Napier City Council gets on with “doing the mahi”

Published: 30 June 2021

Water was re-confirmed as the number one priority for Napier City Council with the adoption of the Long Term Plan (LTP) 2021-31 at today’s Extraordinary Council meeting.

With the Government’s three waters reforms still to be finalised, the current LTP has been prepared on the basis Council is still going to undertake those activities.

“We plan to spend $400 million over the next 10 years to improve our water infrastructure,” says Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise.

“This includes fast-tracking a number of projects to ensure we meet the new regulatory standards within the next five years.”

We also intend to do what we can to address issues such as community safety, she says. This includes the development of an Ambassador Programme being given the green light for implementation in July 2022.

“At the same time we also want to help where we can with people’s recreational needs and overall wellbeing, which is why we have heeded the requests for funding for some large scale community projects led by organisations other than Council.

This includes a $1m grant to the Hawke’s Bay Community Fitness Centre at Mitre 10 Hwake’s Bay, located at the Regional Sports Park, a facility that is well utilised by Napier residents.

Council also resolved to increase the operating and renewal funding for the Pettigrew Green Arena, which is expanding to include additional court space, from the 2022/23 financial year.

“The LTP is one of our most significant planning documents, and this LTP has been particularly challenging with changing priorities over the past three years, and the uncertainty facing the sector over the next three years. I thank all of you who took the time to respond. We have a responsibility to support the community.”

Product prices and the job market may affect deliverabilty, says Chief Executive Steph Rotarangi. However, we will continue to review our resources and we are lucky to be one of the few regions in the country to have a regional procurement team to help us pursue opportunities to deliver our programme with maximum efficiency, she says.

“We have an ambitious programme of work that we need to complete to ensure Napier continues to thrive. Our role is not just to deliver projects, but to listen to our community.”

The final LTP and supporting documents will be available to view online soon.

LTP resolutions include:

• An average 8% rates increase
• Water Supply – begin key projects now, prioritise the work associated with dirty water issues, including new borefields, new treatment plants, reservoir replacements and establishing mini-networks
• Chlorine-free – move towards a safe network with chlorine with a view to adding additional steps in the future to move towards a chlorine-free network in consultation with the community and meeting the exemption requirements of Taumata Arowai
• Street management – look into an ambassadorial approach, with the proposed model brought back to Council for approval before implementation from 1 July 2022, complemented by the separately funded and upgraded CCTV network
• Traffic safety plans – increase the number of Local Area Traffic Safety Plans completed each year from one to three
• Ahuriri Regional Park – budget $12.5m for the development, support key outcomes, being conservation, biodiversity, climate change mitigation, habitat, water quality enhancement and stormwater management. Consultation is still to come.
• Te Pihinga – construction will begin in 2023, pending receipt of a feasibility study, additional consultation confirming the need and other details
• Housing – use a loan to fund the $1.8m deficit for the portfolio in 2021/22 as a ‘stop-gap’ solution. A final report on the housing review is due to Council by December 2021.
• Faraday Centre – keep it open and provide additional funding to better support its operations, until the recommendations of the detailed business case can be considered by Council.

Funding request resolutions include:

• $500,000 to Central Football in 2023/24 towards the cost of an artificial turf, to be funded through loans, subject to Central Football having completed fundraising to fund their share of the total cost of the project
• Increase the operating and renewal funding for the Pettigrew Green Arena from 2022/23, and support them through a review of operational effectiveness in 2023/24, should Hastings District Council decide to do the same
• Developing a feasibility study to define appropriate uses and a suitable operating model in 2022/23 for the Memorial Square Community Rooms (Women’s Rest), with $1.5m budgeted for this project
• $1m grant to the Hawke’s Bay Community Fitness Centre at the Hawke’s Bay Regional Sports Park. This will be funded via a loan.
• That the Ahuriri Rock Pools Development Trust be advised to apply to the Council projects fund to assist in undertaking a Feasibility Study/Business Case.

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