North West District Business Association Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the North West District Business Association held at the Waimauku RSA, 891 State Highway 16, Waimauku on Thursday 05 th June 2014 commencing at 6.13pm. PRESENT Chairperson Vice-Chairperson Treasurer Secretary Committee Members Invited guests Bruce Cowan Phelan Pirrie Marilyn Dwyer Mark Storey Danielle Hancock Geraldine Bayly Peter Brennan Mark Dennis Robynne Pringle (NWDBA BID Campaign Manager) Claire Siddens (Auckland Council BID Partnership Advisor) Brenda Steele (Rodney Local Board Chairperson) 1 Welcome The Chairperson opened the meeting & welcomed all those in attendance. Introduced himself to the gathering & also welcomed all the new members to the Association. 2 Apologies / Absent Marie Narbey (The Healing Heart of Helensville), Anna Gray (Anna s Hair Studio, Kaukapakapa), Dr Krishen Viranna (Huapai Dental Care), Grev Walker (Professionals Helensville), Tony Soljan (Soljans Estate Winery, Kumeu), Willy Yin (Kaukapakapa Store), Simon Hassan (Hassan & Associates, Huapai) / Graham McIntyre 3 Confirmation of Minutes Moved by Phelan Pirrie, seconded by Mark Dennis. That the minutes of the previous AGM held 30 th July 2013 be confirmed as a true & correct record. 4 The Financial Reports, Marilyn Dwyer briefly described the annual financial statements for the NWDBA & the Helensville Information Centre (HIC) which had been issued to all members 1
within the AGM information pack prior to the meeting. Copies were also available at the meeting. Holly Ryan questioned the $7267.75 listed against the annual Helensville Christmas Parade. She wanted an explanation & a breakdown of all the expenses. Phelan replied that the costs for the Christmas banners had also been rolled up together with the parade expenditure. ACTION: Marilyn Dwyer, to provide a full financial breakdown of the 2013 Helensville Christmas Parade to Holly Ryan & Michael O Neill. There was a question from the floor, Is it the BID intention to run the info centres at Helensville & Kumeu & also the Helensville Christmas Parade? The response given was that the Lions Club of Helensville has agreed to take over the Helensville Christmas Parade. Peter Brennan spoke about a recent meeting he had with the HIC volunteers, Jo Ogilvey (The Book Shop) & Phil Exeter (The Artstop Cafe) concerning the future of HIC. There has been issues regarding monies from HIC sales going into the cafe s register & also some missing stock. Jo & Phil have offered to take on the running of the HIC. This issue to go on the agenda for the next NWDBA Executive Board meeting. Moved by Marilyn Dwyer, seconded by Mark Dennis. That the financial reports of the NWDBA & HIC be confirmed as a true & correct record. 5 The Chairperson s Report Bruce Cowan went through the key points within his report which also had been issued to all members within the AGM information pack prior to the meeting. With regard to the issue of Campaignz Ltd being taken on to provide Transitional Consultancy Services for 90 days. Mike O Neill asked when is it likely for the 90 day contract to commence? Bruce replied that the details are still currently being negotiated with Gary Holmes & hopefully will be agreed to & commence in the very near future, maybe even sometime next week. To sum up, Bruce indicated to all present that he was very happy that our BID Ballot did pass as we would have definitely languished behind the Warkworth area had we been unsuccessful. 2
Moved by Danielle Hancock, seconded by Phelan Pirrie. That the tabled Chairpersons Report be accepted & be put on record. 6 NWDBA BID Campaign Manager Robynne Pringle introduced herself & briefly outlined the BID campaign from the start. The campaign started last year in June 2013 & ended at the end of March this year with a successful ballot. The BID for our region was seen as the best way to address the three main issues that arose from the survey conducted by Ben Parsons of businesses within our region. The three main issues were: 1. Effectively market the area here & overseas, 2. To improve the look & feel of our townships, & 3. To lobby for better infrastructure & transport. The strategic plan was formulated directly from the survey which came directly from the business owners. The naming logo originated from the SH16 emblem & then was modified to incorporate seven colors representing the seven townships. Two major meetings & three drop-in information sessions were held throughout the region to help spread the word & answer business owners questions. Feedback was wide ranging from the business owners & then feed back to the committee. Summing up Robynne reminded us all that we live & work in a very diversified region but that it stands apart with what we have to offer. There are many opportunities to showcase the area. The original date set down for the ballot was November 2013 but more time was needed for the campaign. So the ballot was put back to March this year. 7 Special Resolution 1: That the North West District Business Association adopts the North West District BID strategic plan and 2014/2015 budget as presented in the BID ballot pack to all BID eligible voters. Reason: Auckland Region BID Policy 2011 requires all business association operating a BID programme to have a strategic plan and budget presented to the membership for ratification. Copies of the NWD BID strategic plan and 2014/2015 budget can be viewed at www.northwestbusiness.co.nz Moved by Danielle Hancock, seconded by Marilyn Dywer. 3
