24 May 2022
Northland Regional
Council Minutes
Meeting held in the Council Chamber
36 Water Street, Whangārei
on Tuesday 24 May 2022, commencing at 10.30am
Tuhinga/Present:
Chairperson, Penny Smart
Councillors:
Terry Archer (via audio-visual
link)
Justin Blaikie
Jack Craw (via audio-visual link)
Colin Kitchen (via
audio-visual link)
Amy Macdonald (via
audio-visual link)
Marty Robinson
Rick Stolwerk
Joce Yeoman
I
Tae Mai/In Attendance:
Full Meeting
Independent Financial Advisor (via audio-visual link)
Tumuaki - Chief Executive Officer
Pou Taumatua - GM Corporate Services
Pou Tiaki Taiao - GM Environmental Services
Pou Whakaritenga - GM Regulatory Services
Pou Manawhakahaere - GM Governance and Engagement
Pou Tiaki Hapori - GM Community Resilience
Governance Specialist
Part Meeting
Pou
Tiaki Pūtaiao – GM Biosecurity (via audio-visual link)
Human
Resources Manager
Economist
Economic
Policy Advisor
Policy
Specialist
Secretarial Note: The Chair declared the meeting open at 10.33am
and proceedings commenced with the Tauāki ā roto by
full council.
Ngā
whakapahā/Apologies (Item
3.0)
There were no apologies.
Nga
whakapuakanga/Declarations of Conflicts of Interest (Item 4.0)
It was advised that councillors should make declarations
item-by-item as the meeting progressed.
Confirmation of Minutes - Council Meeting 26
April 2022 (Item 5.1)
Report from Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist
|
Moved
(Stolwerk/Yeoman)
That the minutes of the council
meeting held on 26 April 2022 be confirmed as a true and correct record.
Carried
|
Financial Report to 30 April 2022 (Item 6.1)
Report from Vincent McColl, Financial Accountant and
Taka Skipwith, Financial Accountant
|
Moved (Stolwerk/Robinson)
That the report ‘Financial
Report to 30 April 2022’ by Vincent McColl, Financial Accountant and
Taka Skipwith, Financial Accountant and dated 9 May 2022, be received.
Carried
|
Secretarial Note: The returns on the managed
investment funds had been received after the collation of the agenda, which
during the month of April had incurred a loss of $385k. With this
adjustment, in the ten months of the financial year council had incurred a
$281k loss which reduced the YTD surplus after transfers to and from reserves
from $6.96m to $6.61m. This remained $1.1m better than budget and
therefore there had been no need to draw from the OPEX Reserve at this time.
|
Regional Rates
Collection - update to 31 March 2022 (Item
6.2)
Report from Vincent McColl, Financial Accountant
|
Moved (Stolwerk/Yeoman)
That the report ‘Regional
Rates Collection - update to 31 March 2022’ by Vincent McColl,
Financial Accountant and dated 5 May 2022, be received.
Carried
|
Regional Projects Reserve: Criteria and
procedures for the allocation of funding (Item
7.1)
Report from Darryl Jones, Economist and Simon Crabb,
Finance Manager
|
Moved (Yeoman/Stolwerk)
1. That
the report ‘Regional Projects Reserve: Criteria and procedures for the
allocation of funding’ by Economist and Finance Manager and dated 7
April 2022, be received.
2. That
council agrees to adopt the Criteria and procedures for the allocation of
funding from the Regional Projects Reserve contained in Attachment One (pertaining
to Item 7.1 of the 24 May 2022 council agenda).
Carried
|
Fund Manager
Withdrawal (Item 7.2)
Report from Bruce Howse, Pou Taumatua – Group
Manager Corporate Services
|
Moved (Robinson/Kitchen)
1. That
the report ‘Fund Manager Withdrawal ’ by Bruce Howse, Pou
Taumatua – Group Manager Corporate Services and dated 6 May 2022, be
received.
2. That
council approves withdrawing $1 million from the Harbour T.Rowe Price Global
Equity fund and investing in self-managed cash (Term Deposits) to be held in
the Long Term Fund maturing in September 2022.
Carried
|
Regional Software
Holdings Limited - Reporting and 2023-2025 Statement of Intent (Item 7.3)
Report from Carol Cottam, Information Services and
Technology Manager
|
Moved (Blaikie/Yeoman)
1. That
the ‘Regional Software Holding Limited – Reporting and 2023-2025
Statement of Intent’ by Carol Cottam, Information Services and
Technology Manager and dated 13 May 2022, be received.
2. That
council receive the Regional Software Holdings Limited’s Statement of
Intent 2023-2025.
