Closed doors for council meetings

Tony Lepper
Tony Lepper
Central Otago District Council committee meetings and part of the full council meeting next Wednesday will be held in private.

The public, including media, will be excluded.

During the waste and property infrastructure committee meeting, members will consider a review of recycling services, and the roading committee will consider a pedestrian and cycle underpass at Clyde.

The underpass at Clyde, with proposed construction options beneath State Highway 8, has been a high-profile issue in the community for several years and has recently gathered momentum.

A submission to the annual plan regarding the underpass earlier this year had 723 supporting signatures.

Recently, the council asked for feedback on options as to where an underpass should be constructed.

Central Otago Mayor Tony Lepper said although he had not seen the report for the underpass, the meeting would probably be held in private, as the council had sought extra funding for its construction and the source of money could be confidential.

He said he was ''pretty sure'' the waste and property committee would discuss a report on Central Otago WasteBusters.

A review of the non-profit group was ordered after it was bailed out by the council in September to keep it solvent.

That review discussion would be held in committee because the outcome would affect jobs.

''I'm pretty sure whatever the report says it affects people's lives and we have to manage that very carefully.''

An agenda for the waste and property infrastructure committee cited the reason for a closed session as ''to enable the committee to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities (the premature disclosure of the financial information would detrimentally affect the council's position in the negotiation)''.

A closed session of the full council meeting will consider an Audit New Zealand management report.

Mr Lepper said he had not seen the report yet, and discussing it in committee would allow staff to ''digest'' it before discussing it in public.

The meetings will be held next Wednesday, November 12, at the council chambers in Alexandra.

leith.huffadine@odt.co.nz

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