Hutt Valley Services Committee
Minutes of a meeting
held in the Council Chambers, Upper Hutt City Council,
Council Chambers, Level 2, 838-843 Fergusson Drive, Upper Hutt on
Friday 4 August 2017 commencing at 9.30am
PRESENT: Cr D Wheeler (Chair) Cr G McDonald (Deputy Chair) Mayor Guppy Deputy Mayor D Bassett
Cr L Bridson Cr C Carson
Cr H Swales (alternate)
APOLOGIES: Mayor RW Wallace, Cr P Lambert
IN ATTENDANCE: Mr C Upton, Chief Executive, UHCC
Mr B Sherlock, General Manager, City Infrastructure, HCC
Mr B Hodgins, Divisional Manager, Parks and Gardens, HCC (until 10.06am)
Mr G Stuart, Divisional Manager, Regulatory Services, HCC
Mr B Latimer, Parks and Reserves Manager, UHCC (until 10.18am)
Ms A Hector, Wastewater Contracts Manager, Wellington Water (until 10.15am)
Ms K Glanville, Senior Committee Advisor, HCC
Mrs H Clegg, Democratic Services Advisor, UHCC
PUBLIC BUSINESS
1. APOLOGIES
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Resolved: That the apologies received from Mayor Wallace and Cr P Lambert be accepted and leaves of absence be granted. |
2. PUBLIC FORUM
There was no public comment.
3. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATIONS
There were no conflict of interest declarations.
4. MINUTES
Councillor Carson asked why the Health Office Activities Report for today’s meeting did not contain details as he had requested and as are noted in the Minutes (page 5, paragraph 11). The Divisional Manager, Regulatory Services, HCC stated he was prepared to give a verbal report at the appropriate time.
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Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting of the Hutt Valley Services Committee held on 5 May 2017 be confirmed as a true and correct record. |
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AKATARAWA CEMETERY – CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT PLAN Joint report by the Parks and Reserves Manager, Upper Hutt City Council and the Divisional Manager Parks and Gardens, Hutt City Council, who elaborated on the report. Deputy Mayor Bassett asked whether future fees collected will be used to cover this capital expenditure cost. The Parks and Reserves Manager explained that the current agreement between the two councils required full recovery of all capital costs through fees and charges. The Divisional Manager, Parks and Gardens, HCC advised the agreement between the two councils was due for renewal in 2018 and this was one aspect which would be reviewed. He added that to fully cover capital expenditure and operational costs, an additional $250 per internment would be required; and that while the cemetery is recovering costs today, fees received do not cover the original infrastructural development costs. Deputy Mayor Bassett commented it would be advantageous to have this detail in the current document for the councils to be fully informed. In response to a question from Councillor Wheeler, the Divisional Manager, Parks and Gardens explained burials costs varied throughout New Zealand, and agreed an additional $250 to the current $900 fee for a burial would be significant. Councillor Bridson enquired as to the level of public consultation planned. The Parks and Reserves Manager, UHCC explained once the detailed design stage was implemented, comprehensive public consultation would occur. He expected this to be between 2022 and 2024. He added that the land is designated under the Upper Hutt City Council’s District Plan, and that a Resource Consent application was required. Councillor Bridson further enquired as to whether the exact ethnic make-up of each city had been taken into account. The Parks and Reserves Manager, UHCC explained this would be undertaken at the next stage of development. He added this initial report was “high level” and that details would be investigated once this report had been to both councils.
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Councillor Carson commented that there could be a philosophical difference between the two councils to funding capital expenditure when the benefits are inter-generational. He requested that future operational costs be detailed in this report, in addition to the stated capital costs. He also noted that the cities have aging populations and this would need to be taken account of for future demand and operations. Councillor Swales asked the origin of the Burial Trends Table 3 (page A5-29). The Parks and Reserves Manager, UHCC explained the consultants used the most recent figures available – from 2010. With regards the Regional Capacity Demand section of the report (pages A534 to 35), Councillor Swales enquired if Akatarawa Cemetery would have sufficient capacity in the future. The Parks and Reserves Manager, UHCC advised the additional 56 years life span need to be added to the year 2028 quoted in Table 4 for Upper Hutt. The Divisional Manager, Parks and Gardens, HCC added that Wellington and Porirua Councils have greater capacity for after 2050 and that Wellington City Council is reviewing its situation in 2018. He further added that Hutt City Council had investigated possible land for a cemetery in Lower Hutt a total of three times, and each time have found nothing suitable. Councillor Swales commended the report especially highlighting section 7 as a good initiative. Mayor Guppy expressed concern that if only 15% of the land purchased for the cemetery was now able to be used, was there an ability to sell the excess land for another purpose? The Parks and Reserves Manager, UHCC explained the land is very steep, with some possibility for residential development having access from the top of the site. He advised engineering costs would be high. He agreed selling part of the land could be an option to investigate in the future, and that there is a 20m buffer zone required between the cemetery and adjacent land usage. Councillor Wheeler enquired whether the review of the management structure of the cemetery (page A5-2) would include a name change. The Parks and Reserves Manager, UHCC advised the results of this review would be reported back within a year, adding that the current sexton is due to retire soon, providing an ideal opportunity for a review. He was mindful of the impact a cemetery name change could have for geneological researchers. Councillor Swales advised there is a word missing in the final paragraph of the conclusion of the report (page A5-2) – the word “year” needed to be inserted towards the end of line 3 (“over a two year period”). |
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1. That the report be received. 2. That the Hutt Valley Services Committee agrees to refer the development plan to the respective councils for confirmation of timing and funding as part of the 2018-2028 Long Term Plan. In general discussion, Councillor Carson re-iterated his request that operational costs should be detailed in the report for the councils. The Chief Executive, UHCC advised this would be difficult, and that as the next stage in the process concerned details, these figures would be investigated then. Deputy Mayor Bassett commented the report should nevertheless contain a section explaining the various options for funding (without specific details). |
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6.
