Decisions from today's Full Council meeting
Eastside plan adopted
Council has today adopted Te Oranga Nui – Rawhiti Mai: Eastside Community Wellness Planfollowing a two-year collaboration between Council, Eastside hapu and iwi, Tatau Pounamu collective, the wider Eastside community and other local and Central Government agencies.
The plan provides the framework for future development and growth in the Eastside area and reflects a commitment from multiple parties to ensure a connected, thriving community for our mokopuna.
It also provides a template for other “locality plans” that are proposed in Council’s long-term plan as part of its Homes and Thriving Communities work.
See more about this HERE
Councillor lead roles for 2021-2022
Following adoption of the 2021-31 Long-term Plan, Mayor Chadwick has appointed elected members to Council outcome areas to align to the organisation’s work programme and work alongside staff to deliver “some very big and ambitious targets”.
She tabled a revised report to that which appears in the agenda (see revised report with councillor appointments HERE on Council’s website) with some changes.
The Mayor will take the lead role for the housing work programme, explaining the need to link and liaise with housing portfolio Ministers due to the enormous scale of this work.
She had invited Te Tatau o Te Arawa to also put forward members who could add value to specific areas, she said.
Councillor Tania Tapsell expressed her preference to not be appointed as second for housing.
Extending the role of Rotorua Economic Development CCO
Council approved extending the role of its Council-Controlled Organisation Rotorua Economic Development (RED) to support the delivery of long-term plan commitments relating to economic development and the regeneration of the inner city.
The extended role for RED is set out in amendments to its Statement of Intent (see p22 of the meeting agenda).
A subsequent report detailing Terms of Reference prescribing the operational and financial parameters of RED’s extended role will come to Council for approval.
See more about this HERE from the recent Strategy, Policy & Finance Committee which considered the matter prior to recommendations coming to the Full Council.
Update from Ministry of Social Development
Elected members received an update today from Ministry of Social Development (MSD) Regional Commissioner Mike Bryant who discussed a variety of services and programmes delivered in Rotorua by the Government agency.
He shared information about work relating to emergency housing in Rotorua, saying that thanks to the work of the taskforce [involving Council, iwi and Central Government agencies], as of yesterday 175 families had moved into motels contracted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MHUD).
Meanwhile, MSD intended to work closely with the council to ensure the only places people needing emergency accommodation were sent to were consented and met all requirements, he said.
Mr Bryant also talked about initiatives aimed at connecting currently unemployed people with employers for training and jobs, saying employment was “a circuit-breaker”.
You can go directly to this part of the meeting via THIS LINK on the meeting recording
Mayor’s report from 2021 Local Government New Zealand conference
Partnerships were the key theme of this year’s LGNZ conference, Mayor Steve Chadwick reflected in a report for today’s meeting summarising her observations from the event, held in Blenheim earlier this month.
Speaking to her report, Mayor Chadwick said this year’s conference endorsed, for her, the way Rotorua Lakes Council was approaching localism with the housing taskforce, in partnership with iwi and Central Government agencies, an example of the way of the future, with councils at the centre of the four wellbeings.
There was also endorsement of the approach to form a Council/iwi committee to discuss the impact of Three Waters reforms, she said. “It was seen as innovative and a new way of working together on challenges we are all going to face in this debate [on the future of the three waters].”
Mayor Chadwick said the conference reinforced that Rotorua Lakes Council was very well placed with its Long-term Plan, to face the challenges of the future.
Reports from councillors who attended the 2021 conference will be tabled at a future meeting.
See the Mayor’s full summary HERE in the meeting agenda.
Also on the agenda
Appointment: Councillor Tania Tapsell has been endorsed as Council representative on the Ngāti Whakaue Gifted Reserves Committee.
Delegation: Council delegated the Chief Executive to appoint Jason Ward, Manager Planning & Development Solutions at Rotorua Lakes Council, who is responsible for managing RMA Policy, the power to agree, on behalf of Council, to consented outcomes relating to appeals to Plan Change 3 – Significant Natural Areas.
You’ll find the full agenda for today’s meeting HERE on Council’s website
Today’s meeting was livestreamed and you’ll find the recording HERE on Council’s YouTube channel