RESOLVED

PF03/158 Hayden/Munro CARRIED

Pursuant to Section 46A(7) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, the Chairperson called for late items to be accepted.

There were no late items.

MEETING HELD THURSDAY, 13 NOVEMBER 2003

PF03/159 Gordon/Laurich CARRIED

Members commented on whether residents affected by the scheme have been well informed about the charges attached to the scheme. The District Engineer advised the parties affected by the scheme have been informed.

COMMUNITY SERVICES

COMMUNITY SERVICES MANAGER’S MONTHLY REPORT (01.012.022)

The Community Services Manager’s monthly report was presented for the Committee’s consideration.

PF03/160 Hayden/Tregidga CARRIED

The Community Services Manager outlined the changes in the legislation regarding the election process in relation to the STV and FPP systems. Council has the authority to determine if it is to resolve to alter the usual practice of alphabetical listing to a pseudo random order. If there is no resolution made then by default alphabetical order will be used. A request for this random decision will be made in February 2004.

Out sourcing election processing services was also being considered mainly due to new technology to handle STV issues.

The Community Services Manager detailed the status of Council developed residential and industrial sections sold and sections pending sale in the Ngatea and Waihi wards.

Work is progressing well and the sewer station is partially installed into the site. The pricing of the new sections is underway and it is hopeful that these will be confirmed by Christmas.

The new building in the Paeroa Domain is nearing completion. The training shed is due to be demolished following the holiday break and construction of the new shed for the rural water tanker will commence. Members commented on the positioning of the pavilion and whether it was in a position where the viewing of the fields was effective. The Community Services Manager advised that the new position of the Pavilion maintains the view of the rugby field from the grandstand.

The Community Services Manager advised of attending the Civil Defence and Emergency Management meeting with Cr Trembath on 21 November 2003. Clarification of the Regional Support and Co-ordination in relation to civil defence in the region was explained and the budget for the Hauraki District for the 2004/2005 year has been agreed at $6519.

The fire ban season commences in the Hauraki district on 21 December 2003. Staff training has been progressing over the year.

The passing of Mick Champion of the Whiritoa Rural Fire Brigade in October was reported and the meeting was also advised that a certificate of appreciation from the National Fire Authority was presented to Mick along with a small gift from Council in August for all he had done for the community of Whiritoa.

It was suggested that the Community Services Manager inform the Ngatea community of the availability of the fire tanker.

CORPORATE SERVICES

CORPORATE SERVICES DEPARTMENT REPORT (01.012.024)

The Corporate Services Manager’s report on the operations of the Corporate Services Department for the 5 months ended 30 November 2003 and financial statements for the 5 months ended 30 November 2003 were presented for members’ consideration.

RESOLVED

THAT the report on the operations of the Corporate Services Department for the 5 months ended 30 November 2003 and the interim financial reports for the 5 months ended 30 November 2003 be received.

PF03/161 Gordon/Laurich CARRIED

The Corporate Services Manager provided a summary of the revaluation objections received relating to the 2003 revaluations. There has been a 1.9% objection rate which is lower than previous years and is below the 2.5% level which valuation experts have used as an indicator of a low objection rate.

Fujitsu have been assisting Council staff with the importing of the new valuations into the Councils’ rating system. It is expected that this importing process will be completed in mid December and staff will then be able to run models of the current year’s rates strike against the new valuations.

There has been some technical problems this month with one of the servers. The applications and data were transferred successfully to a replacement server.

A revised report format was presented. The reporting was at a summarised level and was consistent with the Annual Plan/Report format.

The results were discussed. A query was raised regarding the actual vs budget comparative for Roading Professional Services. An answer was not available at the meeting.

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

DELEGATED MATTERS (01.010.001)

Reports of the matters dealt with by way of delegation from the period 1st of November 2003 were tabled separately for the Committee’s information.

PF03/162 Munro/Hayden CARRIED

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES REPORT (01.012.023)

The Planning and Environmental Services Manager reported on the recent activities of the Planning and Environmental Services Department.

The report, which includes details on both the Consents and Monitoring Divisions, was presented for the Committees’ consideration.

PF03/163 Gordon/Tregidga CARRIED

Favona Underground Mine Project

The hearing for the Favona Underground Mine Project commenced on Monday, 17 November 2003 and concluded on Friday, 21 November 2003. The decision report is currently being prepared and the commissioners have met to finalise their decisions. It is envisaged that their decision will be released by 19 December 2003.

Sinclair Accommodation Park

The appeal to the Environment Court regarding the application by the Sinclair Holiday Accommodation Park has been resolved after two days of mediation. It has been confirmed that consent has been granted with minor amendments to the conditions including the landscaping requirements and publicity material.

