The West Coast Regional Council has been warned it risks losing government 'shovel ready' money for urgent infrastructure projects - including new floodwalls at Franz Josef Glacier and Westport - unless it acts now.
A view of the Waiho River Bridge looking to the south bank where stage one work for Franz Josef flood protection has already started by adding rockwork above the bridge. The previous bridge was washed away in March 2019. Photo: LDR / Brendon McMahon
Councillors did just that at an urgent meeting last night, when they agreed to appoint a special infrastructure governance subcommittee made up of councillors Stuart Challenger, Brett Cummings and Laura Coll-McLaughlin.
It also agreed to appoint a special project delivery team using experienced external appointees for up to three years, to oversee the raft of infrastructure projects the council has on its books.
During a testy debate, some councillors were unhappy they had had little time to read the background to recommendations, to ensure about $22 million of 'shovel ready' money was not lost.
Cummings asked if the proposed project leader, Mike Beagle from the Greater Wellington Regional Council, would be personally liable for "budget blowouts" he had read about relating to that council, given the initial project team budget of $109,000 for up to two months.
Beagle said it was purely a support arrangement for the West Coast. He also defended his personal record.
"We're coming in to support you and set you up for success. We are not underwriting anything at the moment because I don't know what we're dealing with yet."
The risk fell on the council if it did not manage the infrastructure projects to a level which satisfied the government agencies involved, he said.
"At the moment if you don't do something you will lose your funding... we've got to say if we're not delivering."
The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) could withhold the funding or stop it altogether.
"You're not delivering against your contractual conditions at the present," Beagle said.
Looking upstream from the Waiho River Bridge work underway today on part of the stage one project at Franz Josef Glacier to protect the southern approach to the bridge with new 'rip rap' rockwork. Photo: LDR / Brendon McMahon
The initial project team budget was to work out what the council had committed to undertake.
Beagle said the council could review the project delivery team via the proposed governance subcommittee after the initial six to eight-week period.
"It's not just the Wild West - there's a lot of compliance."
The MBIE-administered shovel ready money includes the urgent work already started:
- Stage one flood protection work at Franz Josef Glacier.
- Stage one of the new Westport flood protection scheme; and repairs of the scoured historic flood protection at Organs Island and a bank near O'Conor Home in Westport.
The council also last night extended a confidential memorandum of understanding signed in March with the Wellington council, to provide budget and project management support.
Regional council chief executive Heather Mabin said consents for some of the work had yet to be granted, but some activity could begin.
"We need an engineer to the contract to get that moving forward and that should come out of the project budget.
"I have never actually seen a breakdown of the project budget ... We really need, as council knows, to start delivering Franz Josef," Mabin said.
On 23 March the council authorised stage one of the Franz project, including rock for the north side work and part of the south side of Waiho (Waiau) River.
Mabin said Wellington council staff had already identified the need for "external resources" to help deliver and complete four projects, plus additional planned projects.
- A Wanganui River project near Hari Hari where the rating district had declined to fund capital work following consultation in the long-term plan.
- Potential emergency works on the south side of the Waiho River not included in stage one.
- Potential emergency works at Mohikinui in northern Buller.
- Scour repair at Organs Island and near O'Conor Home in Westport.
- Stage one and two of the Westport flood protection scheme.
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