Otago Peninsula Community Board

MINUTES

 

Confirmed minutes of an ordinary meeting of the Otago Peninsula Community Board held in the Portobello Bowling Club, Sherwood Street, Portobello on Thursday 30 June 2016, commencing at 10.00 am

 

PRESENT

 

Chairperson

Christine Garey

 

Deputy Chairperson

Paul Pope

 

Members

Lox Kellas

Hoani Langsbury

 

Cr Neville Peat

Edna Stevenson

 

 

IN ATTENDANCE

Richard Saunders (Group Manager Parks and Recreation), Inspector Jason Guthrie (Area Commander, Otago Coastal, NZ Police), Malcolm Alexander (Chief Executive, Local Government New Zealand), Maria Ioannou (Corporate Policy Manager) and Anne Gray (Policy Analyst)

 

Governance Support Officer      Pam Jordan

 

 

1       Opening

Christine Garey opened the meeting with a reflection.

2       Public Forum

2.1    Board Scholarship Recipient - Iona Hibbert

 

Iona Hibbert, Board Scholarship recipient, provided feedback to the Board about her Spirit of Adventure voyage.  A group from her school went on the voyage around the Hauraki Gulf islands and competed against another three schools.  She outlined the team building activities undertaken which had pushed participants' boundaries.  She had found the voyage inspiring and had developed increased confidence from being able to learn new things and live with others for a week.

 

2.2    Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group - Partnership Proposal

 

Cathy Rufaut, Brendon Cross and Sarah Irvine from the Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group, attended to speak to the meeting concerning a proposed partnership with the Dunedin City Council.  Cathy Rufaut noted that the group's vision statement long-term was to enhance biodiversity.  The group had been catching possums for five years and was trying to reduce numbers so almost all of the Peninsula was possum-free to the urban boundary.  It was a goal to reduce possum numbers to very few by 2018.  The group's mission statement flagged partnerships.  People had been involved from the beginning and were built into the group's work and included as beneficiaries, as well as wildlife.  Work had evolved from a manager and contractors catching possums to use of community volunteers more often.  There were 70-75 regular volunteers involved.  The group was proud of the buy-in from large landowners and 152 people were signed up to give access or to support the group's work.

Brendon Cross reported that the group was looking to collaborate more with other groups on the Peninsula.  The group could manage what it was doing and had got some good results.  It was looking at partnering with other groups as well as the Dunedin City Council such as the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust, Department of Conservation, Otago Regional Council, Otago Peninsula Trust etc.  If a partnership model could be worked on it would give a point of contact with the city.  He commended the recent decision by the Council to appoint a Biodiversity Officer.

The speakers responded to questions from Board members.  The Board offered a letter of support if required.  It was noted that the Otago Regional Council was offering support and the group had received funding from that source recently.

 

 

3       Apologies

 

Moved (Chairperson Christine Garey/Lox Kellas):

 

That the Board:

 

Accepts the apologies from Christine Neill (for absence) and Hoani Langsbury (for lateness).

 

Motion carried (OPCB/2016/017)

 

 

4       Confirmation of agenda

 

 

Moved (Lox Kellas/Edna Stevenson):

 

That the Board:

 

Confirms the agenda with the funding applications to be taken following the confirmation of minutes.

 

Motion carried (OPCB/2016/018)

 

 

5       Declarations of interest

Members were reminded of the need to stand aside from decision-making when a conflict arose between their role as an elected representative and any private or other external interest they might have.

6       Confirmation of Minutes

6.1    Otago Peninsula Community Board meeting - 26 May 2016

 

Moved (Chairperson Christine Garey/Paul Pope):

 

That the Board:

 

Confirms the minutes of the Otago Peninsula Community Board meeting held on 26 May 2016 as a correct record.

 

 Motion carried (OPCB/2016/019)

Part A Reports

10     Funding Applications

 

A report from Civic appended funding applications from the Ocean Grove Community Trust for a year's worth (12 editions) of "Hawk Talk" and from the Te Rauone Beach Coast Care Committee for the printing of updated promotion booklets.  It was noted that $1,316.78 remained in the Project Fund for the financial year.

