On Thursday 19 September, the Howick Local Board held our business meeting for the month. Here’s a summary of some of the key discussions and outcomes. At the end there are links to the official minutes and a recording of this (and previous) meetings.
📰 Acknowledgements for Kīngi Tūheitia, Howick Sports Awards, Bucklands Beach Yacht Club 75th Anniversary, Howick College 50th Anniversary, and Botany Citizens Advice Bureau 15th Anniversary
🗣 Deputations from Young Life NZ Trust, and local resident on Bucklands Beach safety improvements
📊 Approval for open workshops, our Annual Report, and additional meetings
📑 Feedback on traffic bylaw review, and Thriving Rangitahi
✅ Approval of street names, local transport projects, lease for Highbrook Watersports, Friends of Mangemangeroa, and new playground for Barry Curtis Park
After the initial formalities of the welcome, declarations of interest and confirmation of minutes, we confirmed our formal acknowledgements for the month.
We acknowledged the passing of Kīngi Tūheitia on 30 August with a special karakia. We also noted that he had been succeeded by his daughter Kuini Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō on the day of his funeral.
We acknowledged the nominees, finalists, and winners of the recent Howick Sports Awards. In its 11th year, these annual awards celebrate the region’s local talents and the coaches, staff, officials and volunteers who make their success possible. We also thanked the Pakuranga United Rugby Club for organising and running the awards.
We congratulated the Bucklands Beach Yacht Club on their 75th anniversary. Formed in 1949 in a small shed stored behind the post office, the club is recognised as one of the most respected and successful yacht clubs.
We congratulated Howick College on their 50th anniversary. Established in Cockle Bay in February 1974 they have educated over 20,000 students across the five decades.
We congratulated the Botany Citizens Advice Bureau on their 15th anniversary. The agency began in 2009 in the Botany Town Centre and has gone on to serve thousands of local residents, providing independent advice on a wide range of issues thanks to the tireless efforts of their volunteers.
We then received two deputations, firstly we had Lyall Carter who is the CEO of Young Life New Zealand Trust. They were grateful for the financial support that the Board has provided through our community grants programme and explained the work they are doing to support local young people.
Next we had a deputation from local resident Chris O’Loughlin regarding the Bucklands Beach Safety Improvements project. He raised concerns about the consultation and communication process so we asked staff to provide advice on the consultation and whether our duties under the Local Government Act 2002 were met in regard to this matter.
Because we had an Auckland Transport representative in the room, I shifted the relevant agenda items up earlier than scheduled. Firstly, we received a report on our Local Board Transport Capital Fund (LBTCF) projects which we had asked Auckland Transport to consult with the public on. These were the Valderama Road raised pedestrian crossing (100% support), Paparoa Road raised pedestrian crossing (69% support), and Michael Jones Drive speed calming (53% support). Based on the public support for them all, we approved them for construction.
Auckland Transport also asked us to provide feedback on their Gills Road pedestrian crossing project. We noted the strong public support (86% support) especially from the local school and provided our support. We acknowledged the concerns in the feedback around the costs and encouraged Auckland Transport to continue to explore more innovative and cost-effective solutions for future projects.
We received our first Quarterly Report on our Auckland Transport Kōkiri / Local Board Transport Agreement (approved last month). This is a new process which formalises how Auckland Transport works with Local Boards, ensuring that we get an opportunity to be involved in projects in our area. It was good to see that most projects were on target and due to be delivered by June 2025. Safety improvements planned for the intersection of Flat Bush School and Hikuawa Roads had not passed the cost/benefit test so had been removed from the programme. We’ve also been advocating for the completion of missing footpaths (especially in Flat Bush) but with no funding available they’re unlikely to proceed.
We then provided our feedback on an upcoming traffic bylaw review, supporting the intention to simplify the rules to make them easier to understand and enforce. This is due to come for public consultation in the near future.
Every month we allocate a slot for our Ward Councillors to provide an update. Unfortunately, due to scheduling clashes, they are usually unable to attend. To accommodate this, they agreed to provide a written report when there are board-specific updates to share. No report was received for this meeting.
