Meeting dates confirmed
Council approved its meeting dates for 2021 at the Council Meeting on Thursday, October 29.
Adopting a meeting schedule enables the community to be informed of Council meetings.
An approved schedule of meeting dates is also required so that meetings can be publicly notified in accordance with the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.
The Meeting Schedule for 2021 will be available on Council’s website.
General Reserve Transfers
Council agreed to transfer a net surplus of $76,669 in the 2019-20 financial year to its General Reserve Account.
Priority projects approved
Councillors have approved their priority projects for 2020-21.
These have been categorised as either Category A, B or C with A being the most critical.
The Category A projects are:
- Replacement of bridges and structures at Hina Hina - $2,974,102
- Urban Seal Extensions - $1,318,256
- Milton Destination Toilets - $540,000
- Balclutha Destination Toilets - $450,000
- Milton Service Centre Library Pool Community Facility - Service Centre/Library Component - $418,500
- Naish Park Centennial Park Project - $260,000
- Balclutha Memorial Hall Project
PGF Hall Projects - $755,032
- Stimulus Projects - $6,400,000
- Wastewater Compliance
- Water Compliance
Land Transport Programme Update
Councillors were given an update on the results of the first two years of the current three-year Land Transport Programme, which highlighted the challenges brought about through procurement, two flooding events and COVID-19.
The key points of note from this report were:
• $1.41 million of budget is theoretically unallocated and delayed work or further projects can be considered with this budget.
• $170K of roading improvement funding is over-allocated based on current estimates.
Council decided to use the unallocated budget of $1.41 million to do a maintenance catch-up ($500K), SPR sealing work ($110K) and other activities such as qualifying rural traction seals or dust suppression works, qualifying urban dust suppression, additional maintenance, metalling or drainage works.
The exact works would need to be evaluated to ensure they can be completed by the 30 June 2021 deadline.
Council also confirmed the funding of $3,030,000 of Flood Repairs, with Council’s share of $1,170,000 from Emergency Fund Reserves.
It was also decided that the projected over expenditure in Low Cost Low Risk Improvements be managed within the overall budget allocation area and where required be deferred to the 2021/24 Land Transport Programme.
Information Management Strategy approved
Councillors approved an Information Management Strategy for the Clutha District Council.
The strategy sets out Councils approach to improving the way they create, use, manage, share, and protect information, to achieve Council and Central Government digital transformation objectives.
It is acknowledged that information is vital in terms of providing the wide range of services provided by the Clutha District Council.
The scope includes all information held, or owned, by the Council regardless of media.
It applies to all staff, Councillors, partners, commissioned service providers and contractors who process public information.
The strategy builds on the Digital by Default declaration Council made in February 2017.
Proposed road stopping at Catlins Valley Road
Council agreed to initiate the required consultation process to proceed with a partial road stopping at Catlins Valley Road.
Gary and Adele Dawkins have asked Council for the part stopping of an unformed area of Catlins Valley Road and part of the oversized unformed legal road adjacent to the Catlins River, associated with their property.
In a report to Council the 1,065m2 of unformed legal road to be stopped had no Council utilities associated with it and as the area was serviced by the formed Catlins Valley Road, with sufficient legal road reserve remaining for Catlins Valley Road to negate any road safety concerns in relation to the current location of the accommodation units.
The report said there was no impact on river access, the unformed legal road to be stopped was deemed superfluous to Council needs.
The next step will be to obtain approval of the proposed road stopping from the Minister of Land Information and then it will be put out for public consultation.
Public consultation via LTP for Hospital Creek
The future maintenance responsibility of Hospital Creek in Lawrence is to be included in the Long Term Plan 2021-31 to ensure the issue is fully consulted on with the public.
Clutha District Council had previously indicated to the Lawrence Community that there would be consultation regarding the future maintenance responsibility of the waterway known as Hospital Creek which has been impacted by flooding in recent times.
Stantec have provided a draft ‘Lawrence Hospital Creek Stormwater Scoping Report’.
This report will be used to provide information to Council and the community about future costs to maintain the creek and that these costs and access issues be consulted on as part of the 2021-31 Long Term Plan process in early 2021.
The decision to include the issue in the Long Term Plan was supported by the Lawrence/Tuapeka Community Board.