 

 

Edna Stevenson declared an interest in the Te Rauone Beach Coast Care Committee application and withdrew from the meeting at 10.29 am.

 

 

Moved (Lox Kellas/Paul Pope):

 

That the Board:

 

a)    Grants the funding application from the Ocean Grove Community Trust for $500.00.

b)    Grants the funding application from Te Rauone Beach Coast Care Committee for $816.78.

Motion carried (OPCB/2016/020)

 

 

 

Edna Stevenson returned to the meeting at 10.31 am.

 

7       New Zealand Police Update

 

Inspector Jason Guthrie, Area Commander, Otago Coastal, provided an update on policing issues in the Otago Coastal area and related to the Otago Peninsula.  He commented on crime statistics for the area and those reported at the Portobello Station.  In response to the Board's wish for a commitment to resident policing on the Peninsula he said that while he could not give an iron-clad promise, there was no intent to withdraw policing services from Portobello because of its geographical isolation, and this had not been discussed at any level.  There was a contingency in place to deploy someone to Portobello full time if needed in the event of the resident sole charge police officer being on leave and cover could be provided from South Dunedin when necessary.

 

Issues related to tourism were raised including increasing numbers of visitors and *555 calls.  Inspector Guthrie noted that these reinforced his thinking about the importance of maintaining the sole charge position on the Peninsula.  Tourism numbers were increasing greatly here and in Central Otago and this contributed to decisions about staff employment.

 

Board members offered to assist with raising the profile of the police in the community.

 

8       Dunedin's Strategic Framework

 

Maria Ioannou (Corporate Policy Manager) and Anne Gray (Policy Analyst) thanked Board members for their support during the Annual Plan process.  Policy staff were currently speaking to Boards about the Strategic Framework during this meeting round and she commented on the key strategies.

 

Anne Gray commented that the vision for Dunedin was to be one of the world's great small cities and eight strategies contributed to this.  Most had now been adopted, while the Parks and Recreation Strategy was in development.

 

Maria Ioannou advised that it was hoped that Community Plans could be programmed so they fed into the budget process better.  She also suggested workshops with Community Boards. 

 

9       Local Government New Zealand Update

 

Malcolm Alexander, Chief Executive, Local Government New Zealand, thanked the Board for the invitation to attend and noted that it was part of his role to visit the membership.  He made a presentation to the Board which covered the role of the LGNZ National Council, key priorities and new projects, key policy issues, fairness issues such as whether ratepayers should support tourism infrastructure, community policing issues and the installation of security cameras by some councils to support the work of the police.  Mr Alexander also commented on matters such as LGNZ's Excellence Programme, the upcoming local body elections, the forthcoming LGNZ conference in Dunedin, and engagement with the community. 

 

There was discussion on the funding of tourism infrastructure including the imposition of tourist levies such as those in place at Stewart Island.  The Chairperson also advised that there had been concerns from the community around tourism growth, freedom camping, wildlife poaching etc, and these needed to be managed.

 

11     Governance Support Officer's Report

 

A report from Civic updated the Board on activities relevant to the Board area including:

 

a)     Project Fund

b)     Scholarship Fund

c)     Dunedin Strategic Framework

d)     Action List.

 

There was discussion on the following Action List items:

 

·         Tomahawk School – the open days had gone well and it was hoped that high quality expressions of interest would be received.

·         Roadside weed control – specifications could be released to boards in the next couple of weeks and new contracts would commence on 1 July.  Downers was the new roading contractor.  City Care was the parks contractor for the Peninsula area and would attend the next meeting.

·         A decision on the Camp Road tree removal was expected the following week.

·         The Chairperson emphasised the importance of communication to the community over the Highcliff Road dropout repair.  The Group Manager advised that a report on tenders was currently being prepared.

·         Portobello Road/Harington Point Road safety improvements – the project manager, Glen O'Connor, and Transport Projects Team Leader, Gareth Evans, would attend the next meeting.

