Hutt Valley Services Committee
Minutes of a meeting
held in the Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, 30 Laings Road,
Lower Hutt on Friday 23 November 2018 commencing at 9.30am
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PRESENT: |
Cr D Wheeler, UHCC (Chair) |
Cr G McDonald, HCC (Deputy Chair) |
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Deputy Mayor D Bassett Cr Carson, UHCC (from 9.33am) Cr H Swales, UHCC
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Cr L Bridson, HCC Mayor W Guppy, UHCC Mayor WR Wallace |
APOLOGIES: Cr P Lambert, UHCC
Cr C Carson, UHCC for lateness (arrived 9.33am)
IN ATTENDANCE: Mr P Kelly, Chief Executive, UHCC
Mr B Sherlock, Contracts Manager, Solid Waste, HCC (part meeting)
Mr M Reid, General Manager, City and Community Services, HCC (part meeting)
Mr D Newth, Financial Accounting Manager, HCC (part meeting)
Mr L Dalton, Animal Services Regional Manager, HCC (part meeting)
Mr D Bentley, Team Leader, Environmental Health, HCC (part meeting)
Ms H Oram, Divisional Manager, Environmental Consents, HCC (part meeting)
Mrs H Clegg, Minute Taker, UHCC
Ms D Male, Committee Advisor, HCC
Ms K Glanville, Principal Advisor Democratic Services, UHCC
PUBLIC BUSINESS
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Resolved: (Cr McDonald/Cr Swales) Minute No. HVSC 170801 “That the apologies received from Cr Carson, UHCC for lateness and from Cr Lambert, UHCC, be accepted and leave of absence be granted.”
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2. |
Appointment of Chair and Deputy Chair Cr McDonald called for nominations for the Chair. Cr McDonald nominated Cr Wheeler and Mayor Wallace seconded the motion. Cr McDonald called for any other nominations and as there were none she put the motion.
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Resolved: (Cr McDonald/Mayor Wallace) Minute No. HVSC 170802 “That Cr Wheeler be declared Chair of the Hutt Valley Services Committee for 2019.” |
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Deputy Mayor Bassett and Mayor Wallace thanked Cr McDonald for her year as Chair, with Cr Wheeler’s support.
Cr Wheeler assumed the Chair. The Chair called for nominations for the Deputy Chair. The Chair nominated Cr McDonald and Mayor Guppy seconded the motion. The Chair called for any other nominations and as there were none he put the motion.
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Resolved: (Cr Wheeler/Mayor Guppy) Minute No. HVSC 170803 “That Cr McDonald be declared Deputy Chair of the Hutt Valley Services Committee for 2019.” |
3. PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
Cr Carson joined the meeting at 9.33am.
4. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATIONS
There were no conflict of interest declarations.
5. Minutes
Cr Wheeler requested it be noted he was not chair at the meeting held on 31 August 2018.
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Resolved: (Cr Wheeler/Cr Swales) Minute No. HVSC 170804 “That the minutes of the meeting of the Hutt Valley Services Committee held on Friday, 31 August 2018, be confirmed as a true and correct record.” |
Cr Swales queried whether the email to all members regarding the Regional Joint Services Opportunities (Item 13), had been sent, as she had not received one.
Mayor Wallace and the Contracts Manager, Solid Waste, Hutt City Council advised officers were currently preparing a report concerning the investigation of alternatives for the disposal of hazardous waste, which would be presented to both councils in 2019.
