Sustainable Napier Committee - 25 March 2021 - Open Minutes
Sustainable Napier Committee
Open Minutes
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Meeting Date: |
Thursday 25 March 2021 |
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Time: |
10.00am – 12.55pm |
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Venue |
Council Chambers |
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Present |
Mayor Wise, Councillor Price (In the Chair), Deputy Mayor Brosnan, Councillors Boag, Browne, Chrystal, Crown, Mawson, McGrath, Simpson, Tapine and Taylor |
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In Attendance |
Chief Executive (Steph Rotarangi) Director Corporate Services (Adele Henderson) Director Community Services (Antoinette Campbell) Director Infrastructure Services (Jon Kingsford) Director City Services (Lance Titter) Director City Strategy (Richard Munneke) Manager Communications and Marketing (Craig Ogborn) Pou Whakarae (Mōrehu Te Tomo) Manager Property (Bryan Faulknor) Manager Asset Strategy (Catherine Bayly) Manager Design and Projects (James Mear) Investment and Funding Manager (Garry Hrustinsky) Team Leader Parking (Debbie Heal) Team Leader Planning & Compliance (Luke Johnson) Team Leader Building Processing (Ben Ward) Team Leader Transportation (Robin Malley) Principal Transportation Engineer (Tony Mills) Urban Design Lead (Georgina King) Environmental Lead (Andrew Gass) Waste Minimisation Lead (Rhett van Veldhuizen) Environmental Management Officer (Hannah Ludlow) |
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Administration |
Governance Advisors (Anna Eady and Carolyn Hunt) |
Karakia
Apologies
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That the apology from Councillor Wright be accepted. |
Conflicts of interest
Nil
Public forum
Pauline Doyle
Pauline came to talk to agenda item two noting in her opinion:
· As the cost to upgrade the network and maintain the chlorinated status would cost approximately $178 million it would not cost much more to move to a chlorine free network.
· The Pattle Delamore Partners Ltd (PDP) report estimates it will take 20 years to achieve a chlorine free network, however the peer review of the report says this is an inflated timeframe. Her view is that it is possible in two years.
· She had met with PDP in 2018 when Napier City Council (NCC) was consulting on the Long Term Plan, they showed her a chart of the work they felt was required to move to a chlorine free network. She does not feel they were in touch with the right expertise and the extent of required work was overestimated.
· The 2016 contamination incident in Havelock North should not be applied to every other water network. Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s investigation found the bore heads in Havelock North are situated low to the ground and sheep faeces had been washed over them in heavy rains.
· Dutch evidence presented to Council shows disinfectant residuals are not adequately effective against microbes in biofilms on pipe walls. This evidence can be used by NCC in gaining an exemption from using chlorine.
· The Ministry of Health (MOH) has decided that chlorine is the best solution to contamination in drinking water supplies only because it is used elsewhere in the world, but that is not a reason Napier should use it.
· NCC should follow Christchurch City Council’s lead and redraft it’s water safety plan. It should also move quickly on drilling bores in the right locations to provide safe water to the community, and show the MOH it can provide a safe chlorine free system.
· The peer review company, GHD NZ, could guide NCC on the next steps to achieving a chlorine free network. They have the right contacts to provide Napier with the evidence needed to apply to the MOH for an exemption from chlorine use. They could also put together a work programme and cost it.
· A leak detection programme should include using acoustic sensors and pressure transducers. If a leak is detected the pressure transducer can be used to detect water movement. If the water is not moving then further investigation needs to be made in the form of a water sample. This system would prove to the MOH that NCC knows what it is doing.
Diane Evans
Diane came to talk to agenda item two noting in her opinion:
· Council, in consultation with the community, will make the decision about whether to have a chlorine free water network.
· Option one in the Chlorine Free Drinking Water Draft Report by PDP, to remain with the status quo, is work that needs to be completed in order for NCC to comply with New Zealand drinking water standards and it’s Water Safety Plan. This is regardless of a decision to have a chlorine free network.
· The total cost of option one will only be known once the work begins. Also the timeframe to complete this work will only be known once the work begins and the true state of the network is uncovered.
· Dirty water issues are being addressed by Council currently, and Council has been working hard to find a solution to the issues.
· The new Water Services Bill 2020 and the new Drinking Water Authority, Taumata Arowai, will have an impact on whether Napier can go chlorine free. NCC will be able to work with Taumata Arowai to develop a road map to move forward.