Carried
|
Secretarial Note: Councillors to provide feedback
on the response to Regional Software Holding Limited’s Statement of
Intent prior to being lodged.
|
Poplar and Willow
Nursery Expansion (Item 7.4)
Report from Ruben Wylie, Land Management Programme
Manager
|
Moved (Blaikie/Craw)
1. That the report ‘Poplar and Willow Nursery
Expansion ’ by Ruben Wylie, Land Management Programme Manager and
dated 4 May 2022, be received.
2. That
the capital budgets for the nursery expansion are retimed by:
a. allocating
$200,000 in the 2022-2023 financial year to develop the existing poplar and
willow nursery;
b. allocating
the remainder of the capital budget to the 2023-2024 financial year to enable
expansion of the existing nursery through the purchase of nearby land and
associated site development.
3. That
council acknowledges the poplar pole production targets:
a) contained
within the 2021-2031 Long Term Plan will not be achieved;
b) for
the current site will be 7000 poles per annum (following further site
optimisation investment); and
c) need
to be reassessed following the purchase/acquisition of additional land to
support nursery expansion.
4. That
staff report back to council by March 2023 to provide an update on capital
progress with nursery upgrades and further enquiries into potential land
acquisition.
Carried
|
Chair's Report to Council (Item 8.1)
Report from Penny Smart, Chair
|
Moved (Smart/Yeoman)
That the report ‘Chair's
Report to Council’ by Penny Smart, Chair and dated 11 May 2022, be
received.
Carried
|
Chief
Executive’s Report to Council (Item 8.2)
Report from Malcolm Nicolson, Tumuaki - Chief Executive
Officer
|
Moved (Craw/Macdonald)
That the report ‘Chief
Executive’s Report to Council’ by Malcolm Nicolson, Tumuaki -
Chief Executive Officer and dated 2 May 2022, be received.
Carried
|
Secretarial Note:
·
Appreciation was extended to the Chief Executive Officer and
staff for the ‘comprehensive report’.
·
The Regional Transport Committee to consider an
anti-littering strategy through schools.
|
Reporting on Long
Term Plan 2021-2031 performance measures for quarter three of the 2021/22
year (Item 8.3)
Report from Robyn Broadhurst, Policy Specialist
|
Moved (Craw/Yeoman)
That the
report ‘Reporting on Long Term Plan 2021-2031 performance measures for
quarter three of the 2021/22 year’ by Robyn Broadhurst, Policy
Specialist and dated 26 April 2022, be received.
Carried
|
Receipt of Committee Minutes (Item 9.1)
Report from Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist
|
Moved (Yeoman/Stolwerk)
That the unconfirmed minutes of
the:
· Kaipara
Moana Remediation Joint Committee – 11 April 2022
· Joint
Regional Economic Development Committee – 29 April 2022
be received.
Carried
|
Secretarial Note: Representatives from the
committees provided a verbal update on priorities and key workstreams.
|
Working Party Updates
and Chairpersons' Briefings (Item 9.2)
Report from Sally Bowron, Strategy, Governance and
Engagement Team Admin/PA
|
Moved (Stolwerk/Yeoman)
That the report ‘Working
Party Updates and Chairpersons' Briefings’ be received.
Carried
|
Secretarial Note: The Chair of each working party
provided a verbal update.
|
Taumarere Flood
Management Working Group Update (Item 9.3)
Report from Erica Wade, Personal Assistant -
Environmental Services
|
Moved (Blaikie/Yeoman)
That the report ‘Taumarere
Flood Management Working Group Update’ be received.
Carried
|
Secretarial Note: Appreciation was extended to
the Rivers and Natural Hazards Team for the work undertaken in the
Taumarere catchment which had ‘galvanised the community’.
|
Kaupapa ā Roto/Business with Public Excluded (Item 10.0)
Moved
(Robinson/Blaikie)
1.
That the public be excluded from the proceedings of this meeting to
consider confidential matters.
2.
That the general subject of the matters to be considered whilst the
public is excluded, the reasons for passing this resolution in relation to
this matter, and the specific grounds under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution, are as
follows:
Item No.
|
Item Issue
|
Reasons/Grounds
|
10.1
|
Confirmation
of Confidential Minutes - Council Meeting 26 April 2022
|
The public
conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of
information, as stated in the open section of the meeting.
|
10.2
|
Receipt of
Committee CONFIDENTIAL Minutes
|
The public
conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of
information, as stated in the open section of the meeting.
|
3.
That the Independent Financial Advisor be permitted to stay during
business with the public excluded.
|
Whakamutunga
(Conclusion)
The meeting concluded at 12.09pm.