Bay of Plenty Mayoral Forum

Resolved

That the Bay of Plenty Mayoral Forum:

1        Accepts the apologies from Mayor Tenby Powell – Tauranga City Council; Mayor Malcolm Campbell – Kawerau District Council; Geoff Williams - Chief Executive Rotorua Lakes Council; Miriam Taris - Chief Executive Western Bay of Plenty District Council; Aileen Lawrie - Chief Executive Ōpōtiki District Council; Marty Grenfell - Chief Executive Tauranga City Council; Mayor Stevie Chadwick – Rotorua Lakes Council (late arrival); Stephanie O’Sullivan – Chief Executive Whakatāne District Council (late arrival).

Leeder/Webber

CARRIED

4.1

Mayoral Forum Public Meeting Minutes - 12 June 2020

Resolved

That the Bay of Plenty Mayoral Forum/Triennial Meeting:

1        Confirms the Mayoral Forum Public Meeting Minutes - 12 June 2020 as a true and accurate record.

Leeder/Turner

CARRIED

5.1

Sport Bay of Plenty: Refreshed Regional Spaces and Places Strategy

Presentation - Sport Bay of Plenty: Objective ID A3658260   

Presented by: Heidi Lichtwark and Zane Jensen – Sport Bay of Plenty.

Key Points: of Presentation

·    Bay of Plenty Spaces and Places Strategy 2020-2023

·    Background 2017-2020

·    Successes 2017-2020

·    Where to next - Regional Priorities

·    Develop a Bay of Plenty Water Sports Facility and Water Access Strategy

·    Develop an ‘Opportunities Paper’ which overlays the existing and proposed Cycle and Walking tracks across the region to identify network connection opportunities

·    Develop and implement a Regional Indoor Court Facility Plan

·    Develop a Regional Squash Facility Plan

·    Develop a Regional Bowls Facility Plan.

9.43 am – Mayor Chadwick entered the meeting (via Zoom)

In Response to Questions

·      Each facility within the strategy was given a classification, ranging from local community facilities to being able to cater for international events

·      Needs/feasibility assessments were in progress to determine what the differing requirements were across the region and to support appropriate allocation of funding and resources

·      The refreshed strategy had built-in provisions for and understanding of facility maintenance/future-proofing

·      Worked with other regions to support and foster cross-regional initiatives

·      Sport Bay of Plenty was working with the Rotorua Lakes Council with regards to identifying opportunities/challenges around extending walk/cycleways across the region.

Key Points - Members:

·    Pleased to see the cycle/walkway strategy included, and sought further exploration with regards to connectivity towards Ōpōtiki and Whangariro

·    With international travel currently not occurring, people were looking for local experiences which created opportunities for local sports and recreation facilities and operators

·    A better understanding of the importance of depreciation allocations for community facilities was a significant consideration in the development of Local Authorities’ Long Term Plans.

6.1

Post-Election Contact with New Government

Presented by: Mayor Garry Webber - Western Bay of Plenty District Council.

Key Points – Mayor Webber:

·    Recognised the changing world that had emerged in 2020

·    Had met with Iwi leaders and Kainga Ora – Homes and Communities (who would announce their new structure next week), which emphasised the importance for the Bay of Plenty councils to discuss and agree on an approach with regards to its interaction with the new Central Government

·    Recognised the significant role of Waka Kotahi in the infrastructure planning/delivery space

·    The Bay of Plenty region had to work collectively to identify its main focus projects

·    The SmartGrowth structure, Sport Bay of Plenty refreshed Strategy and RMA reforms provided the region with a unique and positive opportunity to work well with Central Government

·    Bay of Plenty was well aligned with the priorities and goals of the current government and a meeting before Christmas would be advantageous to show the willingness and desire for a co-operative approach

·    Sharing stories of councils’ achievements, in particular in the Covid recovery space, would emphasize the region’s desire and drive to collaborate.

10.00 am – Stephanie O’Sullivan entered the meeting.

Key Points - Members:

·    Noted the successful outcomes of the PGF funding applications, in particular in the Eastern Bay of Plenty

·    Considered that a region-wide approach/plan could not be pursued until there was better understanding of the localised issues that differed between the various TAs.

·    Noted that the role and purpose of the Iwi Leaders Forum was still to be finalised

·    Important to consider co-operation opportunities beyond the Bay of Plenty region, e.g. Tongariro and Waikato

·    Co-operation should be driven from local up, rather than regional down

·    Recognised the genuine desire across the region to engage with Central Government

·    Issues such as inequality, poverty, homelessness and crime would be best addressed at a local level

·    Supportive of regional interaction/meeting with the incoming Cabinet Ministers to identify the aspirations and priorities of the region

·    Recognised that Central Government was currently in the midst of forming the new Cabinet

·    Recognised that this agenda item would feed into agenda item 6.3.