· To pay for the work on the water network, water meters and rates increases will be the only option. There are many examples through New Zealand of failing infrastructure and this costs money to address. Research shows that in areas where water meters are introduced water usage falls by up to 40%.
· If the Council and community decide to go chlorine free there will be an additional cost to repairing the current network.
· Accountability for resident’s ill health if chlorine is removed is unclear.
· All options need to be considered.
· The decision by central government to put fluoride in drinking water will have been made after consultation with experts. They are the ones with the knowledge so the community and Council needs to listen to them.
Announcements by the Mayor
Acknowledged the passing of Annie Aranui, Ministry of Social Development East Coast Regional Commissioner.
Announcements by the Chairperson
Nil
Announcements by the management
Nil
Confirmation of minutes
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That the Minutes of the meeting held on 11 February 2021 were taken as a true and accurate record of the meeting. |
With the agreement of the meeting agenda item 2 was taken out of order.
2. Chlorine Free Review
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Type of Report: |
Information |
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Legal Reference: |
Enter Legal Reference |
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Document ID: |
1293086 |
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Reporting Officer/s & Unit: |
Catherine Bayly, Manager Asset Strategy |
2.1 Purpose of Report
The purpose of this report is to introduce the report - Chlorine-Free Drinking Water Review – Options for the Provision of Safe Drinking Water to Council and to seek approval of the proposed way forward around engaging with the community.
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The officer spoke to the report, along with Tony Urquhart and Peter Hillis of PDP, who carried out the review, and Peter Free of GHD NZ, who peer-reviewed the report, noting: · The water space is very busy now, with central government launching the Three Waters Reform Programme and the Water Services Bill, which will reform the drinking water regulatory system. This bill will require a residual disinfectant in the water network, unless a Council can gain an exemption. · A thorough procurement process was undertaken to engage PDP, who were tasked with carrying out an extensive external review of Napier’s water network and costing two identified options for the delivery of safe water to Napier; to maintain the current planned service delivery in line with the 2018 Water Safety Plan framework, with residual chlorine disinfection as the main safety barrier, and to develop the water network to a standard where residual disinfectant can be removed safely. With either option the aim will be to have a network which will deliver safe drinking water for the next fifty years. · There have been some misconceptions circulated by media, such as fixing the water issues in Napier will cost $300 million. This is not true. The dirty water issues will be dealt with separately. NCC has central government funding to put towards a water quality improvement project to find new bore sites which are not high in manganese. The Tamatea and Parklands controlled water area project is due to be completed at the end of April, this is where a mini water network will be created, with water from the Taradale bores and continued pigging, so that water issues should be significantly reduced, if not eliminated. · There are also a number of water quality and flow monitoring projects happening this year under the three waters reform work, which will lead to a lot more information about the quality and flow of the Napier water network. Pigging will also continue over winter. · Before chlorine was added to the Napier water network there were dirty water issues and all water networks have dirty water issues at some point. Also if Napier does move to a chlorine free network, chlorine will still be needed occasionally, as it is in Holland’s chlorine free network. · The cost for options identified in the report by PDP will be plus or minus thirty percent. This is normal as the true cost of the work will not be known until the work begins and the true state of the network is discovered. · There were some differences between PDP and GHD, but on the whole they are in agreement about what it will take to bring the network up to standard and also in what it would take to move to a chlorine free network. · The CEO of Taumata Arowai has to sign off on an exemtion that would authorise the removal of residual disinfectant from the network. They will not be providing an exemption pathway, rather a proposal will need to be submitted to them. They have indicated that it will need to be a stringent system with very low leakage levels and thorough, continuous monitoring of the system. · The majority of the investment will be in the below ground level infrastructure. · There are gaps in knowledge as the true nature of Napier’s water network cannot be known unless the below ground level infrastructure is dug up. Once work begins this will help fill the knowledge gaps and there will be less assumptions. · The project will take approximately thirty years. · Holland maintained the chlorine in their system until they had a better understanding of what was happening and the quality of their water, and then they took it out gradually, monitoring constantly to make sure it was safe. · Out of the three most practical options, status quo, status quo plus, and road to chlorine-free, there are some commonalities. Investment made now to bring the water network in line with the