Palmerston North City Council

Minutes of the Council Meeting Part I Public, held in the Council Chamber, First Floor, Civic Administration Building, 32 The Square, Palmerston North on 05 June 2024, commencing at 9.03am

Members Present:

Grant Smith (The Mayor) (in the Chair) and Councillors Debi Marshall-Lobb, Mark Arnott, Brent Barrett, Rachel Bowen, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay, Roly Fitzgerald, Patrick Handcock, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Billy Meehan, Orphée Mickalad, Karen Naylor, William Wood and Kaydee Zabelin.

Councillor Roly Fitzgerald was not present when the meeting resumed at 1.45pm during consideration of clause 100.2-24.  He entered the meeting again at 1.54pm during the consideration of clause 101-24.  He was not present for  recommendation  clause 100.2-24.

Councillor Karen Naylor left the meeting at 1.55pm during consideration of clause 101-24. 

Karakia Timatanga

Councillor Debi Marshall-Lobb opened the meeting with karakia

Declaration of Interest

Councillor Leonie Hapeta declared a conflict of interest in Item 8 District Licensing Committee- Additional Commissioner (clause 107-24) and took no further part in discussion or debate.

Tribute: Heather Allan

The Mayor made a tribute to former Councillor Heather Allan who passed away in April 2024.

Tribute: Roger Fox

The Mayor made a tribute to Rodger Fox who passed away in May 2024.

96-24	Public Comment
	Brian Holmes, Owner of Ebony Coffee spoke on the impact of the Featherston Street Safety Improvements.
	Moved Grant Smith, seconded Debi Marshall-Lobb. RESOLVED 1. That Council receive the public comment.
	Clause 96-24 above was carried 16 votes to 0, the voting being as follows: For: The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Debi Marshall-Lobb, Mark Arnott, Brent Barrett, Rachel Bowen, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay, Roly Fitzgerald, Patrick Handcock, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Billy Meehan, Orphée Mickalad, Karen Naylor, William Wood and Kaydee Zabelin.

97-24	Petition- Reverse changes to Featherston Street Petition presented by Brenton Beach. Brenton presented a petition of over 3000 people requesting Council restore Featherston Street to its state prior to the safety improvements.  He also tabled further information (PowerPoint), appended to these minutes.
	Moved Grant Smith, seconded Rachel Bowen. RESOLVED 1.   That the Council receive the petition for information.
	Clause 97-24 above was carried 16 votes to 0, the voting being as follows: For: The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Debi Marshall-Lobb, Mark Arnott, Brent Barrett, Rachel Bowen, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay, Roly Fitzgerald, Patrick Handcock, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Billy Meehan, Orphée Mickalad, Karen Naylor, William Wood and Kaydee Zabelin.

