AGENDA

Ordinary meeting of the

 

Governance Committee

 

Thursday 25 July 2019

Commencing at 9.00a.m.

Council Chamber

Civic House

110 Trafalgar Street, Nelson

 

Pat Dougherty

Chief Executive

 

Membership: Councillor Ian Barker (Chairperson), Her Worship the Mayor Rachel Reese, Councillors Luke Acland, Mel Courtney, Bill Dahlberg (Deputy Chairperson), Gaile Noonan, Mike Rutledge, Tim Skinner, Stuart Walker, Mr John Murray and Mr John Peters

Quorum: 6

 

Nelson City Council Disclaimer

Please note that the contents of these Council and Committee Agendas have yet to be considered by Council and officer recommendations may be altered or changed by the Council in the process of making the formal Council decision.

·      All councillors, whether or not they are members of the Committee, may attend Committee meetings

·      At the discretion of the Chair, councillors who are not Committee members may speak, or ask questions about a matter.

·      Only Committee members may vote on any matter before the Committee

It is good practice for both Committee members and non-Committee members to declare any interests in items on the agenda.  They should withdraw from the room for discussion and voting on any of these items.

 

25 July 2019

 

Page No.

 

1.       Apologies

1.1      An apology has been received from Councillor Noonan

2.       Confirmation of Order of Business

3.       Interests

3.1      Updates to the Interests Register

3.2      Identify any conflicts of interest in the agenda

4.       Public Forum

5.       Confirmation of Minutes

5.1      13 June 2019                                                                              7 - 14

Document number M4279

Recommendation

That the Governance Committee 1.    Confirms the minutes of the meeting of the Governance Committee, held on 13 June 2019, as a true and correct record.

6.       Chairperson's Report 

7.       Nelson Regional Development Agency - draft Statement of Intent 2019/20                                                         15 - 48

Document number R10185

Recommendation

That the Governance Committee 1.    Receives the report Nelson Regional Development Agency - draft Statement of Intent 2019/20 (R10185) and its attachments (A2220577 and A2066401).

 

Recommendation to Council

That the Council 1.    Agrees that the Nelson Regional Development Agency Statement of Intent 2019/20 meets Council’s expectations and is approved as the final Statement of Intent for 2019/20.

       

Public Excluded Business

8.       Exclusion of the Public

Recommendation

That the Governance Committee 1.        Confirms, in accordance with sections 48(5) and 48(6) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, that Hemi Toia, Jo Rainey, John Rollston and Matt Griffin of Nelson Adventure Park Ltd remain after the public has been excluded, for Item 2 of the Public Excluded agenda (Nelson Cycle Lift Society and Nelson Adventure Park Ltd - Presentation), as they have knowledge that will assist the meeting.

Recommendation

That the Governance Committee

1.        Excludes the public from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting.

2.        The general subject of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded, the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter and the specific grounds under section 48(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution are as follows: 

 

Item	General subject of each matter to be considered	Reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter	Particular interests protected (where applicable)
1	Governance Committee Meeting - Public Excluded Minutes -  13 June 2019	Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7.	The withholding of the information is necessary: ·    Section 7(2)(i)      To enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations)   ·         Section 7(2)(a)      To protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of a deceased person
2	Nelson Cycle Lift Society and Nelson Adventure Park Ltd - Presentation	Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7	The withholding of the information is necessary: ·   Section 7(2)(b)(ii)      To protect information where the making available of the information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information
3	Nelmac director reappointment	Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7	The withholding of the information is necessary: ·   Section 7(2)(a)      To protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of a deceased person
4	Nelson Regional Development Agency - Director Remuneration - 2019	Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7	The withholding of the information is necessary: ·   Section 7(2)(i)      To enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations)
5	Strategic Property Acquisition - Stoke	Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7	The withholding of the information is necessary: ·   Section 7(2)(i)      To enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations)

 

Note:

·               Youth Councillors Grier Rollinson and Leila Challenger will be in attendance at this meeting.

 

 

  

 

Minutes of a meeting of the Governance Committee

Held in the Council Chamber, Civic House, 110 Trafalgar Street, Nelson

On Thursday 13 June 2019, commencing at 9.02a.m.