requirements of the Water Services Bill, will align with going chorine free in the longer term; such as low cost strategies like finding new bore sites or installing manganese treatment plants. · The review of PDP’s report was collaborative. GHD feel it is possible to achieve a chlorine free network but it will take a lot of work. There is a lot of work needed to establish bore security and to assess why the water quality has been poor. · There will be engagement with the Community about the project with media releases, Facebook Live sessions, community consultation, and involving stakeholders by sending them the report and peer review report. There will be Māori engagement in the form of a cultural assessment of the options in the report, as well as consultation with Mana Whenua entities and seeking the endorsement of NCC’s Māori Committee. In response to questions from Councillors the following points were clarified: · As part of the three waters reform NCC will need to explain how the water is moving through the network, we have no control over that currently, it flows were the demand is. Eventually bores will feed into reservoirs which will gravity-feed into the network. Also there will be mini networks or controlled water areas to help with leakage. Wet boards will be installed to help with understanding of water quality at certain points in the network. · DMA’s (district metered areas) will improve understanding of pressure, flow and leakage, but installing these across the whole network is a a longer term process. · A smart network talked about in the report would include pressure transducers and flow meters. Water flow and pressure are the two major measures of whether a system will be prone to ingress from leakage, and helping to identify when leaks occur. · Twenty years to implement the options listed in the report will be challenging. There would be a lot of disruption to the community with areas of the network needing to be shut down to do work, and it will be high cost. An optimistic view would be that it will take ten years. Two to three years is not realistic. · To achieve an exemption from Taumata Arowai the network will need to be down to 5% leakage global target. It is predicted for Napier to get to that target 1.5 – 3% of the network will need to be replaced a year, which will be challenging. This target may change as more evidence is collected, and the starting point of leakage for Napier’s network is yet to be determined. · To achieve an exemption NCC would need to demonstrate it is in control of the network and able to maintain water quality, and from a risk perspective showing a very good understanding of the leak level and the impacts of that will be essential. · The new water standards need to be met by next year. The fixes put in place are planned to be long-term fixes. · PDP’s report is the first step towards an understanding of Napier’s water network baseline, but there is still a lot of work to do to confirm this with a monitoring programme to be established. · GHD’s full peer review report, due within a week, is still to be presented to Council, however as the Chlorine Free Drinking Water Review report was put together in collaboration with GHD a lot of their views are expressed throughout it. · GHD were appointed as the peer reviewer due to their skills, local experience and also the local interest in GHD’s work in Christchurch. · The status quo option is work that has to be done to meet national standards. This will cost approximately $180 million. This will include things like UV treatment, and potentially filtration, which will become mandatory to install. · The current three year leak detection project has found approximately sixty seven leaks around the Westshore and Bayview areas. Where leaks were able to be dealt with straight away they were, but there will also be a list of work to be done to address the other leaks. Over the next two financial years leak detection will be carried out across the rest of the city. · Treatment plants will be needed on an ongoing basis as the new drinking water standards will mean Napier loses its bore security status. At the moment treatment plants will be designed for treatment using chlorine, but when designing the plants adding extra things like fluoride can be allowed for. The cost of the treatment component of the total programme is quite small and even if the network becomes chlorine free chlorine may still be needed as a backstop from time to time. Councillor Crown left the meeting at 11:21am. Councillor Crown returned to the meeting at 11:23am. · Water meters on private water supplies would be ideal to help with measuring and detecting back flow issues into the network. There could also be leaks on the private side of the connection which water meters would help to detect. Installing water meters does not mean the council will start charging for water use. · The current dirty water issues should be cleared up in one to two years with establishing new bore sites and being able to close down the old problem bores which are high in manganese. · Once mini networks are established it might be possible to go chlorine free in one part of the city before the other part if necessary. · The communications and engagement plan is currently high level currently, but work is being done on a trial plan to work through some of what will be required to give the community adequate details over the course of the project. · There has not been a correlation established between chlorine and cancer as there is a lack of long-term research in that space. Smoking and diet are still bigger risks than chlorinated water. Procedural Motion: That under Standing Order 21.1 the Chair agreed to suspend Standing Order 21.6 to allow all Councillors to speak to the Motion.