Reports

98-24	Featherston Street Safety Improvements Project - Bus Stops Report, presented by Glen O'Connor, Group Manager - Transport and Development, and Michael Bridge, Service Manager - Active Transport, Sam Kilmister, Communications Advisor and Susan Calkin, Contractor – Project Management The mover and seconder adjusted the first motion to require additional report back on a wider scope than the option in the agenda. Councillor Wood moved an additional motion, in response to the petition concerns for road users wider than bus stops, that alternative cycleway design concepts are reported back to Council for the remaining portion of this Featherston Street project.
	Moved Grant Smith, seconded Orphée Mickalad. RESOLVED 1.   That Council retain the four in-lane bus stops in their current positions on Featherston Street between Aroha Street and North Street, while Officers monitor and evaluate the functionality of the road and report back to Council by November 2024 and April 2025, noting this will come at no additional cost to Council.
	Clause 98-24 above was carried 8 votes to 7, with 1 abstention, the voting being as follows: For: The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Debi Marshall-Lobb, Brent Barrett, Rachel Bowen, Roly Fitzgerald, Patrick Handcock, Lorna Johnson and Orphée Mickalad. Against: Councillors Mark Arnott, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay, Leonie Hapeta, Billy Meehan, Karen Naylor and William Wood. Abstained: Councillor Kaydee Zabelin.
	The meeting adjourned at 11.15am The meeting resumed at 11.35am
	Moved Grant Smith, seconded Debi Marshall-Lobb. RESOLVED 2.   That Council note the remaining elements of the Featherston Street Safety Improvement Project will continue to be implemented as planned, to be delivered by 30 June 2024, including side street improvements, placemaking, and cycleway separators, noting that these elements are all 90% co-funded from NZTA – Waka Kotahi. Additionally, noting that resealing of this section of the road on Featherston Street will also be undertaken through Council’s reseal programme which is 51% co-funded from NZTA – Waka Kotahi.
	Clause 98-24 above was carried 12 votes to 4, the voting being as follows: For: The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Debi Marshall-Lobb, Brent Barrett, Rachel Bowen, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay, Roly Fitzgerald, Patrick Handcock, Lorna Johnson, Orphée Mickalad, Karen Naylor and Kaydee Zabelin. Against: Councillors Mark Arnott, Leonie Hapeta, Billy Meehan and William Wood.
	Moved William Wood, seconded Billy Meehan. RESOLVED 3. That the Chief Executive report back to Council in November 2024, on  the concept design options of (1) a shared walking/cycling pathway and (2) a non-separated cycleway (3) any other appropriate options on Featherston Street from Botanical Road to Ruahine Street.
	Clause 98-24 above was carried 15 votes to 1, the voting being as follows: For: The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Debi Marshall-Lobb, Mark Arnott, Brent Barrett, Rachel Bowen, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay, Roly Fitzgerald, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Billy Meehan, Orphée Mickalad, Karen Naylor, William Wood and Kaydee Zabelin. Against: Councillor Patrick Handcock.

99-24	2023 Residents' Survey Action Plan Memorandum, presented by Andrew Boyle, Head of Community Planning
	Moved Grant Smith, seconded Debi Marshall-Lobb. RESOLVED 1.   That Council note the actions being undertaken in response to the 2023 Residents’ Survey results.
	Clause 99-24 above was carried 16 votes to 0, the voting being as follows: For: The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Debi Marshall-Lobb, Mark Arnott, Brent Barrett, Rachel Bowen, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay, Roly Fitzgerald, Patrick Handcock, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Billy Meehan, Orphée Mickalad, Karen Naylor, William Wood and Kaydee Zabelin.

100-24

Fees and Charges - a further update

Memorandum, presented by Steve Paterson, Strategy Manager – Finance and Kathy Dever-Tod, Group Manager, Parks and Logistics

An amendment was put to ensure ability to pay was a factor in the distribution of the swimming pool admission fee rise.

Moved Grant Smith, seconded Rachel Bowen.

RESOLVED

1.   That Council approve the fees and charges for Planning & Miscellaneous Services, as scheduled in Attachments B and C, effective from 1 July 2024.

2.   That Council approve the fees and charges for Trade Waste Services, as scheduled in Attachment D, effective from 1 July 2024.

Clause 100-24 above was carried 11 votes to 5, the voting being as follows:

For:

The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Debi Marshall-Lobb, Brent Barrett, Rachel Bowen, Lew Findlay, Patrick Handcock, Lorna Johnson, Orphée Mickalad, Karen Naylor, William Wood and Kaydee Zabelin.

Against:

Councillors Mark Arnott, Vaughan Dennison, Roly Fitzgerald, Leonie Hapeta and Billy Meehan.

The meeting adjourned at 12.43pm.

The meeting resumed at 1.45pm.

Councillor Roly Fitzgerald was not present when the  meeting resumed.

RESOLVED

3. That Council approve the updated caps for swimming pool admission fees as below,  effective from 1 July 2024.

Table 1

Adult pool entry	$7.00
Child Pool entry	$5.50
Senior / community service card holder	$5.50
Family pass	$20.00

Table 2

Adult pool entry  – 10 trips	$56
Adult pool entry – 20 trips	$103
Child/ Senior/ community service card holder  -  10 trip	$39
Child/ Senior / community service card holder   - 20 trip	$73

Clause 100-24 above was carried 14 votes to 1, the voting being as follows:

For:

The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Debi Marshall-Lobb, Mark Arnott, Brent Barrett, Rachel Bowen, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay, Patrick Handcock, Leonie Hapeta, Billy Meehan, Orphée Mickalad, Karen Naylor, William Wood and Kaydee Zabelin.

