R Jackson, seconded by Deputy Chairperson G Wood:

That the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Community Forum:

CCO model 

h) provides the following feedback in relation to recommendation 1, 2 and 3 outlined in Part Two of the independent review panel report (‘CCO model’) relating to ATEED and RFA:

Rec. no.	Recommendation	Local board view	Feedback
1	The council approves the merger of ATEED and RFA and appoints a steering group to implement change	Do not support	· ATEED and RFA each already have a wide portfolio of specialised operations, and we are concerned that a merger would create a portfolio which is too wide and diverse and, as a result, be at risk of doing many things badly rather than doing a smaller number of things well. · There is a risk that irreplaceable knowledge, skills, and experience in each area will be diluted or lost. · While we acknowledge the panel’s comments about economies of scale and other potential efficiencies, we are concerned that these may be outweighed by other considerations.
2	The merged entity explores, at council’s discretion, the critical need for joint management and operation of the city’s four stadiums with the Eden Park Trust	Do not support	RFA should continue with this area instead of a merged RFA/ATEED trying to cope with this activity. Auckland needs a comprehensive stadia strategy with long term goals and budgets put in place.  RFA needs to work closely with the Government including looking hard at developing funding from Central Government
3	Council explores with the Auckland War Memorial Museum and MOTAT bringing both institutions into the merged entity and seeks legislative change as is necessary	Do not support	The Auckland War Memorial Museum is New Zealand’s premier war memorial and a great focus for celebrating Pacific and New Zealand's history.    As for MOTAT, there is a need to address the recommendations of the 2018 Auckland Cultural Heritage Sector Review by Stafford Strategy, to get better outcomes from MOTAT without any merger of the AWMM and MOTAT. The Stafford review notes, among numerous concerns, the risk that in merging cultural and heritage institutions one may become predominant, to the detriment of others; and that ‘RFA is heavily focused on commercial endeavors and lacking in culture and heritage strength’.   The review did not anticipate any ATEED involvement, but we venture that the same would be true of ATEED. It is outside of the scope of this review, but we would also ask the current status of the proposal to set up a South Auckland satellite branch of Te Papa museum.

A division was called for, voting on which was as follows:

For Member T Deans Member R Jackson Member J O'Connor Deputy Chairperson G Wood

Against Chairperson A Bennett Member T van Tonder

Abstained

The motion was declared carried by 4 votes to 2.

CARRIED

Resolution number DTCF/2020/21

MOVED by Member R Jackson, seconded by Deputy Chairperson G Wood:

That the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Community Forum:

i) supports recommendations 4, 5, 6 and 7 outlined in Part Two of the independent review panel report (‘CCO model’) relating to Auckland Transport.

j) supports recommendations 8-14 outlined in Part Two of the independent review panel report (‘CCO model’) relating to Panuku, and provides specific feedback in relation to the following:

Rec. no.	Recommendation	Local board view	Feedback
10	Council amends the Panuku constitution to make clear its twin purpose of redeveloping urban areas and managing council’s non-service property	Support	Local boards should retain decision-making authority over all service assets in their area. There need to be clear criteria defining ‘service’ and ‘non-service’ assets. Local boards should have decision-making power on whether any asset is transferred from service to non-service.
14	Panuku continues to manage the council’s non-service property until the council produces a property strategy and considers whether to combine all property services in one place	Support	Local boards should retain decision-making authority over all service assets in their area. There need to be clear criteria defining ‘service’ and ‘non-service’ assets. Local boards should have decision-making power on whether any asset is transferred from service to non-service.

k) supports recommendations 15-19 outlined in Part Two of the independent review panel report (‘CCO model’) relating to Watercare, and provides specific feedback in relation to the following:

15

Council formulates a three-waters strategy and includes a reference in the strategy to Watercare’s obligation to consult the council about the broad direction of pricing and water services

Support

We support the panel’s comments about pricing and operational efficiencies, but strongly urge that this go much further than that. Auckland Council needs a Three Waters Planning and Strategy Department to ensure our current and future water needs are met. This department should have key input into the Auckland Plan (Spatial Plan) and assist in the development of the Letters of Expectation for Watercare Services Ltd.

