The review, assembled by consultant Bruce Robertson, is to be presented at an extraordinary meeting of the Queenstown Lakes District Council this morning, with the recommendation to stick with the status quo.
Despite supporting the current governance structure, Mr Robertson’s review recommended a heightened level of transparency in decision-making be introduced via quarterly reports, which include schedules of decisions made under delegation and possible upcoming decisions, to the council’s finance, audit, and risk committee.
It also recommended half-yearly meetings between the council’s elected members and the developer to ensure both partners "understand each other’s perspective".
The Lakeview-Taumata project is being developed by Melbourne-based Ninety Four Feet, alongside property company Century Capital and Britomart Hospitality Group.
It is expected to take over a decade to transform 3.3ha of the 10ha former Queenstown Lakeview Holiday Park site, which sits near the Skyline Gondola at the base of Bobs Peak, into more than 500 residential apartments, three hotels and a retail and hospitality space.
In March, councillors agreed to a notice of motion brought by Cr Niki Gladding to review the governance structure of the project, particularly the delegated authority granted in 2017 to chief executive Mike Theelan to make some decisions with development partners on behalf of the council.
Cr Gladding’s motion outlined a review was needed given the delegation was made early in the project before both the scope of decisions it enabled were fully understood, and a development agreement was signed.
Speaking to her motion at a full council meeting on March 17, Cr Gladding said now that a development partner had been established and the frequency, scope and nature of decisions made under the Lakeview development agreement (LDA) were apparent, it was important to ensure those decisions were made at the "appropriate level" of the organisation.
While governance of the project is undertaken by a project control group comprised of council staff and Ninety Four Feet, Cr Gladding expressed concern there was currently no formal process in place to ensure oversight of the control group by senior management or the council.
The motion, which was carried 6-5, directed a review into the scope of the decisions made under the LDA, as well as the division of decision-making powers between Mr Theelan and the full council, and asked for options to strengthen the internal governance of the project.
Mr Robertson’s overall recommendation to stick with the status quo, rather than increase the involvement of elected members in the project, which is "beyond their current workload and arguably their role", will be put to council today at 11am.
