Wellington City Council Quarterly Report January – March 2008 9835 PDWCC6 A message from the Chief Executive Wellington City Council Quarterly Report – January to March 2008 In March Wellington City Councillors approved the 2008/09 Draft Annual Plan – the first since the Council signed up to its vision of a carbon-neutral Wellington. Carbon neutrality is an ambitious vision that will require significant effort by the Council, central government, businesses and residents. This year's draft plan includes initiatives that if approved, will be small but potentially significant steps towards achieving our goal. One proposal is to generate electricity or LPG from sewage sludge at the Southern Landfill using a bioreactor. In this quarter we established a Climate Change Office to provide a focus for the Council's work on reducing corporate and community greenhouse gas emissions and working toward the goal of carbon neutrality. Early projects for the team include developing a robust methodology for measuring corporate emissions, establishing carbon sinks on Council reserve land using the Government’s Permanent Forest Sink Initiative (PFSI) mechanism, developing sustainable vehicle and green building standards, and supporting the World Environment Day. Other key highlights for the third quarter included: Supporting two major bike events: the Go By Bike Day which saw almost 900 cyclists gathered in Civic Square to enjoy a free breakfast and entertainment; and Bike the Bays which was supported by 1525 cyclists. Supporting successful Waitangi Day celebrations at Waitangi Park and the inaugural Absolutely Pasifika Festival at Frank Kitts Park. Opening the new water play and hydrotherapy services facilities at the Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre. This Quarterly Report provides an update on the Council’s consolidated financial performance for the year to date and sets out operational and financial progress towards delivering the outcomes and activities approved in the Council’s Annual Plan. This Quarterly Report is also available on the Council’s website - www.Wellington.govt.nz Garry Poole CHIEF EXECUTIVE A MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL EXECUTIVE SUMMARY_________ This report provides an outline of the Council’s activities for the period 1 January to 31 March 2008 and a consolidated financial view for the period 1 July to 31 March 2008. It presents detailed information for each activity by strategy area and group. Its purpose is to provide assurance that each activity is being carried out to plan, with explanations where there are variances. The report also provides assurance that the Revenue and Financing Policy targets are being monitored. HIGHLIGHTS We introduced the Eco Design scheme, which is subsidised by the Ministry for the Environment and BRANZ. This scheme will offer one-to-one sustainable design advice for anyone planning, or in the process of, building a home. Athfield Architects were announced the winner of the concept design competition for Kumutoto sites 8, 9 and 10. We launched www.parkingfine.co.nz for on-line parking infringement payments. We completed construction of the new pedestrian facility at Hinemoa Street, ensuring safe access across Waterloo Quay. We supported the ‘Go By Bike Day’, part of the National Bike Wise Week (23 February to 2 March). Almost 900 cyclists gathered in Civic Square to enjoy a free breakfast and entertainment. This was by far the largest turnout in the country. We hosted the Diabetes Congress at the Wellington Convention Centre - the largest conference across our venues. The conference is estimated to have generated $3m of economic value for the city. We removed approximately 80 over-mature hazardous pine trees from various sites around the city’s Town Belt. A Climate Change Office was established in the Strategy Directorate, to provide a focus for the Council's work on reducing corporate and community greenhouse gas emissions and working toward the goal of carbon neutrality. The Todd Energy power generation plant was officially opened. This plant generates electricity from methane produced from the landfill. The installation of this plant was a joint project between WCC and Todd Energy. We completed the inaugural round of sports development grants. We organised a successful Bike the Bays event on 23 February. The event was well supported with 1,525 cyclists participating. We opened the new water play (Spray) and hydrotherapy services facilities at the Aquatic Centre on 24 February 2008. We supported the inaugural Absolutely Positively Pasifika Festival that was held on 16 February 2008. The 2008 New Zealand International Arts Festival was held during the quarter. In conjunction with the Wellington Tenths Trust we hosted Waitangi Day celebrations at Waitangi Park. The celebrations attracted the largest citizen participation at Waitangi celebrations to date. The 2008/09 Draft Annual Plan was approved for public consultation. PRIORITY PROJECTS 1.0 Urban Development Management of residential infill development We advanced our work towards a targeted approach to infill housing - the process of building new dwellings within an existing suburban residential boundary. Key work for the quarter included: We have completed a series of research reports supporting our residential infill development work. A focus of one report assesses factors affecting future residential growth, including a citywide urban character study. We have also developed criteria to guide targeting of intensification and areas where further protection is required. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL Growth Spine Centres This project is one of the key methods for implementing the Urban Development Strategy. It involves the phased development of detailed concept plans for the major growth nodes that together form the growth spine. Key work for the quarter included: We completed an initial round of public consultation for the Adelaide Road Framework. Analysis of the 184 submissions received has been completed. We also held a series of stakeholder workshops with residents, businesses, developers, community groups and key agencies. 2.0 Transport Port and ferry access The project aims to improve traffic and freight access to CentrePort and the ferry terminal and manage the forecasted growth in traffic on the Quays. Key work for the quarter included: We completed construction of the new pedestrian facility at Hinemoa Street, ensuring safe access across Waterloo Quay Detailed design work continues for the first stage of work between Bunny Street and the new Kings Wharf entrance. Travel Demand Management programme The project aims to control road congestion, improve the performance of the city’s transport system and moderate road space demand. Key work for the quarter included: We held meetings with key stakeholder groups to gather input into development of the city walking and cycling plans. Both plans are scheduled for completion in June 2008. We also continued the implementation of the ‘Getting Around Wellington’ project aimed at altering travel patterns and behaviour. The project is being led, on our behalf, by the Sustainability Trust. Over 400 people have been involved to date. The findings from this work will be an important input into the development of the city walking and cycling plans. We continued to progress an Organisational Travel Plan for the Council. 3.0 Economic Development Information and communications infrastructure This project aims to enhance the city’s communications infrastructure and build ICT skills. There have been many developments in the telecommunications sector over the past few months and these have been assessed for their potential impact on the Council’s role. A committee paper has been completed detailing recommended next steps for achievement of the Council’s Broadband Vision. This paper will be presented in early April. 4.0 Environment Energy management plan The primary objective of this project is to understand and control the Council’s corporate energy consumption and expenditure. Reduction in energy consumption will ultimately result in reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The Wellington City Council is committed to becoming carbon neutral and managing energy use is a key component in that goal. Furthermore, energy costs continue to rise and the most effective way to mitigate that risk is through energy conservation. Key work for the quarter included: Establishment of a Climate Change Office in the Strategy Directorate, to provide a focus for the Council's work on reducing corporate and community greenhouse gas emissions and working toward the Council's goal of carbon neutrality. A key focus will be developing a robust methodology for measuring corporate emissions and developing sustainable vehicle and green building standards. We installed combustion control equipment on the Municipal Office Building (MOB) boiler. This technology continually optimises the mixture of natural gas and air being burnt for the buildings heating needs. It has shown to decrease natural gas consumption by at least 5% in other installations. Natural Gas consumption at MOB will be monitored in the coming months to measure the success of the project. Design work on the Main Library boiler system has been completed and a retrofit to the heating hot water piping arrangement is being scheduled. Initial estimates suggest that savings in natural gas consumption of up to 15% will be achieved as a result of the changes. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 WELLINGTON CITY