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 10 September 2018, commencing at 9.02am

Members

Present:

Councillor Adrian Broad (in the Chair), The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Brent Barrett, Rachel Bowen, Gabrielle Bundy-Cooke, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay QSM, Leonie Hapeta, Duncan McCann, Aleisha Rutherford and Tangi Utikere.

Non Members:

Councillors Susan Baty, Jim Jefferies, Lorna Johnson, Karen Naylor and Bruno Petrenas.

Apologies:

Councillor Lew Findlay (early departure).

Councillor Lew Findlay left the meeting at 10.03am during consideration of clause 43. He was not present for clauses 43 to 46 inclusive.

40-18

Apologies

Moved Adrian Broad, seconded Leonie Hapeta.

The COMMITTEE RESOLVED

1. That the Committee receive the apologies.

Clause 40-18 above was carried 16 votes to 0, 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, Leonie Hapeta, Jim Jefferies, Lorna Johnson, Duncan McCann, Karen Naylor, Bruno Petrenas, Aleisha Rutherford and Tangi Utikere.

41-18

Presentation - Stephen Parsons House of Travel

Presentation from Stephen Parsons, Managing Director, Stephen Parsons House of Travel.

Thirty years ago in 1988 Stephen Parsons House of Travel opened for business and had employed over 70 staff and assisted more than 120,000 people from around the region with their travel arrangements. Travel spend of approximately $280 million has gone through the business in that time as well which has allowed the business to support a number of worthwhile charities and causes.

The future of travel is moving forward with commercial space travel only months away, many more countries providing opportunities not seen in the past and a growing trend in personalised travel experiences. An exciting innovation was a virtual reality booth that allows people to experience aspects of a planned holiday.

Councillors play an important role in promoting Palmerston North as a buoyant and progressive city and there were some areas that could be focused on such as getting the airport to be an international airport once again. Mr Parsons also believed that the city was light on conference facilities and needed a more cohesive approach to attracting major conferences to the area.

Moved Adrian Broad, seconded Tangi Utikere.

The COMMITTEE RESOLVED

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

Clause 41-18 above was carried 16 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:

For:

42-18

Presentation - Red Cross Pathways

Presentation from Kevin Morris, Team Leader, Red Cross Pathways.

Red Cross Pathways had been in operation since September 2014 and was funded by The Ministry of Social Development to assist the resettlement of former refugees in New Zealand.

Their role is to support former refugees, some of whom may have spent up to 20 years in a refugee camp, into employment. They assist with settling into homes, setting up banking, education and learning the English language.

Manawatu have a target of 46 people looking to get into employment and of 19 into actual jobs and this target is well achieved with Manawatu having the greatest success rate nationally. The challenge can be to match skills to employment as qualifications gained in other countries may not be transferable to a New Zealand qualification

The role of English Language schools is critical to gaining employment and this is funded through the Department of Immigration. The Welcoming Communities programme is also helping to change perceptions and Mr Morris was part of the group.

Moved Rachel Bowen, seconded Leonie Hapeta.

The COMMITTEE RESOLVED

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

Clause 42-18 above was carried 16 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:

For:

43-18

Presentation - FR Development

Presentation from Dave Gaynor, Managing Director, FR Development.

Councillor Lew Findlay left the meeting at 10.03am

In 1993 FR Development was started in partnership with Fitzherbert Rowe and over the past 25 years had assisted approximately 2000 businesses aiming for 10% to 20% growth with most of his clients in the Manawatu.

Businesses have changed the way they operate over the past 25 years with big developments in technology and the use of social media. Compliance costs have increased with the Health and Safety Act, Employment Act and others. The demise of print media was significant and Mr Gaynor noted that the under 40’s do not read newspapers.

He believed the next ten years looked positive for Manawatu and that technology will have a large impact. He noted that some issues to face in the future would be house inflation, finding good quality tradespeople and climate change.

Moved Adrian Broad, seconded Rachel Bowen.

The COMMITTEE RESOLVED

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

Clause 43-18 above was carried 15 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:

For:

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

44-18

Confirmation of Minutes

Moved Adrian Broad, seconded Leonie Hapeta.

The COMMITTEE RESOLVED

1. That the minutes of the Economic Development Committee meeting of 13 August 2018 Part I Public be confirmed as a true and correct record.

Clause 44-18 above was carried 15 votes to 0, 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, Leonie Hapeta, Jim Jefferies, Lorna Johnson, Duncan McCann, Karen Naylor, Bruno Petrenas, Aleisha Rutherford and Tangi Utikere.

45-18

Summary Report on the June 2018 Manawatū Quarterly Economic Monitor, Major Developments, Quarterly Retail Report for July 2018, and March 2018 report for the National Policy Statement on Urban Development Capacity

Memorandum, dated 9 August 2018 presented by the Strategy and Policy Manager, Julie Macdonald.

Moved Adrian Broad, seconded Gabrielle Bundy-Cooke.

The COMMITTEE RESOLVED

1. That the June 2018 Manawatū Quarterly Economic Monitor, Major Developments, Quarterly Retail Report for July 2018, and March 2018 report for the National Policy Statement on Urban Development Capacity be received.

Clause 45-18 above was carried 15 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:

For:

46-18

Committee Work Schedule

Moved Leonie Hapeta, seconded Grant Smith.

The COMMITTEE RESOLVED

1. That the Economic Development Committee receive its Work Schedule dated September 2018.

Clause 46-18 above was carried 15 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:

For:

The meeting finished at 10.46am

Confirmed 8 October 2018

Chairperson