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Project Pencarrow Progress Report 5 APRIL 2017 to 3 JULY 2017 Report by the Wastewater Contracts Manager, Wellington Water. The General Manager, City Infrastructure HCC elaborated on the report. He explained the resource consent for the occasional discharge of treated effluent into the Waiwhetu Stream (paragraph 6, page A6-2) expired soon, and investigations are underway to find alternative options. He added there was a workshop on this matter for councillors on 7 August 2018. In response to a question from Councillor Swales, he advised there would not be papers available prior to the workshop. |
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Resolved: That the Committee notes the progress on Project Pencarrow as outlined in the report. |
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Report by the Landfill Consultant, Tonkin and Taylor. The General Manager, City Infrastructure HCC elaborated on the report, explaining the odour situation had improved since the last report; and that Hutt City Council had brought forward some capital funding to enable more space to be developed at the landfill. He advised this would make operations easier and would also assist to reduce odour. In general discussion on the Emissions Trading Scheme, the General Manager, City Infrastructure HCC advised that the gas capture system at Silverstream Landfill, including the gas to electricity plant on site, means that there are significantly fewer gas emissions at Silverstream than at Wellington City’s landfill. The Wastewater Contracts Manager, Wellington Water added that Hutt City Council operates a dryer which significantly reduces the amount of biosolids waste delivered to landfill, compared to Wellington City Council. In response to a question from Councillor Carson, the General Manager, City Infrastructure HCC advised that Hutt City Council, Waste Management NZ and Tonkin Taylor are all responsible under the Health and Safety in the Workplace Act. He added Upper Hutt City Council had no liability in this regard as they do not directly employ people or operate the landfill. |
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That the Committee notes the progress at Silverstream Landfill. |
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Report by the Parks and Reserves Manager, Upper Hutt City Council. He elaborated on the report, explaining the operating expenditure and revenue figures were slightly exaggerated in that the June figures did not include capital works costs, but did include revenue received towards such costs. |
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That the Committee notes the Akatarawa Cemetery Update. |
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Report by the Compliance Services Manager, Upper Hutt City Council. The Divisional Manager, Regulatory Services, HCC elaborated on the report, explaining 3 August was the deadline for dog registrations in Hutt City Council and that they are looking to extend the fine-free period to encourage dog owners to register their dogs for no extra fee. He added there were approximately 9,500 dogs within Hutt City Council with up to about 800 dogs yet to be registered, and that all fees can be increased by 50% if paid after the due date. He further explained it is cheapest to register your dog in Upper Hutt, with Wellington and Porirua being the most expensive. He noted Porirua had the highest incidence of neutered dogs as Mana Trust provided funding for the operations. This had meant registration fees have to be higher in order for compliance department costs to be covered. In response to a question from Councillor Wheeler, the Divisional Manager, Regulatory Services, HCC explained the closing registration dates are different for each council in the region, and that Hutt City Council Compliance Services had just secured the Wellington City Council contract for managing dogs. He further explained the operational costs for each area are also different and the services provided differ (e.g. Wellington City Council had four dog parks to maintain; Upper Hutt City Council only used the dog boarding facilities of Hutt City Council). Councillor Bridson enquired as to whether the number of late registrations was reducing over time. The Divisional Manager, Regulatory Services, HCC advised this was the situation, with generally 300 more dogs being registered on time each year. He further advised that while the work involved in obtaining on-time registrations was costly, the revenue generated by fees and charges helped to cover these costs. |
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That the Committee notes the Dog Control Update. |
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Report by the Divisional Manager, Regulatory Services, Hutt City Council |
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That the Committee notes the Dog Control Update. |
13. QUESTIONS
There were no questions.
There being no further business the Chair declared the meeting closed at 10.35am.
Cr D Wheeler
CHAIR