Howick Local Board Business Meeting report for June 2023

On Thursday 22 June, 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.

After opening the meeting, we confirmed our minutes from with a correction to one grant. We accepted an apology from Member Collins for lateness and confirmed there were no leaves of absence or petitions this month.

Howick Coastguard presented their new book celebrating 65 years of saving lives at sea. This book is a fantastic collection of photos and stories, cataloguing the decades of community service that this organisation and its amazing volunteers have provided Howick. We then acknowledged the Howick Coastguard for their years of service to the community.

We also acknowledged Jim Smith QSM, a local resident who has volunteered with Auckland Operational Support who support firefighters across Auckland. Mr Smith has done this for 50 years which is an incredible achievement and deserved our recognition.

We acknowledged two locals who were appointed to the New Zealand Order of Merit during the recent Kings Birthday and Coronation Honours – Kendal Collins of Flat Bush for services to youth and Warren Jack of Howick for services to the community.

We acknowledged with sadness the number of deaths on our roads recently, five within the last month. We extended our condolences to their families and thanks to the emergency services who attend these incidents. We also urged people to listen to the Police and drive safely to ensure they and those around them get home safely.

Our first deputation was from Mike Bongionvanni of the Pakuranga United Rugby Club who provided an update on the gym expansion project at the Howick and Pakuranga Community Sports Centre. He also asked us for support in addressing some issues which we’ve asked staff to follow up on.

Next we had Fiona Bailey, Libby Giddey and Michelle Field from the Howick Children's and Youth Theatre. It was great to get an update on the work they’re doing in the community, rebuilding their membership after the last few years. They shared some fantastic examples of how their programmes help young people build confidence, empathy and teamwork.

We received a deputation from the Lloyd Elsmore User Group, represented by Alison Mudford, Lexie Palmer and Ian Rodger. They asked for some updates to the Auckland Council website to more accurately reflect the groups that operate in the park, requested a fix for the report a problem tool and also for a calendar to show events in the park. They also noted that the bollard on Aviemore Drive wasn’t consistently in place, leading to members of the public inadvertently assuming it was access into the park. Staff are actively following up on all these requests, with progress already being made.

Representatives from Howick Children's Charitable Trust who run the Howick Santa Parade came to provide an update on their recent activities. Claire Atkinson and Pip Burns spoke about the cancellation of the 2021 parade and the community activations they replaced it with. They asked us to consider including the Howick Santa Parade in our non-contestable grants and also asked if we’d like to have float in this year’s parade which will be the 70th.

Our final public presentation was from Judy Speight and Huia Murupaenga of the Otara Waterways and Lake Trust. They provided a handout which detailed some of the amazing work that they have been doing to protect and restore the waterways. In the last year they’ve planted 50,416 natives, restored 20 stream sites and removed over 10 tonnes of rubbish. We help fund this organisation (together with our neighbours Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board) so it was good to get an update on what they’ve been up to and we’re looking forward to working more closely with them.

Moving on from presentations, we received the written report from our Ward Councillors Sharon Stewart and Maurice Williamson, detailing the meetings they had attended.

I then tabled my Chairpersons report where I convey some the issues we've been focused on since our last meeting. We’re relieved that the annual budget has been settled, especially given how challenging the process had been. We’re pleased that much of our advocacy was heard (better public transport, funding Citizens Advice Bureau and minimising service cuts) and we’re working through the impact of the cut to our budget. On a more positive note, we celebrated the success of the Moth Plant Competition and Waste Minimisation programme in our local schools – so proud of their incredible success. I also noted the draft Local Board Plan (that we’d later vote to send for consultation) which marks a significant milestone of the new term.

We noted an urgent decision to provide feedback to Waka Kotahi (NZTA) regarding the NZUP Manukau to Takaaini Access and Safety Project. We strongly supported the proposed safety upgrades to Murphys Road, including a significant upgrade for the intersection with Redoubt Road and signalised intersections at Murphy’s Park and Thomas Park Roads.

Another urgent decision we noted was a reallocation of $10k from our Howick Stream Improvement Programme to our Industrial Pollution Prevention Programme. This was to ensure that the funds were spent before the end of the financial year, boosting our successful programme to prevent pollution.

We approved our draft Local Board Plan 2023 to go out for consultation, including a public engagement event on Friday 4 August. We’ve spent the first half of this year talking to as many locals as we could to understand what their priorities are for the area. We’ve combined this valuable feedback with demographic data and financial analysis to create a new strategic plan that we believe is both aspirational and practical. We’re looking forward to engaging with locals as we validate that we’ve heard their views and taking onboard any further suggestions.

We also approved our Local Board Agreement 2023/24 which is our high-level budget for the coming financial year. It doesn’t include the details of what programmes will be delivered (this is coming in July) but it does highlight some of the key initiatives that we’re delivering. Based on feedback from locals, we’re focusing on the environment, arts and culture and youth. We’re building on the success of our existing programmes and we’ve worked hard to find funding for a dedicated Youth Facility. After a successful pilot last year, it’s awesome to be shift this into a more permanent outcome for our local rangatahi.

We approved $51,880.10 in grants for local groups and organisations to deliver a wide range of events, programmes and improvements. This was our last round for this financial year and the remaining funds were reallocated to getting our Youth Facility underway (as per an earlier resolution in May).

Another big milestone was the granting of landowner approval and lease for the Highbrook Watersports Centre. This project has been underway for some time and it’s great to see it making good progress. This approval allows the Charitable Trust behind the project to move into the consenting, funding and eventually construction phases.

We provided our feedback on private Plan Change 90 for 8 Sparky Lane in Ōtara which proposed rezoning some of the light industrial area to allow for housing. While it’s just outside of our area, this does impact the Highbrook commercial area. We supported the feedback from the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board and the majority of submissions by opposing the plan change. This area isn’t suitable for housing and the impact on transport and the environment is too high.

This month we tidied up another missing reserve classification, this time it was Trugood Esplanade Reserve. Legislation requires that every reserve be classified so staff are working to ensure we’ve captured them all.

We received and approved the Quarterly Report which provides a brief update on the progress on our comprehensive work programme through till 31 March. Key highlights for this period include the events like our Music in the Park Kiwi Anthems and Celebrating Cultures. The Flat Bush Library and Community Centre continues to wait for funding from the Governing Body (which we’re continuing to fight for). Revenue was above budget with higher than expected visitor numbers to our leisure centres and operating expenditure was lower with some programmes on hold. Our capital programme was well above budget which is a positive as we push through our backlog of renewals especially in Barry Curtis Park.

After noting our workshop records and forward work calendar, our meeting closed at 2:20pm.

Minutes of the meeting are available here: https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/RedirectToDoc.aspx?URL=Open/2023/06/20230622_HW_MIN_11571_WEB.htm

along with related attachments like presentations here: https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/RedirectToDoc.aspx?URL=Open/2023/06/20230622_HW_MAT_11571_WEB.htm

And a recording of the meeting is available here: https://youtu.be/AA0quZQXCZI and previous meetings can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist...

Our next normal Business Meeting is scheduled for Thursday 20 July 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).