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6. |
Proposed Meeting Dates for 2019 Report by the Principal Advisor Democratic Services, Upper Hutt City Council Cr Wheeler noted the date for the final meeting of 2019 would be scheduled after the local body elections. |
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Resolved: (Cr Wheeler/Cr McDonald) Minute No. HVSC 170805 “That the Committee: (i) adopts the following schedule of meetings for 2019: (a) Friday, 1 March 2019 at 9.30am (Upper Hutt City Council); (b) Friday, 3 May 2019 at 9.30am (Hutt City Council); (c) Friday, 30 August 2019 at 9.30am (Upper Hutt City Council); (ii) adopts the following schedule of draft agenda meetings for 2019: (a) Monday, 18 February 2019 at 11.00 am; (b) Tuesday, 23 April 2019 at 11.00 am; (c) Monday, 19 August 2019 at 11.00 am; (iii) agrees that the venue for the draft agenda meetings for 2019 will be held at Upper Hutt City Council in a meeting room to be confirmed; (iv) delegates authority to the Chief Executives of the two Councils, in consultation with the Chair, to alter the date, time or venue of a meeting, or cancel a meeting should circumstances require this; and (v) notes that the last meeting cycle (December 2019) will be scheduled following the 2019 Local Government elections.” |
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Mayor Guppy cautioned against large conglomerates operating local facilities. The Contracts Manager, Solid Waste, Hutt City Council noted there was no requirement to accept any specific tender, and that it was good process to assess the market. He further advised that Hutt Valley Water Services, an existing operator, was a multi-national conglomerate. He advised that WWL would be the entity best placed to answer detailed questions regarding the tender process. Cr Carson expressed concern that a major tender document was under preparation when the future of the three waters was currently under review. He requested the tender process be put on hold until the three waters situation was resolved. He cautioned against accepting a new tender for a long period of time, if legislation could potentially be changed. In general discussion it was agreed a WWL led workshop for members be organised as soon as possible, preferably in December 2018, to provide information on the tender process followed by an update on the three waters review. In response to a question from a member, the Contracts Manager, Solid Waste, Hutt City Council acknowledged the impact climate change already had on waste disposal, and that the resource consent process was in the hands of the GWRC. He could therefore provide no estimate of a timeframe for a solution, reiterating there were no breaches of consent occurring as a result of the resource consent process. In response to a question from a member regarding paragraph 8 of the report, the Contracts Manager, Solid Waste, Hutt City Council advised that WWL would be best placed to provide further information. |
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Resolved: (Cr Wheeler/Cr McDonald) Minute No. HVSC 170806 “That the Committee (i) notes the progress on Project Pencarrow as outlined in the officer’s report.
(ii) requests officers to organise a Committee Workshop with Wellington Water Limited in December 2018 for a briefing on the tender process and a situation update regarding the three waters review.” |
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8. |
Report by the Landfill Consultant, Tonkin and Taylor The Contracts Manager, Solid Waste, Hutt City Council elaborated on the report. He advised that in regards to the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), the landfill was destroying 90% of emissions, a positive result, and that the financial liability of the landfill was increasing due to the cost of emissions trading units (ETUs) increasing. In response to a question from a member regarding how the ETUs were calculated, he explained the landfill had a unique emissions factor, which had been calculated by independent experts, as required by the Ministry for the Environment (MfE), in 2017. In response to a question from a member, he agreed to send the member a copy of the relevant report. The Contracts Manager, Solid Waste, Hutt City Council provided an update regarding an odour complaint recently received. He believed the odour was as a result of a generator being out of action for a half day. The problem had been rectified. With regards to health and safety, the Contracts Manager, Solid Waste, Hutt City Council advised a re-negotiated tender with the waste management operator had resulted in a dedicated health and safety officer at the site for half of each week. In response to questions from members, the Contracts Manager, Solid Waste, Hutt City Council advised a resource consent was typically granted for a period of 35 years. He said costings for the installation of a permanent flare had not yet been calculated. In explanation of Graph 3 attached to the officer’s report, the Contracts Manager, Solid Waste, Hutt City Council explained the spike in August 2018 was due to receipt of waste spoil from the Mitchell Park development, noting the land was previously used as a bowling club and contained chemical residue. In response to a query from a member concerning the proposed landfill levy increases, Mayor Guppy advised that the Ministry for the Environment had a number of issues that had arisen as a result of the recently released list of Ministerial Questions to local authorities, concerning possible changes to the landfill levy. He recommended a workshop in early 2019 to discuss the issues. |
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Resolved: (Cr Wheeler/Mayor Guppy) Minute No. HVSC 170807 “That the Committee notes the progress on Silverstream Landfill.” |
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9. |
Report by Parks and Reserves Manager, Upper Hutt City Council. |
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Resolved: (Cr Wheeler/Deputy Mayor Bassett) Minute No. HVSC 170808 ”That the report be noted and received.”