I tabled my amended Chairpersons Report for the month (correcting a couple of minor mistakes) detailing what we had been focused on since the last meeting. My report noted the shocking theft of plaques across Howick and the disrespect this showed the community. I also noted the positive public feedback on the proposed Representation Review.
We then received a report from staff in response to Ombudsman's recommendation for open workshops by default. Workshops are informal, non-decision-making meetings used for discussions and refining options before formal board decisions in our public business meetings. In October 2023, the Ombudsman released a report which found no evidence of decision-making occurring in workshops but noted practices that could undermine transparency. The Ombudsman recommended that workshops should be open by default, with any closures justified on a case-by-case basis.
There was a good debate on the risks of opening our workshops for the public such as the potential negative impact on free and frank discussion, confusion from the public about whether a decision is being made, and potential disruption to the meeting. We also debated the benefits, such as improving transparency, enabling community to see the process, and improving our accountability.
The vote was tied (4-4) so I used my chairperson’s casting vote, in favour of the motion. This is the first time I’ve used this and I did so based on the recommendation and in line with my vote. The motion passed and staff will work through the process to establish these in time for our first workshop in 2025.
Next up, we voted to confirm a change to the landowner approval and lease for the Highbrook Watersports Centre, to enable them to build a temporary building while the larger project is completed.
We then voted to confirm a retrospective landowner approval for the Friends of Mangemangeroa, formalising their ability to keep their planter and watering units onsite. This provides them with some certainty while the discussions around the future development of Mangemangeroa Reserve continue.
We received a report requesting approval of the designs for the Barry Curtis Playground which we were pleased to approve. This is one of our destination playgrounds, intended to provide for longer visits. In line with public feedback, the new playground will include a wider range of play opportunities and cater for a wider range of tamariki (children). The new design will include accessible, inclusive and sensory play opportunities. Shade sails will provide shelter from the sun, while careful tree planting will act as a wind buffer as well as supporting exploration and nature play. We’ve increased the amount of fencing around the playground, while still ensuring the playground remains accessible and safe. Now these have been approved, staff will work on detailed design, consenting and construction. Physical works are expected to occur between February and June 2025, with an official opening once it’s completed.
We approved our Annual Report for 2023/2024, noting the performance over the past year. The report highlighted some of our key deliverables, including Te Taiwhanga Taiohi East Auckland Youth Space that we opened in April 2024. It shows that we were successful in delivering our arts and cultural outcomes, but there is more work to be done on safety, and the quality of our local parks and facilities. Our operational expenditure was just under budget ($36.4M vs $36.6M) while our capital expenditure was slightly above budget ($3.8M vs $3.6M) which is generally positive.
We approved two new road names for the Highbrook Business Park, East Tamaki. There was a bit of a discussion about one of the names which was intended to recognise the contributions of Sir Noel Robinson. Auckland Council guidelines suggest avoiding the name of a living person or their title, although we noted the road wasn’t far from Sir Woof Fisher Drive.
We approved our engagement plan with Eke Panuku, noting the key projects in our area - 65 Haddington Drive, Ormiston (former site for the pool), Eastern Busway Urban Regeneration Programme (maximising return on residual land), Ormiston Development sites, and 56 Brookview Drive (planned for development but awaiting Plan Change 96).
We endorsed Thriving Rangatahi (council’s commitment and plan to support the wellbeing of children and young people), and approved two additional meetings for next year (to accommodate the Annual Budget timeframes).
We then noted our workshop records and forward governance work calendar before closing the meeting at 2:42pm.
Minutes of the meeting are available here:
https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2024/09/20240919_HW_MIN_11585_WEB.htm
along with related attachments like presentations here:
https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2024/09/20240919_HW_ATT_11585_WEB.htm
A recording of the meeting will be available shortly, along with previous meetings: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNiuqKCzobSzQ05kCv2JI2iefmDp2_tEh
Our next normal Business Meeting is scheduled for Thursday 17 October at 12noon at the Pakuranga Library building in Aylesbury Street.
These are open to the public to attend and observe, although you need to request a slot if you would like to speak (so we can make sure we provide time).