Council to review property portfolio

 

The Kaipara District continues to experience good growth measured in terms of building consents. In the first three quarters of the Council’s financial year ending 31 March 2014, the value of building consents received totalled just under $41.5 million. We have to go back to the 2008/09 year to find a period that had a higher value of consents received. 

The eastern part of the District, including Mangawhai and Kaiwaka, accounts for a good portion of this activity. As long as Auckland continues to lead New Zealand’s economic growth, and our primary based industries perform well, we should expect this growth to continue. 

Hearings on the extension of the motorway network from Puhoi to Warkworth are underway. Once this project is completed, a further positive impact will be felt in Kaipara. 

Of course, our primary industries are exposed to the vagaries of nature. The drought has severely affected many of our farmers, now for a second year in a row. Farms are extremely stressed in places like Ruawai and the Pouto peninsula. This is not an easy time for many of our farmers.

Council Property Holdings
In the process of considering the make-up of its Annual Plan for the year beginning 1 July 2014, Commissioners have reviewed the property portfolio held by the Council. We now are testing, through the Draft Annual Plan consultation process, the proposition that we should sell property that has limited strategic value to the Council. 

Last year Council went through its records to identify the properties owned by Council, and to review the rationale behind ownership. If Council ownership serves no public, strategic, or revenue earning purpose, one has to question why a Council should own it. Such property has management costs associated with it, and it does not generate any rates for Council. If proceeds from the sale of such property were to be applied towards an alternative public good purpose, like investing in a community facility, or to reduce Council debt and therefore save interest costs, then selling the property is an option that should be considered. We are seeking feedback on this general proposition through the draft Annual Plan at present. 

The proposition has generated much discussion and a number of questions in Mangawhai. I want to address some of the questions.

What did we find from property records in Council?
Council owns at least 380 properties in the Kaipara District, of all shapes and sizes, from reserves to places like Mangawhai Park; from land planted in forestry to land used by clubs like the Hakaru Pony Club; and from camping grounds to residential sections.

What examples are there of land that might be classified as “non-strategic”?

Residential sections are the most notable. In Mangawhai for instance, there are several residential sections that Council believes fit this category. Such properties exist in Wharfdale Crescent and Robert Street, for instance.

What process is Council undertaking to consider the sale of properties?
Council has completed the exercise to identify all properties owned. It has begun an exercise to identify properties that are not used for public benefit and that appear non-strategic. It is then researching the background as to how Council acquired these properties and considering the pros and cons of disposing of these properties. As part of this process it may also decide to seek further input from the community on whether an individual property should be sold or restructured in some way to enable a portion of it to be sold. 

When will the Council make decisions on whether to sell property?
Council will consider the submissions that it receives from the Draft Annual Plan submission process, and then make a decision on the general principles involved at the 27 May Council meeting. Any decisions relating to individual properties will not be made for some time.

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