Present:              Councillor I Barker (Chairperson), Her Worship the Mayor R Reese, M Courtney, B Dahlberg (Deputy Chairperson), G Noonan, M Rutledge, S Walker and Mr J Peters

In Attendance:   Councillor P Matheson, Chief Executive (P Dougherty), Group Manager Environmental Management (C Barton), Group Manager Community Services (R Ball),Group Manager Corporate Services (N Harrison), Group Manager Strategy and Communications (N McDonald) and Governance Adviser (E-J Ruthven)

Apologies:           Councillor Skinner and Mr J Murray, and Her Worship the Mayor (for lateness)

 

 

1.       Apologies

Apologies from Councillor Skinner and Mr John Murray were noted. A motion to receive and accept the apologies was moved by Councillor Noonan and seconded by Councillor Walker but was not put at this point.

 

2.       Confirmation of Order of Business

There was no change to the order of business.

3.       Interests

There were no updates to the Interests Register, and no interests with items on the agenda were declared.

4.       Public Forum 

There was no public forum.

5.       Confirmation of Minutes

5.1      18 April 2019

Document number M4178, agenda pages 8 - 19 refer.

Resolved GOV/2019/042
	That the Governance Committee 1.    Confirms the minutes of the meeting of the Governance Committee, held on 18 April 2019, as a true and correct record.
Noonan/Dahlberg                                                                         Carried

  

6.       Chairperson's Report  

There was no Chairperson’s Report.

7.       Uniquely Nelson Memorandum of Understanding 2019/2020

Document number R10166, agenda pages 20 - 44 refer.

Group Manager Environmental Management, Clare Barton, presented the report.  Uniquely Nelson Chief Executive, Simon Duffy and Chair, Chris Butler, presented two websites that had been developed by Uniquely Nelson, www.uniquelynelson.nz and www.nelsonadvantage.co.nz, and explained how they promoted businesses and events in Nelson, and Nelson as The Smart Little City. 

Mr Duffy and Mr Butler explained Uniquely Nelson’s aspirations for the websites for the future.  They answered questions regarding Uniquely Nelson’s relationship and communication with Council, businesses and organisations, and other stakeholders in the city, the Nelson City identity, how additional funding for Uniquely Nelson proposed through the Annual Plan 2019/20 would be used, and the potential for Uniquely Nelson to increase revenue from additional sources.

During discussion, it was noted that the date of the first Nelson City Street Hop, as noted on page 31 of the agenda, should be October 2018, rather than October 2019.

Attendance:  Her Worship the Mayor joined the meeting at 9.30a.m.

Ms Barton answered further questions regarding performance measures to be considered through a service contract between Council and Uniquely Nelson.

 

Resolved GOV/2019/043
	That the Governance Committee 1.    Receives the report Uniquely Nelson Memorandum of Understanding 2019/2020 (R10166) and its attachments (A2181631, A2182035 and A2182036).
Dahlberg/Rutledge                                                                       Carried
Recommendation to Council GOV/2019/044
	That the Council 1.    Approves the Uniquely Nelson Memorandum of Understanding 2019/2020 (A2181631).
Dahlberg/Rutledge                                                                       Carried

8.       Apologies (continued)

The Chairperson explained that additional apologies had been tendered for the meeting, from Her Worship the Mayor (for lateness) and from Councillor Acland. The motion to receive apologies moved and seconded at the start of the meeting was put.
Resolved GOV/2019/045
That the Governance Committee 1.    Receives and accepts the apologies from Councillor Skinner and Mr John Murray.
Noonan/Walker                                                                            Carried
Mr Peters, seconded by Councillor Walker, moved: That the Governance Committee 1.  Receives the apology from Her Worship the Mayor for lateness; and 2.  Receives the apology from Councillor Acland. Following discussion, it was agreed to take the motion in parts.
Resolved GOV/2019/046
	That the Governance Committee 1.    Receives the apology from Her Worship the Mayor for lateness .
Peters/Walker                                                                              Carried
The second clause of the motion was put and lost, on a show of hands.