6.2

Regional Briefing Paper for Ministers (BIM)

Presented by: Mayor Judy Turner - Whakatane District Council

Key Points – Mayor Turner

·    The collaboration between Central Government and the region/local TAs would be crucial going forward

·    Addressing a number of nationwide issues, e.g. housing affordability/supply, was reliant on local knowledge and input

·    Would like to see a regionwide Briefing Paper prepared once Cabinet had been formed, focussing on opportunities and aspirations at a strategic level; recognising the challenges that had faced/was still facing the region

·    Recognised that each TA would also prepare its own Briefing for Incoming Ministers (BIM).

Key Points - Members:

·    Recognised the unique and successful Ngāti Whakaue initiative in Rotorua

·    There were significant challenges with regards to affordable housing in the Bay of Plenty, in particular for Iwi

·    Important to work with Central Government with regards to making larger blocks of rural land available for housing development, i.e. through RMA/Building Act reforms

·    The SmartGrowth Agreement had been signed by Cabinet and had the Ministers of Local Government/Transport/Housing assigned to it. These Ministers were expected to come to the Bay of Plenty between now and the end of the year, which could provide an opportunity for a meeting with the region’s Mayors/Chair

·    Recognised that this agenda item would feed into agenda item 6.3.

6.3

Update from the Bay of Plenty Chief Executives' Local Government Workshop held on Friday 9 October 2020

Presentation - Local Government Reimagined Bay of Plenty: Objective ID A3658260   

Presented by: Russel George – Chief Executive Kawerau District Council, Stephanie O’Sullivan – Chief Executive Whakatāne District Council, Fiona McTavish – Chief Executive Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Ezra Schuster – Ministry of Education

Key Points of Presentation:

·    Local Government reimagined – Bay of Plenty

·    Context

·    At our best

·    We know our local communities.

·    We know our places.

·    Our elected members are chosen by our communities to be the first call for support and representation, on any matter

·    Core capability and functions for the future

·    Relationship with Central Government

·    Relationship – national design/delivery/response

·    Principles.

Key Points – Chief Executives

·    Recognised that the workshop that formed the basis for the paper presented today had not been attended by all CEs and that further work was required to ensure all views were well represented

·    Agreed that TAs were best positioned with regards to knowledge of their local communities

·    Emphasised the importance of local governments relationship with its local communities/iwi and delivering on the four wellbeings

·    Recognised the strong and positive working relationship between the CEs and Central Government

·    Proposed the establishment of a Regional Leadership Forum to work with Central Government on issues such as climate change; safe and resilient communities; infrastructure/transport

·    Wanted to work with Central Government in shaping the future infrastructure for the region

·    Suggested setting up an additional Mayoral Forum meeting early/mid-December 2020 when it was expected that newly appointed Cabinet Ministers would visit the Eastern Bay of Plenty, which would provide an opportunity for a face-to-face meeting.

Key Points – Ezra Schuster

·    Recognised the opportunities to work with Central Government in a ‘mana to mana/mahi to mahi’ engagement setting

·    The relationship between Mayors/Chairs and Central Government was essential to set the scene for the future

·    Agreed that success had to be achieved locally, however a true partnership between TAs and Central Government was required to address more wide-reaching/national challenges

·    Recognised there was room for improvement in the way Central Government agencies worked within local/regional settings

·    Regional Leadership Group was not yet fully formed, e.g. Iwi leaders had not yet been confirmed.

Key Points - Members:

·    Would like to further discuss/rethink the proposed direction within the paper, but also recognised the need to minimise undue delays

·    Sought a review of the proposed relationship matrix

·    The individual TAs’ LTPs would identify priorities as well as capability across the region

·    Considered that climate change initiatives and infrastructure requirements/supply should be Central Government driven

·    The aim of this discussion was to provide direction/where-to-next for Chief Executives to progress

·    Considered it preferable to have a clear understanding of Central Government’s direction, before progressing the work on the Bay of Plenty Region’s direction

·    Each TA should identify needs/undertake analysis to ascertain to what extent a region-wide approach was feasible

·    Suggested that the Regional Leadership Group would be better positioned to identify regional successes/challenges, rather than this being the responsibilities of the Mayors.

Items for Chief Executives’ Follow Up:

·    Chief Executives to prepare a Briefing Paper for the Incoming Ministers (BIM) identifying risks/challengers/priorities

·    Explore the feasibility of convening a Mayoral Forum meeting in Whakatāne in early/mid-December 2020

·    Whakatāne District Council to determine the appropriate invitees for the possible Mayoral Forum/Cabinet Ministers meeting in December 2020.

Resolved

That the Bay of Plenty Mayoral Forum/Triennial Meeting:

1        Agrees that the recommendation “To work with the incoming government and iwi leaders to further build this model of aligned system of government and to use the Bay of Plenty as a region to prototype a new role for local government and iwi leaders to lead and advance our communities and places” as set out in the paper be left to lie on the table until the next meeting of the Mayoral Forum.

Leeder/Webber

CARRIED

Report To:

Bay of Plenty Mayoral Forum/Triennial Meeting

Meeting Date:

12 March 2021

Report Writer:

Nic Newman, Principal Advisor

Report Authoriser:

Fiona McTavish, Chief Executive

Purpose:

To seek endorsement of the Briefing for Incoming Ministers (BIM)