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The Sustainable Napier Committee: a. Endorse this Chlorine free review paper and the Final Draft Chlorine Free Drinking Water Review b. Approve the proposed high level Communications and Engagement Plan for the Chlorine Free Review
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Committee's Substitute recommendation: Councillor Brosnan / Mayor Wise The Sustainable Napier Committee: a. Receive the Chlorine free review paper and the Final Draft Chlorine Free Drinking Water Review. b. Note the final peer review report will be circulated prior to council adoption. c. Note a more detailed Communications and Engagement Plan for the Chlorine Free Review will be prepared and brought to Council. |
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Carried |
The meeting adjourned at 11.50am
The meeting reconvened at 12.00pm
1. Lease of Reserve - Pelega O Matua Fanau Charitable Trust
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Type of Report: |
Legal |
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Legal Reference: |
Reserves Act 1977 |
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Document ID: |
1288626 |
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Reporting Officer/s & Unit: |
Bryan Faulknor, Manager Property Jenny Martin, Property and Facilities Officer |
1.1 Purpose of Report
To seek Council confirmation for a ground lease with Pelega O Matua Fanau Charitable Trust and to ratify that decision on behalf of the Minister of Conservation in accordance with the delegated authorities.
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The officer spoke to the report noting: · This is a matter which has been before Council before and this recommendation will close off a longstanding issue. |
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The Sustainable Napier Committee: a. Resolve: i. To confirm the granting of a ground lease for Pelega O Matua Fanau Charitable Trust for a ten year term with a five year right of renewal for the land occupied by the Early Childhood Education Centre on the Riverbend Road Reserve between Riverbend Road and Latham Street. ii. To ratify that decision on behalf of the Minister of Conservation in accordance with the delegated authorities pursuant to the Instrument of Delegation for Territorial Authorities dated 12 June 2013. |
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Type of Report: |
Information |
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Legal Reference: |
N/A |
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Document ID: |
1294960 |
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Reporting Officer/s & Unit: |
James Mear, Manager Design and Projects |
3.1 Purpose of Report
To provide Council with information on Capital Programme Delivery.
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The Officer spoke to the report noting: · This is an information paper to inform the current state of major projects being delivered by council. · There are a lot of current projects in the three waters space. The bulk of council projects are in the infrastructure directorate. · The Kennedy Park ablution block project is complete. · The Marewa shops project has stalled due to cost to complete exceeding the available budget. A paper will come back to Council about this. · Ocean Spa upgrade to install a sauna and steam room has not gone through the tender process yet due to limited local market and challenging to access materials for the project. · Airport sewer pump station renewal project’s scope has expanded due to discovering issues that were not initially known. |
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The Sustainable Napier Committee: a. Receive the Project Update report dated 25 March 2021. |
4. Project Update: Pandora Industrial Waterways (Thames & Tyne Waterways) Sediment Quality Assessment
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Type of Report: |
Information |
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Legal Reference: |
Resource Management Act 1991 |
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Document ID: |
1295425 |
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Reporting Officer/s & Unit: |
Cameron Burton, Manager Environmental Solutions Hannah Ludlow, Environmental Management Officer |
4.1 Purpose of Report
The purpose of this paper is to summarise to the Sustainable Napier Committee the purpose of, and the results to date, of the Pandora Sediment Assessment project.
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The officer spoke to the report noting that: · Council was not previously aware of the amount of sediment in the Thames and Tyne waterways. This project has collected sediment core samples and assessed them visually for grain size, gravel inclusions, and fossil densities. · Some of the samples have also been sent away for analysis of grain size, pesticide concentrations and hydrocarbon testing. · This analysis will give the picture of the current state of the sediment so when assessing how to deal with the sediment no action will be taken which will release anything harmful into the estuary. · The analysis of the core samples will inform council of the holistic quality of the system, and will help council to move forwards appropriately. The next stage will be appointment of an independent expert. · Previous sampling found evidence of the 1931 Napier Earthquake. The new samples were able to be matched to them. · Sampling over time will help establish a baseline. · Council will need to consider where it would put anything dredged out of the estuary considering it could have harmful heavy metals in it. |
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The Sustainable Napier Committee: a. Note the goal of the Pandora Sediment Assessment project, the stage of the project, and the implications of the project’s current results. b. Acknowledge the purpose of the Pandora Sediment Assessment project in building knowledge of the quality of the Thames and Tyne waterways, allowing Council to make informed decisions on the best practicable option for ecological enhancement of the poor-quality drainage channels. |
5. Kerbside Refuse Wheelie Bin Replacement Fee and Additional Wheelie Bin Charge for Non-Profit Organisations/Registered Charities
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Type of Report: |
Operational |
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Legal Reference: |
N/A |
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Document ID: |
1295448 |
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Reporting Officer/s & Unit: |
Rhett van Veldhuizen, Waste Minimisation Lead |
5.1 Purpose of Report
a. To seek Council’s approval for establishing fees for the replacement of council owned wheelie bins which have been stolen, lost or damaged whilst in service.
b. To seek Council’s approval for the cost of a second kerbside refuse collection charge and the provision of an additional wheelie bin to be invoiced to a charity that is run out of a residential premises (i.e. from a home office).