9.       Sister Cities Coordinator Update

Document number R10132, agenda pages 45 - 51 refer.

Sister Cities Coordinator, Gail Collingwood, presented the report.  She spoke about the Sister Cities New Zealand Conference and Annual General Meeting, and the liaison role of the Sister City Coordinator.  She answered questions regarding the opportunity to exchange skills and knowledge via sister city relationships, and the possibility of developing other potential models for Council to manage sister city relationships.

The Committee acknowledged the strength of Nelson’s sister city relationships, and thanked Ms Collingwood for her work as Sister City Coordinator over the triennium.

Resolved GOV/2019/047
	That the Governance Committee 1.    Receives the report Sister Cities Coordinator Update (R10132).
Her Worship the Mayor/Noonan                                                    Carried

10.     Governance Committee Quarterly Report to 31 March 2019

Document number R10105, agenda pages 52 - 65 refer.

Group Manager Strategy and Communications, Nicky McDonald, presented the report.  Along with Chief Executive, Pat Dougherty, she answered questions regarding work undertaken as a result of Nelson’s assessment under the Local Government New Zealand Excellence Programme and the proposed timing of the next assessment, reasons for underspend in the policy budget, work delayed as a result of the Pigeon Valley Fire, and requests for information received by Council under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.

Group Manager Corporate Services, Nikki Harrison, answered questions regarding rent reduction for the nursery land adjoining Founders Park, and short-term prefunding for debt maturing in 2019.

There was a further discussion regarding debtors to Council.  Concern was expressed regarding the possibility of a community group proposing to disestablish itself, thereby avoiding court costs awarded to Council as a result of legal action taken by the group.  It was noted that this issue would be referred to the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee, which would monitor the issue and take action, as necessary.

Resolved GOV/2019/048
	That the Governance Committee 1.    Receives the report Governance Committee Quarterly Report to 31 March 2019 (R10105) and its attachments (A2175596, A2181659 and A2181133).
Peters/Walker                                                                              Carried

11.     Communications and Engagement Strategy

Document number R10206, agenda pages 66 - 74 refer.

Manager Communications, Paul Shattock, presented the report.  He noted that references in bold on page 67 to ‘Smart Little City’ should be altered to ‘The Smart Little City’.

Mr Shattock answered questions regarding the goals and objectives of the Strategy and how it linked with the Local Government New Zealand Excellence programme, its aim to increase trust and confidence in Council, the importance of Council communicating clearly with the community, the use of different medium to communicate stories about Council’s activities, and the implementation plan to be developed for the Strategy.

Attendance:  Councillor Rutledge left the meeting from 10.49a.m to 10.52a.m.

During discussion, it was noted that on page 70 under the heading “Outcomes”, the second bullet point should be updated to read:

·    Improved trust, confidence and awareness with iwi partners, stakeholders, public

Resolved GOV/2019/049
	That the Governance Committee 1.    Receives the report Communications and Engagement Strategy (R10206) and its attachment (A2196740).
Her Worship the Mayor/Peters                                                      Carried
Recommendation to Council GOV/2019/050
	That the Council 1.    Adopts the Communications and Engagement Strategy, with amendments (A2196740).
Her Worship the Mayor/Peters                                                      Carried

       

The meeting was adjourned from 11.14a.m. to 11.30a.m.

 

12.     Exclusion of the Public

Resolved GOV/2019/051
	That the Governance Committee 1.    Excludes the public from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting. 2.    The general subject of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded, the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter and the specific grounds under section 48(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution are as follows:
Courtney/Walker                                                                          Carried

 

Item	General subject of each matter to be considered	Reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter	Particular interests protected (where applicable)
1	Governance Committee Meeting - Public Excluded Minutes -  18 April 2019	Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7.	The withholding of the information is necessary: ·    Section 7(2)(h)      To enable the local authority to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities ·   Section 7(2)(i)      To enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations)
2	Governance Committee Public Excluded Status Report	Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7	The withholding of the information is necessary: ·   Section 7(2)(i)      To enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations)
3	Nelson Centre of Musical Arts - Appointment of Trustees	Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7	The withholding of the information is necessary: ·   Section 7(2)(a)      To protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of a deceased person
4	Update on Strategic Property Matters	Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7	The withholding of the information is necessary: ·   Section 7(2)(h)      To enable the local authority to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities ·   Section 7(2)(i)      To enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations)

The meeting went into public excluded session at 11.31a.m. and resumed in public session at 12.43p.m.

