Nine contributors voiced their opinions at Draft Milton Reserve Management Plan Hearing
Nine people spoke to their submission on the Draft Milton Reserve Management Plan at the Council Meeting on 15 February.
The draft plan was focused on the five reserves within the Milton urban area, all administered by Clutha District Council, and determines each reserve’s purpose as well as the intended activities permitted at each reserve.
The Reserve Management Plan is designed to create an overarching framework under which specific activities can be authorised to occur on our reserves.
It does not set out the operational details of such activities - these are handled by way of other mechanisms such as land leases or the Our Place Milton Community Plan.
Councillors will consider all submissions relating to the draft plan on 14 March with the final Taylor Park Reserve Management Plan to be adopted on 27 March.
Once the Milton Reserve Management Plan is finalised, it will provide clarity to reserve users, community groups that are involved in the use, management, or promotion of reserves,
Council staff responsible for maintenance and development of the reserves, and elected representatives that are responsible for allocating resources towards projects on reserves.
Long Term Plan supporting documents approved for audit
Audit will begin on the supporting documents for Clutha District Council’s Long Term Plan 2024-34 following sign-off by councillors at the meeting.
Council is currently developing its next Long Term Plan (LTP) for 2024 to 2034.
A key challenge for this Long Term Plan is the significant budget impacts arising from infrastructure cost increases and recent Government decisions to return responsibility for funding and management of three waters (water, wastewater, stormwater) to Council.
Public consultation on the Long Term Plan:
- Commences on 28 March 2024,
- Closes on 26 April 2024,
with public hearings to take place on 7 & 8 May 2024.
Feedback received from the consultation will inform final decisions on the LTP and future rates.
Submission forms will be available on the council website from 28 March.
New committee names and for Council meetings
Council approved new committee names to align with the new organisational structure at Clutha District Council.
Council has been working on implementing organisational improvements and as part of this improvement the structure has been amended for Council meetings as second tier managers no longer exist.
The former Service Delivery committee no longer exists and has been split into four activities – Community and Facilities Operations, Infrastructure Operations, Infrastructure Strategy & Delivery and Three Waters.
There will be no change to the Chair of each Committee.
- Corporate & Policy Committee Chair – Councillor Ludemann
- Infrastructure Strategy & Operations Committee Chair – Councillor Graham
- Regulatory & Community Committee Chair – Councillor Finch
Delegations manual approved
An updated delegations manual was approved by councillors to allow the chief executive to implement governance decisions effectively.
The manual clearly defines the parameters under which committees, and Council management and staff can act.
Council is responsible for administering various Acts and Regulations. To enable Council to operate effectively, Council has the power to delegate its decision-making authority.
In most cases delegations are made to committees or Council staff.
The manual also details elected member and staff appointments to the various committees of Council, and for representation on outside committees and organisations.
The Council Delegations Manual 2022-25 will be reviewed again at the start of the next triennium.
Amendment to standing orders to reflect workshops are open to the public
Council has amended its standing orders to reflect the Ombudsman’s recommendations that workshops be open to the public.
A review from the Ombudsman’s Office in June 2023 highlighted that Council needed to be clearer with its workshop guidance to reflect that all workshops are open to the public by default, and that workshops would only be closed to the public if it was reasonable to do so.
Standing Orders are a framework of rules and guidelines for making decisions in a council context.
They are based on the principles; that public-decision making processes should be open, transparent and fair and contribute to a well-functioning democracy that the public can trust.
Road stopping approved
Final road stopping was approved for an unformed road at the southern boundary of the Beaumont Hotel.
The road stopping is to allow the Beaumont Hotel to increase the size of their land.
The proposal received no objections following recent consultation.
Draft speed management plan on hold
Council’s draft speed management plan is on hold until Central Government develop a new rule on speed limits.
Council had developed and consulted on the draft plan late last year but has decided to put the plan on hold to await the new Speed Limit Rule before finalising its Speed Management Plans.
Councillors acknowledged the work and advice the community had put into helping to develop the draft plan.
Clutha District Council’s Draft Speed Management Plan aimed to improve safety in line with the former Government’s nationwide ‘Road to Zero’ campaign, which had a target of reducing deaths and serious injuries on New Zealand’s roads by 40% by 2030.
A key initiative of the draft plan was to reduce traffic speed around the district especially schools, rural townships and urban town centres.
Contract awarded
The contract for the replacement of bridges 106 and 112 has been awarded to SouthRoads Ltd for $1,471,300.89.
Four conforming and two alternative tender submissions were received with prices ranging from $1,471,300.89 to $2,727,426.60.