Against:

Councillor Lorna Johnson.

Note

Moved Brent Barrett, seconded Patrick Handcock.

An amendment: That Council approve the updated caps for swimming pool admission fees as scheduled in tables 1 and 2 of Attachment E below,  effective from 1 July 2024.

Table 1

Adult pool entry	$7.00
Child Pool entry	$5.50
Senior / community service card holder	$5.50
Family pass	$20.00

Table 2

Adult pool entry  – 10 trips	$56
Adult pool entry – 20 trips	$103
Child/ Senior/ community service card holder  -  10 trip	$39
Child/ Senior / community service card holder   - 20 trip	$73

The amendment was passed 15 votes to 0.

For:

The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Debi Marshall-Lobb, Mark Arnott, Brent Barrett, Rachel Bowen, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay, Patrick Handcock, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Billy Meehan, Orphée Mickalad, Karen Naylor William Wood and Kaydee Zabelin.

101-24	Ashhurst Campervan Dump Station - Custom Street proposal Report, presented by Aaron Phillips - Activity Manager Parks. Councillor Roly Fitzgerald entered the meeting at 1.54pm Councillor Karen Naylor left the meeting at 1:55pm
	Moved Grant Smith, seconded Debi Marshall-Lobb. RESOLVED 1.   That Council proceed with construction of a campervan dump station on the northern side of Custom Street in Ashhurst as shown in Option One.
	Clause 101-24 above was carried 15 votes to 0, the voting being as follows: For: The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Debi Marshall-Lobb, Mark Arnott, Brent Barrett, Rachel Bowen, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay, Roly Fitzgerald, Patrick Handcock, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Billy Meehan, Orphée Mickalad, William Wood and Kaydee Zabelin.

102-24	International Relations and Education Annual Plan 2024-2025 Memorandum, presented by Gabrielle Loga - International Relations Manager. Councillor Bowen moved a motion to include quantitative measures in  next year’s Annual Plan, to include quantitative evidence of the benefit of the International Relations work to the city.
	Moved Rachel Bowen, seconded William Wood. RESOLVED 1.   That Council receive the International Relations and Education Annual Plan 2024-2025 presented on 5 June 2024. 2. That the Chief Executive develop quantitative success measures in addition to the qualitative measures proposed in the International Relations and Education Annual Plan 2024/25.
	Clause 102-24 above was carried 15 votes to 0, the voting being as follows: For: The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Debi Marshall-Lobb, Mark Arnott, Brent Barrett, Rachel Bowen, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay, Roly Fitzgerald, Patrick Handcock, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Billy Meehan, Orphée Mickalad, William Wood and Kaydee Zabelin.

103-24	Council Work Schedule
	Moved Grant Smith, seconded Debi Marshall-Lobb. RESOLVED 1.   That Council receive its Work Schedule dated 5 June 2024.
	Clause 103-24 above was carried 15 votes to 0, the voting being as follows: For: The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Debi Marshall-Lobb, Mark Arnott, Brent Barrett, Rachel Bowen, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay, Roly Fitzgerald, Patrick Handcock, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Billy Meehan, Orphée Mickalad, William Wood and Kaydee Zabelin.