 

Restatements

 

It was resolved while the public was excluded:

 

1	PUBLIC EXCLUDED: Governance Committee Public Excluded Status Report
	That the Governance Committee 1.    Receives the report Governance Committee Public Excluded Status Report (R10257) and its attachment (A1401390); and 2.    Agrees that Report (R10257), Attachment (A1401390) and the decision (Gov/2019/053) be excluded from public release at this time.

There being no further business the meeting ended at 12.43p.m.

 

Confirmed as a correct record of proceedings:

 

 

 

                                                       Chairperson                                     Date

 

Item 7: Nelson Regional Development Agency - draft Statement of Intent 2019/20

 

Governance Committee 25 July 2019

 

REPORT R10185

Nelson Regional Development Agency - draft Statement of Intent 2019/20

 

1.       Purpose of Report

1.1      To seek Council approval of the Nelson Regional Development Agency draft Statement of Intent 2019/20.

 

2.       Recommendation

That the Governance Committee 1.    Receives the report Nelson Regional Development Agency - draft Statement of Intent 2019/20 (R10185) and its attachments (A2220577 and A2066401).

Recommendation to Council

That the Council 1.    Agrees that the Nelson Regional Development Agency Statement of Intent 2019/20 meets Council’s expectations and is approved as the final Statement of Intent for 2019/20.

 

3.       Background

3.1      The NRDA, along with the other Council Controlled Organisations, must submit a draft Statement of Intent (SOI) indicating its proposed activities for the following year.  The draft SOI 2019/20 prepared by the NRDA is attached (Attachment 1).

3.2      The NRDA Chair Meg Matthews and Chief Executive, Mark Rawson will be in attendance at the meeting to answer any questions about the SOI.

3.3      Schedule 8 of the Local Government Act outlines the purpose of a SOI, what is to be included and how it is to be approved. The SOI, as supplied by the NRDA is compliant.

3.4      The Statement of Expectation was provided to the NRDA in March 2019 to assist it the preparation of the SOI. The SOE is included as Attachment 2.

4.       Discussion

          Statement of expectation

4.1      The Council Statement of Expectation dated March 2019 set out Council’s expectations on matters to be addressed in the draft SOI 2019/20.  The specific expectations are set out in paragraph a – k of the SOE and are summarised below:

a) Council priorities 

b) Stakeholders

c) Partnerships with iwi and Māori

d) Promoting the regions

e) Funding

f) Deliverables and budget

g) Advice

h) Agility

i)  Te Tauihu Intergenerational Strategy

j) Climate change responsiveness

k) Relationship with Tasman District Council

4.2      The above-mentioned matters are adequately covered in the draft SOI. 

4.3      The draft SOI details the following four key activity areas for 2019/20:

a) Positioning the region as a place that talent and investment want to be

b) Connecting our clever people and companies with opportunities to grow and innovate

c) Promoting the destination as a place of choice for higher-value visitors

d) Partnering with the public and private sectors to build stakeholder engagement, achieve alignment and drive NRDA’s role in strategy execution   

4.4      Within the key activity areas, a set of work streams are identified, each with key performance measures.

          NRDA business model

4.5      The SOI includes information about a review the NRDA conducted in December 2018 of the longer-term sustainability of its current business model (Paragraph 1.4 - 1.5, page 4 – 5 of the SOI).

4.6      Funding uncertainty was identified as the major challenge to implementing a longer-term strategic focus. Without funding certainty beyond a one-year timeframe, the NRDA advises that it is unable to develop and operate a longer, strategic 3 to 5-year plan.

4.7      The NRDA identified that a sustainable future business model would require securing an additional $200,000, to enable the NRDA to maintain its current delivery of services and meet the requirements set out in the Statement of Expectations. 