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10. |
Hutt Valley Trunk Wastewater Services Financial Statements for the Period Ended 30 June 2018 Report by the Financial Accounting Manager, Hutt City Council. |
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Resolved: (Cr Wheeler/Mayor Guppy) Minute No. HVSC 170809 “That the Committee: (i) notes the financial statements for the Hutt Valley Trunk Wastewater Services for the year ended 30 June 2018, attached as Appendix 1 to the report; (ii) notes a year-end net operating deficit of $10.9 million which is $0.2 million favourable to budget; (iii) notes the current share of operational funding from Upper Hutt City Council of 35% and Hutt City Council of 65%; (iv) notes a capital spend to year-end of $1.9 million which is overspent by $0.1 million compared to budget; and (v) notes the current share of capital funding from Upper Hutt City Council of 30% and Hutt City Council of 70%.” |
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Resolved: (Cr Wheeler/Mayor Guppy) Minute No. HVSC 170810 “That the Committee: (i) notes the financial statements for the Hutt Valley Trunk Wastewater Services for the three month period ended 30 September 2018, attached as Appendix 1 to the report; (ii) notes a year-to-date net operating deficit of $2.9 million which is on target compared to budget; (iii) notes a forecast year-end net operating deficit of $11.7 million which is $0.1 million unfavourable to budget; (iv) notes the current share of operational funding from Upper Hutt City Council of 36% and Hutt City Council of 64%; (v) notes a capital spend year-to-date of $0.4 million which is $0.8 million behind budget; (vi) notes a full year capital spend forecast of $7.2 million which is $0.3 million above budget; and (vii) notes the current share of capital funding from Upper Hutt City Council of 88% and Hutt City Council of 12%.” |
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Report by the Manager, Compliance Services, Upper Hutt City Council |
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Resolved: (Cr Wheeler/Cr Swales) Minute No. HVSC 170811 “That the report be noted and received.” |
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Report by the Divisional Manager, Regulatory Services and Emergency Management, Hutt City Council |
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The Animal Services Regional Manager, Hutt City Council advised that as a result of a private legacy being left to the SPCA for the specific use for a neutering programme, many dogs had been neutered in the Hutt Valley. In response to a question from a member, he advised a meeting was scheduled for February 2019 to ascertain if the programme could be repeated, without the benefit of a private legacy. In response to a request for an update on the ‘Doggone’ pilot project recently undertaken in Stokes Valley, the Animal Services Regional Manager, Hutt City Council explained the project, adding that whilst there were a few teething problems, overall the project was invaluable for the tracking of lost dogs. He added the statistics gathered on dog movements would be valuable for planning purposes. In response to further questions regarding the pilot programme, he advised it was a cost recovery project, a tag costs dog owners $20, and that it was due to finish in early December 2018. He added Stokes Valley was the chosen location due to its enclosed geographical environment, and that 300 dog owners took up the opportunity, approximately one third of the dog popoulation in Stokes Valley. |
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Resolved: (Cr Wheeler/Cr Swales) Minute No. HVSC 170812 “That the Committee notes and receives the information.” |
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reminder of their obligations under the Act. He explained the new Act provided for a notice of registration to be issued prior to any formal officer inspections, with full inspections occuring within 12 weeks of the notice being issued. In response to a question from a member regarding the noise complaints concerning KiwiRail works, the Team Leader, Environmental Health, Hutt City Council explained it was up to KiwiRail to liaise with the communities in which their works were being undertaken, and that education and communication were paramount to reducing the number of complaints. In response to a question from a member, the Team Leader, Environmental Health, Hutt City Council confirmed all complaints received in the past three months had been resolved. The Divisional Manager, Environmental Consents, Hutt City Council advised a new requirement under the Act was that licensed premises must keep a specific up-to-date document under the counter at all times, and that on recent compliance checks, very few establishments were complying with this. This was creating more work, as officers tried to educate all establishments. She added if education was not successful, the police may issue infringement notices. In response to further questions from members , the Team Leader, Environmental Health, Hutt City Council confirmed monthly tri-agency meetings occured between Regional Public Health, police and Council licensing inspectors. |
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Resolved: (Cr Wheeler/Deputy Mayor Bassett) Minute No. HVSC 170813 “That the Committee notes and receives the information.”
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15. |
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The Chair distributed hard copies of the email requested by Cr Swales under Item 5. Mayor Guppy recommended a combined workshop to address the Ministerial questions, with officer input. Members agreed to ask officers to organise workshops for the Committee, as per the recommendation for Item 7 and to discuss the Ministerial questions regarding the waste levy. |
There being no further business the Chair declared the meeting closed at 10.36am.
Cr D Wheeler
CHAIR
CONFIRMED as a true and correct record
Dated this 1st day of March 2019