Before Special Resolution 1 could be voted on Peter Sinton & Colin Calder wanted to record their protest regarding the actual BID Ballot. They objected to the ballot saying it was undemocratic by not giving an owner of multiple commercial properties a vote per property. Bruce replied that all the rules set by the Auckland Council to conduct the BID Ballot were followed. Claire also commented by saying that the rules & procedures for the entire ballot process are governed in total by the Auckland Council & that the BID policy clearly sets out how all the voters were identified. The accepted policy decrees that 1 person = 1 vote regardless of the number of commercial properties owned by that person. Colin indicated the potential for the BID process to be formally challenged in court. Peter requested his protest against the BID Ballot to be put officially on record. After the meeting was called back to order the vote went ahead. 8 Special Resolution 2: That the North West District Business Association adopts and signs the Auckland Region Business Improvement District (BID) Policy (2011) Partnering Agreement. Reason: Auckland Council operates the BID Partnership Programme under the Auckland Region BID Policy 2011. The Auckland Region Business Improvement District (BID) Partnering Agreement defines the relationship between Auckland Council and the Business Association operating the BID programme. The Auckland Region Business Improvement District (BID) Partnering Agreement ensures both parties are operating according to Auckland Region BID Policy 2011. A copy of the Auckland Region Business Improvement District (BID) Partnering Agreement between Auckland Council and the North West District Business Association can be viewed at www.northwestbusiness.co.nz Moved by Phelan Pirre, seconded by Mark Dennis. 9 NWDBA Executive Board The Governance Structure of the NWDBA Executive Board is made up of 10 positions to offer the most reasonable representation of all the 7 townships. These being 1 representative each for the townships of Riverhead, Waimauku, Parakai & Kaukapakapa. 3 representatives for the township of Helensville & finally 3 representatives for the combined townships of Kumeu & Huapai. 4
The Chairperson would be independent from any individual township & also make for an odd number executive. There was only the single nomination for the Chairperson s role, being Bruce Cowan so as per clause 15.5 of the NWDBA Constitution the person nominated shall be deemed to be elected. Four 4 nominations were received wishing to represent the combined townships of Kumeu & Huapai. They were Phelan Pirrie, Chris Carrad, Tony Soljan & Alistair Munro. A written poll was conducted to find the three representatives with a poll voting sheet being issued to each business operator & commercial property owner form within the defined BID areas. These voting sheets were collected by Brenda Steele & together with Claire Siddens counted the tally. The result was that Phelan Pirrie, Chris Carrad & Alistair Munro were elected onto the board to represent Kumeu / Huapai. Three nominations were received to represent the township of Helensville from Gary Morrison, Glendith Sampson and Mark Biggelaar. With the number of nominations equal to the number of vacancies, Gary, Glendith and Mark were declared elected. The nomination received to represent the township of Waimauku was from Danielle Hancock. Being the only nominee, Danielle was declared elected. The nomination received to represent the township of Kaukapakapa was from Geraldine Bayley. Being the only nominee, Geraldine was declared elected. The nomination received to represent the township of Riverhead was from Paula Pepperell. Being the only nominee, Paula was declared elected. The nomination received to represent the township of Parakai was from Peter Brennan. Being the only nominee, Peter was declared elected. 9 General Business Bruce reported that both he & Geraldine attended the Local Board meeting on Monday 5 th May 2014to make a presentation requesting additional bridging funds for on-going expenses prior to the first rates payment is received after the 1 st July 2014 8 Meeting Closed The Chairperson thanked members for their attendance & attention to business & declared the meeting closed at 7.00pm 5