Recommendations from Committee Meetings

104-24	Strategy & Finance Committee Part I Public - 8 May 2024 Councillor Vaughan Dennison presented the recommendations below:
	Moved Vaughan Dennison, seconded Brent Barrett. RESOLVED 1.   That Council adopt the recommendations from the Strategy & Finance Committee of 8 May 2024:
		Quarterly Performance and Financial Report - period ending 31 March 2024 (Clause 22-24) Memorandum, presented by Scott Mancer, Finance Manager, John Aitken, Manager - Project Management Office and Andrew Boyle, Head of Community Planning. The COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS 2.   That the Capital New revenue and expenditure budgets for 2207-Urban Cycle Infrastructure Network Improvement (Transport Choices) be reduced by $4,092k to $751k. 3.   That the Chief Executive is given delegation for the 2023/24 financial year to move budgets in excess of the existing delegations between Roading and Active and Public Transport, and between Stormwater, Water and Wastewater and that these budget movements will be reported with the June 2024 quarterly report.
		Delegation Manual - Financial Delegations section update (clause 24-24) Memorandum, presented by Hannah White, Democracy & Governance Manager and Scott Mancer, Finance Manager. The COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS 1.   That Council adopt the revisions to the financial section and definitions section of the Delegations Manual (Attachments 1 and 2), effective from 1 July 2024. 2.   That Council revoke previous sections 1.19-1.20 and 5.3-5.15 of the Delegations Manual, effective from 1 July 2024. 3.   That Council note the Fees and Charges clauses of the financial delegations will be reviewed with the Revenue and Financing Policy and a report brought back to Council.
		Draft Palmerston North Animals and Bees Bylaw 2024 – Deliberations (clause 25-24) Report, presented by Stacey Solomon, Policy Analyst. The COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS 1.   That Council confirm: a.   the Palmerston North Animals and Bees Bylaw 2024 is the most appropriate means of addressing the perceived problem of regulating the specific requirements for the keeping of animals (other than dogs) and bees in Palmerston North, protecting the health and safety of the community; and  b.   the form of the Bylaw is the most appropriate form of bylaw; and c.   the Bylaw does not give rise to any implications under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. 2.   That Council adopt the Palmerston North Animals and Bees Bylaw 2024 and the Palmerston North Animals and Bees Bylaw Administration Manual 2024 (Attachments 2 and 3).
		Draft Palmerston North Dog Control Policy 2024 – Deliberations (clause 26-24) Memorandum, presented by Kate Harridge, Policy Analyst and Stacey Solomon, Policy Analyst. The COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS 1.   That Council adopt the Palmerston North Dog Control Policy 2024, as presented in Attachment 2 of this memorandum.
		Clause 104-24 above was carried 14 votes to 0, with 1 abstention, the voting being as follows: For: Councillors Debi Marshall-Lobb, Mark Arnott, Brent Barrett, Rachel Bowen, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay, Roly Fitzgerald, Patrick Handcock, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Billy Meehan, Orphée Mickalad, William Wood and Kaydee Zabelin. Abstained: The Mayor (Grant Smith).
		Councillor Billy Meehan left the meeting at 2.33pm.

Exclusion of Public

105-24

Recommendation to Exclude Public

Moved Grant Smith, seconded Debi Marshall-Lobb.

RESOLVED

“That the public be excluded from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting listed in the table below.

The general subject of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded, the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter, and the specific grounds under Section 48(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution are as follows:

General subject of each matter to be considered		Reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter	Ground(s) under Section 48(1) for passing this resolution
7.	Nature Calls- Lead Technical Consultant contract extension	NEGOTIATIONS: This information needs to be kept confidential to ensure that Council can negotiate effectively, especially in business dealings	s7(2)(i)
8.	District Licensing Committee- Additional Commissioner	PRIVACY: This information needs to be kept private to protect personal information that is confidential or sensitive.  This includes people who are no longer alive	s7(2)(a)
9.	Presentation of the Part II Confidential Strategy & Finance Committee Recommendations from its 8 May 2024 Meeting	NEGOTIATIONS: This information needs to be kept confidential to ensure that Council can negotiate effectively, especially in business dealings	s7(2)(i)

This resolution is made in reliance on Section 48(1)(a) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 and the particular interest or interests protected by Section 6 or Section 7 of that Act which would be prejudiced by the holding of the whole or the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting in public as stated in the above table.

Clause 105-24 above was carried 14 votes to 0, the voting being as follows:

For:

The Mayor (Grant Smith) and Councillors Debi Marshall-Lobb, Mark Arnott, Brent Barrett, Rachel Bowen, Vaughan Dennison, Lew Findlay, Roly Fitzgerald, Patrick Handcock, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Orphée Mickalad, William Wood and Kaydee Zabelin.

The public part of the meeting finished at 2.35pm

Confirmed 10 June 2024

Mayor