Council faces significant decisions on our major central city facilities of Civic House and the Elma Turner Library.

Civic House in Trafalgar St was purchased in 1991 from NZ Post and refurbished for Council purposes but after 33 years it is dated, requiring major investment or replacement. The roof structure is earthquake prone requiring that the sixth floor be vacated in 2021. The heating system operates on diesel and the ventilation system is in poor condition. The working conditions for our staff are not adequate.

The Elma Turner Library in Halifax St was also constructed from a repurposed building and is approaching the end of its economic life. The Council last year addressed the issues of the seismic risks of the ceiling tiles and the structural problems with the trusses, extending its usable life by up to a decade. A new home for the city’s main library will need to be addressed.

Council has chosen to leave the existing budgets – totalling $68.4 million – allocated in the previous Long Term Plan for these building issues, but the way forward has not yet been determined. The Chief Executive has commissioned a review on the best approach from an independent property advisory company. They will present their report at the central city summit in March involving iwi, business and community leaders, after which Council will then consider options for the way forward.

Bridge to better is a major upgrade project in the city centre that will provide three water infrastructure capacity and resilience that will cater for hundreds of homes in the city centre and revitalise Bridge Street between Rutherford and Collingwood Streets. It is supported by $36.3 million of funding from the Government’s Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF).

Council has set aside $32 million funding as its contribution for this transformation project and following more work is proposing to increase its budget to a total of $42.4 million to account for greater increases in materials, resourcing, construction costs and risk mitigation around the delivery within one of the oldest street corridors in Nelson.

Construction is scheduled to be staged from 2026 to late 2027 – a requirement of the IAF. Direct engagement with businesses started in October 2023 and will be ongoing throughout the design and construction stages of the project. Public feedback on a concept design is proposed to take place in May 2024.

A significant network of recreation trails has been developed over many years on Ngāti Koata whenua (land), providing important walking, running and mountain biking opportunities for residents and visitors to Nelson. Ngāti Koata supports recreation occurring on its whenua, providing a long-term agreement is reached in relation to public access.

Council is proposing to negotiate a long-term recreational access agreement over Ngāti Koata whenua (this agreement would not involve purchasing any land at this time). Areas being considered are Codgers “Koata Park”, the Coppermine Triangle (an area where the Coppermine Trail passes through Ngāti Koata whenua), Fringed Hill Road, Matai Face and part of the Sharlands area.

This project would see an extension of the existing cycleway work currently underway in the hospital area. We are proposing creating an active travel link from the Maitai/Brook areas in the east to the Railway Reserve corridor in the west. This project would improve the cycle connections across the city and address safety for cyclists using the route. The route encompasses five schools and Nelson’s tertiary institute (Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology).

Extending this link will enable cycling opportunities that encourage more people to cycle rather than use their cars, which has benefits for public health, and reduces road congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. The work will follow existing road corridors and will require the reprioritisation of space and will result in the loss of some carparking along these roads, to create a separated cycling facility.

Work is planned to take place over three years commencing in Year 2 (2025/26) of the Long Term Plan and will extend from Waimea Road/Franklyn Street through to Nile Street/Domett Street. Construction of the cycleway will cost $4.9 million of capital funding and is proposed over 2025/26, 2026/27, and 2027/28 of the Long Term Plan. 51% of the funding is expected to come from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi with the remaining 49% being funded by Council. This may change if the Government reduces or removes cycleway funding.

Council is proposing to divest its crematorium service at Wakapuaka Cemetery in Atawhai from 2025/26.

Council currently offers this service as a cost-effective alternative to burial, however this is in effect competing with the private sector (crematorium services are available in Nelson from a private sector provider). Annual operating costs for the 2022/23 financial year were $311,000 with cremation fees covering 80% of the costs ($248,000). This is within the expected target of 70% to 90%, and fees are adjusted each year to ensure that the target remains within this range.

The current diesel-fuelled cremator is fit for purpose and no further work is required around compliance. However, there is a desire to reduce the carbon impact of the system and renewal work will be required in the future. The crematorium’s resource consent to discharge to air expires in 2026. If Council continued the service, we would need to apply for a new resource consent. This would be required if the cremator continues to operate on diesel fuel, if it was converted to another fuel like LPG, or for an aspiration of installing an electric cremator.

In the event that Council cannot find an appropriate purchaser or lessee, we may need to stop the service and investigate selling crematorium assets. Proceeds from the sale of these assets would be used to pay off the cremator’s remaining debt.

This proposed change would result in a net budget saving from 2025/26 of approximately $163,000 and avoid subsequent upgrade costs as well as the costs associated with applying for a new consent.

Wastewater charges for commercial and service properties are set according to Council’s Trade Waste Bylaw. To calculate the charges to these producers Council examines the flow rates and effluent strength in the network over the previous three years and uses them as the basis for trade waste charges for the following year. The various charging formulas can be viewed on the Council website.

We are proposing a change to the way trade waste charges are charged. Currently there are two categories for charging for trade waste, Trade Waste A and Trade Waste B. We are proposing to move to the following three graduated methods of charging:

Method A remains unchanged and will apply to the largest trade waste contributors, of which there are less than 10. The charge is calculated on measuring both discharge rates and effluent strength.

Method B is new and will apply to the next largest trade waste contributors, of which there are approximately 20 in Nelson city, e.g. laundries, larger restaurants and hotels.

The charge is calculated based on the estimated volume of effluent discharged and the measured effluent strength.

Method B customers may choose to install the appropriate effluent volume measuring equipment and then become a Method A wastewater contributor. The volume and effluent strength charges will be as per Method A.

Method C, previously known as Trade Waste B, will apply to all other trade waste contributors, of which there are approximately 1400. The charge will be calculated based on the estimated volume of effluent discharged and then calculated using a combined conveyance and treatment rate.

The specific detail of the individual methods including criteria for identifying the appropriate method for each customer can be found in the Commercial Wastewater Charge – Trade Waste Charges section which follows the Funding Impact Statement in the supporting information.

*subject to Environment Court outcome

Progress trunk services and upgrades to transport connections, 2024-2032, $23.8 million. A good part of this will be recovered from developers through development contributions for their share of infrastructure required for growth.

Tasman District Council and Nelson City Council have a joint business case underway to explore the viability of a kitchenwaste collection service that will look at the diversion of kitchenwaste from landfill for composting, fertilizer production, and/or energy generation. Provision has been made from 2027/28 with budget of $10.88 million over the 10 years of the Plan. (Funded from central government levy, local landfill disposal levy, and solid waste reserves. Rates funding may be needed following those 10 years.)

Completed by 2025/26, $2.4 million of ‘Better Off Funding’ plus $613,000 additional Council funding.

Deconstruction, 2024/25, $1.4 million.

Council is considering remediation or deconstruction of the hall and will in the future consult with the community before making a final decision. In the interim, budget of $2.2 million is set aside in 2027/28 for either purpose if required.

The funding of depreciation of the Suter’s building assets was expected to start in 2024/25, however this is no longer going to happen resulting in $244,000 saving per year.