Minutes of Economic Development Committee

Palmerston North City Council

Minutes of the Economic Development Committee Meeting Part I Public, held in the Council Chamber, First Floor, Civic Administration Building, 32 The Square, Palmerston North on 13 November 2017, commencing at 9.02am

Members

Present:

Councillor Adrian Broad (in the Chair), The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Brent Barrett, Susan Baty, Rachel Bowen, Gabrielle Bundy-Cooke, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay QSM, Leonie Hapeta, Jim Jefferies, Lorna Johnson, Duncan McCann, Karen Naylor, Bruno Petrenas, Aleisha Rutherford and Tangi Utikere.

Apologies:

Councillor Leonie Hapeta (early departure).

Councillor Leonie Hapeta left the meeting at 9.08am during consideration of clause 48. She was not present for clauses 48 to 52 inclusive.

47-17

Apologies

Moved Adrian Broad, seconded Rachel Bowen.

The COMMITTEE RESOLVED

1. That the Committee receive the apologies.

Clause 47-17 above was carried 15 votes to 0, with 1 abstention, the voting being as follows:

For:

The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Brent Barrett, Susan Baty, Rachel Bowen, Adrian Broad, Gabrielle Bundy-Cooke, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay QSM, Jim Jefferies, Lorna Johnson, Duncan McCann, Karen Naylor, Bruno Petrenas, Aleisha Rutherford and Tangi Utikere.

Abstained:

Councillor Leonie Hapeta.

48-17

Presentation - Plumbing World NZ

Presentation from Sarah Vining, NZ Marketing Manager, Plumbing World

Councillor Leonie Hapeta left the meeting at 9.08am

Plumbing World had been in operation for 53 years and was a co-operative of plumbers, gasfitters, drainlayers and builders and had 47 branches nationwide, with two support offices split over Palmerston North and Auckland. There were seven executives, 43% of them female and the range of age was reducing.

Palmerston North support office employ 40 staff and had high staff retention. Staff in Palmerston North have a great work/life balance especially with no long commutes like the Auckland staff face. Staff retention was not always about remuneration, but about having flexibility, such as being able to attend school events etc. Flexibility leads to loyalty.

New Zealand was approximately 600 plumbers short and trades generally were struggling with numbers. Plumbing World had started talking to schools (Palmerston North Boys High) regarding opportunities for a trade career and planned to continue to do this in 2018.

Plumbing World were supportive of many events and school sports teams and enjoyed being part of the community.

Moved Adrian Broad, seconded Aleisha Rutherford.

The COMMITTEE RESOLVED

1. That the Economic Development Committee receive the presentation for information.

Clause 48-17 above was carried 15 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:

For:

49-17

Presentation - Real Estate Institute - Manawatu Branch

Presentation from Andy Stewart, Palmerston North Ambassador, REINZ

The Palmerston North housing market continues to show positive trends however there is a lack of available listings. The main demand is for properties for first home buyers. There is also big demand for sections, but there is an issue regarding the amount of sections available for purchase. Following on from that there is a shortage of builders so wait times to build new homes is growing longer.

In September there were 126 residential house sales in Palmerston North, 5 in Ashhurst and 26 in Feilding. Of the house sales in Palmerston North 31% were under $300,000 and 63% were under $400,000, which indicates Palmerston North is still a very affordable city to live in.

The lifestyle market has picked up again after winter. There may be some private sales however, Mr Stewart did not believe there were many properties being sold this way.

Moved Gabrielle Bundy-Cooke, seconded Karen Naylor.

The COMMITTEE RESOLVED

1. That the Economic Development Committee receive the presentation for information.

Clause 49-17 above was carried 15 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:

For:

50-17

Presentation - i-SITE - CEDA

Presentation from Kristy Rodgers, Acting Regional Manager and Janet Reynolds, Marketing Senior CEDA.

The Palmerston North i-SITE had been located in The Square since December 2003 and was part of a nationwide network of over 80 i-SITEs that were owned and managed by Tourism NZ. It was open seven days per week, with two late nights until 7.00pm.

There were 133,000 people that visited the i-SITE in the year ending July 2017, 56% being local and 19% international visitors. The move of the regional bus terminal to The Square had created a positive impact and created more local awareness.

The i-SITE provided a booking service for transport, accommodation, activities and events nationwide and also for local events such as Magic of Christmas.

Moved Vaughan Dennison, seconded Duncan McCann.

The COMMITTEE RESOLVED

1. That the Economic Development Committee receive the presentation for information.

Clause 50-17 above was carried 15 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:

For:

51-17

Confirmation of Minutes

Moved Adrian Broad, seconded Rachel Bowen.

The COMMITTEE RESOLVED

1. That the minutes of the Economic Development Committee meeting of 9 October 2017 Part I Public be confirmed as a true and correct record.

Clause 51-17 above was carried 13 votes to 0, with 2 abstentions, the voting being as follows:

For:

The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Brent Barrett, Susan Baty, Rachel Bowen, Adrian Broad, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay QSM, Jim Jefferies, Lorna Johnson, Karen Naylor, Bruno Petrenas, Aleisha Rutherford and Tangi Utikere.

Abstained:

Councillors Gabrielle Bundy-Cooke and Duncan McCann.

52-17

Committee Work Schedule

Moved Adrian Broad, seconded Tangi Utikere.

The COMMITTEE RESOLVED

1. That the Economic Development Committee receive its Work Schedule dated November 2017.

Clause 52-17 above was carried 15 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:

For:

The meeting finished at 10.09am

Confirmed 11 December 2017

Chairperson