4.8      Over the next year the NRDA intends to explore ways to secure this additional $200,000. The focus will be on non-Council revenue sources as outlined in paragraph 4.2 of the SOI (pages 16 – 17 of the SOI). 

4.9      However, the NRDA also plans to grow the contribution from Council through targeted contracts for services and may request additional baseline funding support through the next Long Term Plan cycle.

Financial forecasts

4.10    The NRDA financials provide for an additional unidentified funding of $80,000 in 2019/20 and $200,000 in 2020/21.  NRDA notes that due to the high-levels of revenue generated from the private sector (approximately $420,000 in 2019/20), there is some risk to achieving the additional revenue funded. 

4.11    The NRDA intends to manage this risk through setting required levels of funding against its work programme prior to committing resources to an activity.

4.12    The financial statements attached to the SOI demonstrate an operating surplus of $43,702 in 2019/20 and $35,891 in 2020/21. However, these surpluses become losses once depreciation is taken into account and include the proposed additional income mentioned in paragraph 4.10.

4.13    As a consequence it is noted that the amount of equity held by the NRDA in 2019/20 has decreased by $68,000 from the previous year and is expected to decrease by a further $70,098 in 2020/21. These figures are after the proposed additional funding of $200,000 is taken into account.

4.14    The NRDA advises that in future significant changes would need to be implemented to maintain the shareholder capital base and that a reduced delivery of service would need to be reflected in the Council’s Statement of Expectations.

4.15    To inform the Statement of Expectations for 2020/21 Council resolved at its meeting of 4 June 2019 that:

a review of the Nelson Regional Development Agency services funded or purchased by Council will be undertaken prior to the next Statement of Expectation being issued and that the findings of the review to be reported to the Governance Committee.

Review

4.16    Nelson City Council funding to the NRDA for 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 is approximately $860,000 per year. Tasman District Council provides funding of $300,000 per year.

4.17    The NRDA also holds various separate service contracts with Nelson City Council. 

4.18    At the Annual Plan deliberations meeting on 4 June Council confirmed the current level of funding for the NRDA and also approved a review of NRDA services, funding, income and expenses. 

4.19    The review is expected to be completed prior to the next Statement of Expectation being issued.  The findings of the review will be presented to Council.

Integrated Statement of Intent for Nelson and Tasman councils 

4.20    In 2018/19 Tasman District Council and NRDA negotiated a separate funding and performance agreement however, the proposed 2019/20 SOI has included input from TDC and funding from TDC to the NRDA will be through NCC. 

5.       Options

5.1      Officers believe that the draft SOI adequately aligns with Council expectations and can be adopted as the final SOI for 2019/20. 

5.2      The Committee can recommend approval of the SOI or can provide feedback to the NRDA in respect of changes to the SOI.  Changes to the draft SOI will delay approval of the SOI by Council. 

Author:          Mark Tregurtha, Manager Strategy

Attachments

Attachment 1:  A2220577 - Draft Statement of Intent ⇩

Attachment 2:  A2066401 - Statement of Expecation March 2019 ⇩

 

 

Important considerations for decision making

1.   Fit with Purpose of Local Government Schedule 8 of the Local Government Act requires the preparation of a draft Statement of Intent.

2.   Consistency with Community Outcomes and Council Policy The recommendation aligns with the following outcomes: ‘Our Council provides leadership and fosters partnerships, a regional perspective, and community engagement’ and  ‘Our region is supported by an innovative and sustainable economy’

3.   Risk  This is a low risk decision as it relates to a statutory process. The financial risks facing the NRDA are outlined in the body of the report.

4.   Financial impact The NRDA’s draft budget is aligned with funding proposed in the Long Term Plan 2018-28.

5.   Degree of significance and level of engagement This matter is of low significance and no consultation has been undertaken.

6.   Inclusion of Māori in the decision making process No engagement with Māori has been undertaken in preparing this report.

7.   Delegations The Governance Committee has the following delegations to consider the draft SOI - Areas of Responsibility: ·      Nelson City Council CCOs Powers to Recommend: ·      Documents from Nelson City Council CCOs including statements of intent.