Councillor
Simpson left the meeting at 12:52pm.
6. Stormwater
Compliance Monitoring Reports - 1 July 2019 - 30
June 2020
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Type of Report: |
Information |
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Legal Reference: |
Resource Management Act 1991 |
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Document ID: |
1295670 |
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Reporting Officer/s & Unit: |
Cameron Burton, Manager Environmental Solutions |
6.1 Purpose of Report
This report is to inform the Sustainable Napier Committee about the four major stormwater discharge consents’ Compliance Monitoring Reports and their associated grading’s noting the level of compliance achieved for the period ending 30 June 2020, as received from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC).
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The officer spoke to the report noting: · This is the first time this sort of report has come to Council. · In emergency discharge situations where wastewater is discharged to the stormwater network we did not have any non-compliance or low compliance reports within the 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020 period as discharges were contained and re-routed and there were not any overflows. · A condition review with Hawke’s Bay District Council to accommodate occasional overflows has not been considered yet. We need to control our system the best we can. · Council applied under the emergency provisions in the Resource Management Act to allow the overflow that occurred during the November 2020 flooding event. |
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The Sustainable Napier Committee: a. Note the compliance monitoring report for the discharge of stormwater from the Central Business District (CBD) was graded Full Compliance for the 2019-2020 monitoring period. b. Note the compliance monitoring report for the discharge of stormwater from the Cross Country Drain was graded Full Compliance for the 2019-2020 monitoring period. c. Note the compliance monitoring report for the discharge of stormwater from the Westshore Tidal Gates was graded Low Risk Non-Compliance for the 2019-2020 monitoring period. d. Note the compliance monitoring report for the discharge of stormwater from the Thames Tyne was graded Low Risk Non-Compliance for the 2019-2020 monitoring period. |
7. Update on 3 Waters Reform Programme
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Type of Report: |
Operational |
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Legal Reference: |
N/A |
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Document ID: |
1296267 |
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Reporting Officer/s & Unit: |
Catherine Bayly, Manager, 3 Waters Reform |
7.1 Purpose of Report
To inform the Council on the progress of the 3Waters Reform Programme within Napier.
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The officer spoke to the report and in response to questions noted: · The low manganese project has been scoped and Council is about to go out to market to get technical advisors to assist with the project, and moving with the wet boards so as to do more monitoring and understand the water quality better. · Council has not had guidance on a work programme from Taumata Arowai, but have had from Taituarā. In line with other Council’s around the country NCC is getting on with its current scheduled programme of work. · The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) have undertaken a big piece of work around engaging with local government entities and mana whenua on the Three Waters Reform Programme. NCC’s opportunity to engage with the Napier community is through the Long Term Plan. · The DIA have indicated there will be no new water entities coming into force until 2024. |
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The Sustainable Napier Committee: a. Receive the update report on 3 Waters Reform Programme dated 25 March 2021. |
PUBLIC EXCLUDED ITEMS
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That the public be excluded from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting, namely: 1. Lease of Reserve 2. Street light column renewals 3. Land acquisition & road stopping |
The general subject of each matter to be considered while the public was excluded, the reasons 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 were as follows:
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General subject of each matter to be considered. |
Reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter. |
Ground(s) under section 48(1) to the passing of this resolution. |
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1. Lease of Reserve |
7(2)(i) Enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations) |
48(1)A That the public conduct
of the whole or the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting would be
likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for
withholding would exist: |
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2. Street light column renewals |
7(2)(i) Enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations) |
48(1)A That the public conduct
of the whole or the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting would be
likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for
withholding would exist: |
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3. Land acquisition & road stopping |
7(2)(i) Enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations) |
48(1)A That the public conduct
of the whole or the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting would be
likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for
withholding would exist: |
The meeting adjourned at 12.55pm
The meeting reconvened at 3.12pm – 3.40pm
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Approved and adopted as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Chairperson .............................................................................................................................
Date of approval ...................................................................................................................... |