LGOIMA Requests

In response to your LGOIMA request below, we confirm there have been no visits to China by the Mayor of Manawatu District Council in the past five years.

We refer to your recent request to Kasey Gibb, our Rates Officer, for information on some recently tendered parcels of abandoned land.

The information you have requested is below.

Valuation number:  1414001500  Grace Street Sanson                     Sale price  $18,000
Valuation number:  1383028901  Benson Road Beaconsfield         Sale price $6,500
Valuation number:  1386019100  Umutoi North Road Apiti             Sale price $1,500

At Manawatu District Council we do not employ parking wardens, as we do not have paid parking in Feilding. We are unable to reply to your questions.

In the last ten years Manawatu District Council have not had any official potable water restrictions. However, during the summer months the public are encouraged to conserve water. 
The following tips will help make water go further:
• Check soil moisture. If your soil is moist 10 centimeters below the surface, you won't need to water it.
• Water close to the ground at a rate the soil can absorb.
• Use a sprinkler. Established plants should only need 30 minutes watering once or twice a week in dry weather.
• Use mulch. Mulch protects your soil from the drying effects of wind and sun, and it can cut evaporation by 70 percent.
• Report and fix leaks.
Manawatu District Council prevents the need for issuing water restrictions by having multiple water supplies and reservoirs.
While staff can’t recall any restrictions between 10 and 50 years we can’t guarantee this.

a) A copy of your LGOIMA/Information Management/Public Information policies (if you have any)
MDC’s LGOIMA responses to requests are in accordance with the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987
b)The number of LGOIMA requests made to MDC per year for the last 5 years
1 July 2014 to 30 June 2019  =  431 requests 

To 30 June 2015 118
To 30 June 2016   84
To 30 June 2017   76
To 30 June 2018   84
To 30 June 2019   69

c)The costs incurred by council in processing these requests
We do not keep a record of time of average requests.  We would only charge for large requests that we know will take a lot of staff time to collate.
d)The amount of requests that have had a charge applied
Six have had quotes of fees sent to requester, but none has actually resulted in charges being made.
e)The amount(s) and hours charged for the requests covered in d)
We have not charged any requester for information requested.

I acknowledge receipt of your email dated 21 June 2019 in which you had requested, under the Official Information Act 1982, copies of all meeting minutes of the Manawatū District Health and Wellbeing Group since the group’s inception.  I advise that the Manawatū District Council does not hold the records for the Manawatū District Health and Wellbeing Group.  These are held by MidCentral District Health Board.  You will therefore need to direct your request for information pertaining to the Manawatū District Health and Wellbeing Group directly to the Board.

What is the name of your organisation?
Manawatu District Council
How many staff do you employ?
192
Do you measure the gender make-up of your staff?
Yes
What percentage of your staff are female?
57.29%
What percentage of your senior management are female?
50%
Do you measure the ethnic make-up of your staff?
No – but we are looking into doing this in the future
What percentage of your staff are NZ European?
N/A
What percentage of your staff are Māori?
N/A
What percentage of your staff are Pacific Islanders?
N/A
What percentage of your staff identify as Asian?
N/A
What percentage of your staff are Middle Eastern/Latin American/African?
N/A
What percentage of your staff are of another ethnicity?
N/A
What percentage of your senior management staff are NZ European/pākehā?
N/A
What percentage of your senior management staff are Māori?
N/A
What percentage of your senior management staff are Pacific Islanders?
N/A
What percentage of your senior management staff identify as Asian?
N/A
What percentage of your senior management staff are Middle Eastern/Latin American/African?
N/A
What percentage of your senior management staff are of another ethnicity?
N/A
Are there any plans in place to encourage diversity in staffing and the daily operation of the Ministry/department?
Yes
What is being done to encourage diversity?
We run a regular training forum for all our people leaders, which has one of its background principles the encouragement of all aspects of diversity. We have an informal mentoring network for women and prioritise leadership training for our female leaders. We run te reo and Māori tikanga training and have a cultural group for Māori staff. We work with our local high schools to provide work experience opportunities, making them available to all students (rather than just those with high academic achievement).
Is there any diversity training offered to staff?
Yes
Describe any diversity training offered?
In addition to the training mentioned above, we have a module on diversity as part of our Induction programme for all new staff.
How is diversity considered within your employment process? (e.g blind CVs)
We are currently reviewing our recruitment processes and diversity will be included in this review.
Have you had to manage issues/complaints of racism in the workplace?
Yes
No
How many racism issues/complaints have you had in the last five years?
Zero
If issues/complaints of racism occurred, what happened?

1. How much has been spent by the authority since 1 July 2017, (when the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016 came into effect) on earthquake-related expenses - for instance seismic reports, engineering checks, building assessments, strengthening work already done etc. 
Seven seismic reports were completed by Council between January 2016 to June 2017, totalling approximately $52,442.  Prior to 1 July 2017, structural strengthening was conducted on two Council owned buildings being the Feilding Civic Centre and Te Manawa Family Services (Feilding Community Centre) and this totalled $657,423 (excluding project management fees, drawings, building consents etc).
2. How much does the authority anticipate it will spend in the next ten years on earthquake resilience work. Please note this is not how much has been formally approved - but how much could be spent based on estimates (can be rough). 
At this stage, approximately $2.26 million has been set aside for earthquake resilience work within the 2018-2028 LTP.  A further $4.8 million has been set aside for the redevelopment of the Feilding Public Library and a portion (not yet defined) of this funding may be set aside for earthquake strengthening.  This is dependent upon the final location of this facility and any associated earthquake strengthening that may be required to be completed on any existing building.
3. How many buildings have been identified as needing money spent on them to bring them in line with the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act. 
Five
4. How many buildings are still to be assessed by the authority. 
One

Please find attached as much useful data as I have on hand.
Note: Council here at Manawatu does not have its own landfill. But has only a transfer station.
Types of waste excepting recycling types of waste are not broken down into categories. It all goes to landfill as general waste.
You should also note that Council does not process all district waste. Many of the big waste companies take their own waste back to Palmerston North for consolidation, then transport it to landfill or to a privately run waste transfer station.
Cleanfill is accepted at an old closed landfill but no tonnage figures are able to be provided since contractors tip without being measured. The site is not manned. Nor does it have a weighbridge or any type of recording devices.
On the positive side there is reasonable tonnage data on recycling items.

Please find attached a number of files containing the data as requested by you.
Most of the data relate back to the Manawatu District Plan. The District Plan can be viewed from:
https://www.mdc.govt.nz/Services/Planning/District-Plan?BestBetMatch=designations
The data include the following:
• Protected/Significant Trees - as per our District Plan Appendix 1D;
• Built Heritage sites:
o Heritage Places: Buildings and Objects with Heritage Value as per the District Plan Appendix 1 E;
o Historic Feilding Town Buildings as per the District Plan Schedule 4a.
• Contaminated Land sites: Hazardous Activities and Industries List (HAIL)
• Archaeological sites:
o Sites with Heritage Value as per the District Plan Appendix 1F;
• Waahi Tapu/taonga sites/Sites of significance to mana whenua;
We do not hold an extensive list of waahi tapu sites.
o Statutory Acknowledgements of the Crown have been made and more information and maps are available on the following links:
 https://www.mdc.govt.nz/files/assets/public/plans/district-plan/1-2_district_plan_cover.pdf
 https://www.mdc.govt.nz/files/assets/public/plans/district-plan/43_district_plan_schedule1.pdf
To assist you in identifying some of the sites and areas, I include 2 files (Iwi_Areas of Interest and Statutory Acknowledgement)
• Designated sites – As per Chapter 9 of the District Plan