Accountability

l) supports recommendations 20-43 outlined in Part Two of the independent review panel report (‘Accountability’)  and provides specific feedback in relation to the following:

Rec. no.	Recommendation	Local board view	Feedback
26	Councillors have a day-long induction at the start of their three-year term on their responsibilities as CCO shareholders, the separation of governance from management, and how to best govern CCOs as arm’s-length organisations.	Support	We would recommend local board members also have a full-day induction at the start of their three-year term.
27	The governing body spends half a day each year visiting each CCO to better understand its business and culture and to informally build relationships.	Support	We recommend that local boards also spend half a day each year visiting each CCO.
31	The council updates and clarifies its ‘no surprises’ policy by: · including clearer, more current examples of when the policy applies; · giving clearer guidance about precisely when CCOs should pass on information and to whom; and · ensuring CCO statements of intent contain a reference to the updated ‘no surprises’ policy so all concerned can be held to account	Support	This action will provide greater guidance and expectations to CCOs when working with local boards. Local boards are at the coalface with the community and must have good two-way communication with CCOs at operational level. The local board should be informed and briefed at the earliest opportunity in the event of unexpected events requiring immediate/urgent attention or action (for instance, sewage overflows).
32	The council draws up a protocol governing information requests between the governing body and CCOs	Support	We recommend that this protocol be extended to include information requests between local boards and CCOs, and that local boards be actively involved in drawing up the protocol. It is essential that information requests from elected members and local board staff are responded to in a timely manner and materials provided at the earliest opportunity. We recommend that council advocates for a refinement to LGOIMA to enable speedier resolution of these ‘internal’ information requests to ensure good operational efficiency and the highest quality governance decision-making.
34	CCOs and local boards reset how they engage with one another, by means of: · a workshop to develop a more meaningful way for CCOs and local boards to work together; · the preparation of joint CCO engagement plans for each local board; · more initiative by local boards in integrating their own planning with CCO planning; · liaison between CCOs and local boards at a more senior level so CCOs can quickly remedy local board concerns; · the preparation of joint six-monthly CCO reports for each local board; and · the communication of clear, up-to-date information from CCOs to local boards on projects in their area	Support	We strongly support this, and include this item in our in specific feedback to highlight the paramount importance of local boards being empowered to perform their full governance role.
41	The council and CCOs review the quality of the service their call centres provide, including by ensuring an up-to-date, group-wide phone directory is on hand containing job descriptions and contact details of all staff.	Support	We note that there are numerous phone numbers, emails, websites, online reporting tools, and more, across Council and the CCOs. There is also a poor understanding – both among the public and internally – on the roles and responsibilities of the CCOs and council departments, creating widespread confusion when trying to find the appropriate contact details. We recommend that inductions for all staff and elected members cover the above in greater depth. We recommend that this review also address how the multiplicity of contacts could be effectively streamlined and co-ordinated.

Culture

m) supports recommendations 44-64 outlined in Part Two of the independent review panel report (‘Accountability’)  and provides specific feedback in relation to the following:

Rec. no.	Recommendation	Local board view	Feedback
46	The council, Auckland Transport, and Panuku jointly communicate to the public about urban development and transport infrastructure projects	Support	We recommend that the council, Auckland Transport, and Panuku also jointly communicate to the local boards about urban development and transport infrastructure projects.
53	CCOs make more effort to coordinate how they consult the community on and implement local projects	Support	We support this and also recommend that: · CCOs involve local boards in the design of consultations · There be a focus on how community feedback influences changes · CCOs ‘close the loop’ and let the local board and public know how feedback has been incorporated.

CARRIED

12        Consideration of Extraordinary Items

There was no consideration of extraordinary items.

7.10 pm                                              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 Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Community Forum HELD ON

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

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