·         An update on the various slip repairs would be provided to the next meeting.

·         Tidewater Drive – a suitable time would be found to meet with the resident.

·         Bayne Terrace Steps – the Council had offered assistance with the health and safety plan.

·         Signage and on road marking between Otakou and Harington Point was being assessed.

 

 

Moved (Chairperson Christine Garey/Cr Neville Peat):

 

That the Board:

 

a)     Notes the Governance Support Officer's Report

b)     Amends the Action List as appropriate.

Motion carried (OPCB/2016/021)

 

12     Community Plan

 

The Chairperson congratulated Board members for the way they had worked with staff on their delegated projects and noted that most of the projects were now in train.  She suggested holding a workshop before the next Board meeting to update the Community Plan.

 

13     Working Parties/Board Area Liaison Updates

 

a)      Keep Dunedin Beautiful

 

 

 

Paul Pope commented on the Keep Dunedin Beautiful Week to be held in September.

 

 

 

b)      Rural Roads Update

 

 

 

Lox Kellas reported that roads were in good condition for the time of year.  He advised of the poor quality of grates being installed in roads, which were brittle.  The Group Manager advised he would follow up this matter.  He also commented on the work that had started in front of the new retaining wall at Broad Bay and the traffic management plan.  The Group Manager was asked to liaise with Lala Frazer over the Smiths Creek spawning area for native banded kokopu in relation to the Turnbulls Bay work.

 

 

 

c)      Area Updates

 

 

 

Board members provided updates from their areas of responsibility.

 

Paul Pope advised that over 60 people had attended the Tomahawk School open days.  He commented on the Portobello Jetty ramp.  He also noted that he had made two presentations to the Council's 2GP hearings on behalf of the Board.  The Portobello Market Day would be held on 17 July.

 

Edna Stevenson commented on arrangements for the unveiling of the plaque for the Robert George memorial seat.  She also advised the Board of a recent very positive meeting of the Te Rauone Beach Coast Care Committee with Beca and noted that Port Otago was still on track with the resource consent application by the end of September.

 

 

15     Council Activities

 

Hoani Langsbury entered the meeting at 11.52 am.

 

Cr Neville Peat reported on the Council meeting held earlier in the week that had:

 

·         adopted the Annual Plan

·         adopted amendments to the Dog Control Bylaw

·         adopted a revised Beauty Therapists, Tattooists and Skin Piercers Bylaw

·         heard from residents of Warrington at the public forum about the impact of freedom camping on the community.

 

Cr Peat advised that he would not be able to be present for the last meeting of the Community Board for the triennium but had enjoyed his time as the Council's representative on the Board and paid tribute to the work of Board members.

 

 

Moved (Chairperson Christine Garey/Hoani Langsbury):

 

That the Board:

 

a)        Notes the report from the Ward Councillor.

Motion carried (OPCB/2016/022)

 

 

Area Updates (Continued)

 

Hoani Langsbury here provided his area update on speed humps, the overhanging trees above the tank traps which were being dealt with, and tagging on the tank traps.

 

14     Chairperson's Report

 

A report from the Chairperson updated the Board on the following matters of interest since the previous meeting:

 

·         Overseas Drivers

·         Standing for Election and Voting

·         "Loose Ends"

·         Portobello/Harington Point Road Safety Improvements Project

·         Meetings/Events Attended

·         Upcoming Meetings/Events

 

 

The Chairperson considered that the Board needed to encourage people to put their names forward as candidates for the Board in the forthcoming election.  She also commented on a meeting regarding Coronation Hall signage, the renewal of the Macandrew Bay Store liquor licence, repair of road edges, the establishment of a Board email address, and a water seepage issue at Broad Bay.

 

 

Moved (Chairperson Christine Garey/Lox Kellas):

 

That the Board:

 

a)     Notes the report from the Chairperson.

Motion carried (OPCB/2016/023)

 

 

 

The meeting concluded at 12.05 pm.

 

 

 

 

 

..............................................

CHAIRPERSON