A recap on Tuesday’s committee

 

From Auckland Council:

Environment and Community Committee approves forward work programme

Auckland Council’s Environment and Community Committee met today with business including the approval of the committee’s forward work programme.

Committee Chair Cr Penny Hulse says the programme identifies five priority areas to focus the work of the committee, including initiatives which:

• Clearly demonstrate that Auckland is making progress with climate change adaptation and mitigation and taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Enable green growth with a focus on improved water quality, pest eradication and ecological restoration
• Strengthen communities and enable Aucklanders to be active and connected
• Make measureable progress towards the social and community aspects of housing all Aucklanders in secure, healthy homes they can afford
• Grow skills and a local workforce to support economic growth in Auckland.

The following is a digest of decisions made. The agenda is available on Auckland Council’s website and the minutes will be added once confirmed. This meeting was also webcast on the council’s website and items are available on demand.

 

Items 1-8 were administrative items with the exception of public and local board input and extraordinary business which is summarised below.

Item 5 was public input from

• Angus de Lange of Friends of Fowlds Park – the Sports Field Capacity Development Programme
• Berthine Bruinsma of River Group – the current state of streams and estuaries in Auckland
• Isabelle Gunn of the Sustainable Future Collective – use of plastic waste and how to minimise waste going to landfill
• Mark Roach of Recorded Music New Zealand – UNESCO Creative City of Music

 

Item 7: Extraordinary Business: Briefing on Localised Weather Events in March

Councillors were briefed by Chief Operating Officer Dean Kimpton, Watercare Chief Executive Raveen Jaduram, Director Civil Defence and Emergency Management John Dragicevich and General Manager Healthy Waters Craig Mcilroy.

 

Item 9: World Masters Games 2017
Chief Executive Jennah Wooten provided a final briefing presentation ahead of the World Masters Games in April.

 

Item 10: Auckland as a UNESCO Creative City of Music
The committee endorsed an application from Recorded Music New Zealand requesting support for an industry-led application to join the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Creative Cities Network as a Creative City of Music, on the following basis:

• There is anecdotal evidence of the benefits of membership and an evaluation of the impacts is underway by UNESCO
• Auckland Council’s contribution to developing the application and action plan can be managed within current resources as part of the council’s sector engagement role and existing relationships with the music sector
• Music sector representatives have indicated they will take responsibility for any ongoing obligations to maintain membership including any costs associated with attendance at annual network meetings

 

Item 11: Community Facilities Network Plan

The committee received a progress report on Auckland Council’s Community Facilities Network Plan and agreed that staff would report back on an indicative business case for investment in community facility provision in the central-west area by July 2017.

The report identifies a significant provision gap for multi-purpose spaces for aquatic, leisure and community services in the central-west area (which includes Avondale, New Lynn and parts of Mt Albert).

 

Item 12: Exchange of parts of Northboro Reserve for other land
The committee approved statutory notification under section 15(2) of the Reserves Act 1977 of a proposed exchange of 1802m² of Northboro Reserve for 3510m² of other land within the Hillary Crescent Special Housing Area

 

Item 13: Evaluation of current sports facilities investments and proposed changes to inform the draft Sports Facilities Investment Plan
The committee agreed to include five recommendations in Auckland Council’s draft Sport Facilities Investment Plan:

• Future council investment in sports facilities be through community or commercial leases
• Loan guarantees be used sparingly to provide a timely response to strategic priorities or an urgent community need when all other funding sources have been exhausted
• Community loans are not included in the draft plan as a future investment tool
• Rates remissions and postponements are not included in in the plan as future investment tools
• The plan specifies that future council investment in sports facilities be made through grants

The draft plan will be subject to public and local board consultation prior to finalisation and approval by the committee.

 

Item 14: Public Art gift offer (Peter Lange artwork seat for Taumanu Reserve, Onehunga)
The committee has accepted with thanks the bequest of an artwork seat by artist Peter Lange to become part of Auckland Council’s art collection.

 

Item 15: Environment and Community Committee Forward Work Programme
(See above)

Item 16: Information Report
The following memos were circulated to members:

• Update on the Tripartite Economic Alliance between Auckland, Guangzhou and Los Angeles
• Monitoring of edible shellfish and MPI food-safety seafood-guide
• Bio News – working together for a pest free Auckland

 

A procedural motion was then passed to allow public excluded consideration of three further items.

—ends—

 

On water savings: we are still not reaching our targets in saving water as of yesterday. Auckland is required to keep freshwater use below 400 million litres a day until the silt settles in the dams allowing the Ardmore treatment plant to resume full capacity again.

I did note we reached our targets over the weekend but failed in the week days when everyone was back at work. So I wonder who is consuming the water at-will and who is not saving enough. Is it residents or the industrial complexes?

 

Will know more today.