Turua Sewerage Plant

The Notice of Requirement has been granted for the extension of the area designated for the Turua Sewerage Plant and has been formally confirmed.

The Planning and Environmental Services Manager outlined the requirements for local government to comply with hazardous substances compliance regulations relating to Health and Safety. The issue of disposal of toxic substances was discussed. Central Government are required to request OSH to delegate local government to be involved in the management and monitoring of hazardous substances in the workplace.

Due to the government announcing new legislation regarding the Dog Control Act, the provisions relating to the Act have now been changed and enforced as from 1 December 2003. A new category of a ‘menacing dog’ has been created and an explanation regarding the amended provisions relating to dog ownership were outlined in the report.

LOCAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT

The Corporate Planner’s Report on the Local Governance Statement was submitted.

RESOLVED

THAT the report be received

PF03/164 Tregidga/Munro CARRIED

Mr Buttimore of Ethos Consulting outlined the Local Governance Statement explaining the process through which Council engages with its community, how Council makes decisions and how citizens can influence those processes.

RESOLVED

THAT the Local Government Statement be adopted; and

THAT the Local Governance Statement be published on the Hauraki District Council website and be made available at all area offices; and

THAT any amendments required to the Statement approved by the Chief Executive and incorporated into the document.

PF03/165 Hayden/Gordon CARRIED

The Corporate Planner’s Report on the Prostitution Policy was presented.

RESOLVED

THAT the report be received.

PF03/166 Laurich/Carmine CARRIED

Mr Buttimore outlined the restrictions regulating the Prostitution Act, specifying regulations on signage in public areas and suggested a plan change rather than a bylaw should be put in place to restrict activities.

RESOLVED

THAT a change to the Operative District Plan relating to the appropriate content of signage be drafted for the consideration of the Planning and Finance Committee.

PF03/167 Hayden/Munro CARRIED

The Corporate Planner’s Report on the Gambling Policy was presented for members' consideration.

THAT the report be received.

PF03/168 Laurich/Gordon CARRIED

Mr Buttimore outlined the regulations and restrictions of the Gambling Draft Policy document sent out for consultation and closed on 14 November 2003. It was advised that this policy only applies to new venues. Members commented on their concerns relating to the ratio of machines per person. Mr Buttimore suggested that the number of venues be limited rather then machines being limited.

AND THAT the Statement of Proposal and associated documents relating to the Draft Class 4 Venue Policy be approved for release to the community for the Special Consultative Procedure.

AND THAT the Corporate Planning staff investigate another option replacing option 3 to give a limit of the number of machines and to defer a decision on this issue until the 18 December at Council meeting for further consideration.

PF03/169 Tregidga/Gordon CARRIED

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (06.502.999)

The Economic Development Officer’s report was attached for the members’ consideration.

THAT the report be received.

AND THAT Fundview be purchased and made available to our communities through the computers in our public libraries at the existing service charge. The Annual subscription of $1124 to be met from the Economic Development budget.

PF03/170 Munro/Gordon CARRIED

Visit to Jiading District (01.000.057)

The Economic Development Officer advised that a letter will be sent out to Councillor’s seeking interest into travel to the Jiading District in February 2004.

HAURAKI DISTRICT SPORTS CO-ORDINATOR REPORT

The Hauraki District Sport Co-ordinator Julie Stephenson presented the report for the period 1 July 2003 to 5 December 2003.

RESOLVED

THAT the report be received.

PF03/171 Hayden/Munro CARRIED

Mr Matthew Cooper, CEO of Sport Waikato updated the meeting on the Regional Activity Plan. Mr Cooper thanked the Community Liaison Officer for the support given towards the Sports Awards evening.

He outlined the important role of Sport Waikato in supporting and organising sporting activities and events within the region. He emphasised the importance of educating and promoting physical activity for the region and the need for a regional plan to be set up to support these areas. A suggestion to gain support from Council to establish a District Plan to incorporate HDC and the greater Waikato regions was put forward.

REPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY LIAISON OFFICER

The Community Liaison Officer presented a report outlining the project to be put in place to capture the oral history of Hauraki.

THAT the report be received

AND THAT the Planning & Finance Committee appoint a member of its committee to the "Oral History of Hauraki" steering committee.

PF03/172 Hayden/Laurich CARRIED

The Community Liaison Officer requested that formal Council representation be approved to the Steering Committee to move the project along.

Comments were made by members questioning in what form the History of Hauraki should be produced, whether it should be produced as a book or in another form. It was generally agreed that book form was the more appropriate but compact disc copies were also possible.

THAT Cr Hayden be appointed to the Steering Committee for the "Oral History of Hauraki" project.

PF03/173 Munro/Laurich CARRIED

LATE ITEMS

There were no late items.

Meeting closed at 3.31pm

CONFIRMED

M Carmine