Tauranga City Council has released the in-committee resolutions adopted on 17 December last year, which confirmed renewed funding support for a grade-separated pedestrian and cycle crossing at SH2, as part of the Baylink project.
Council General Manager: Strategy and Growth, Christine Jones, said the Council had agreed to contribute $990,000 to the construction of an underpass, if Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) made a decision to proceed with the project. The council contribution would likely attract NZTA subsidy funding, which could provide a further $510,000 to $1,020,000. She noted that the council funding commitment was contingent on reaching agreement with the NZTA to retain an underpass facility, or another suitable grade-separated crossing solution at Bayfair.
The Council contribution will be debt-funded operational expenditure and will be included in the 2020/21 Annual Plan.
Resolution CO6/19/11
Moved: Cr Heidi Hughes
Seconded: Cr John Robson
That the Council:
(a) Receives this report;
(b) Delegates authority to the Chief Executive to enter into an agreement with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to contribute up to total of $2,000,000, of which $990,000 would be OPEX, towards a grade
separated pedestrian / cycle facility at State Highway 2 as part of the BayLink project. Council notes that this does not preclude the possibility of a future overbridge in the vicinity of Concord Avenue;
(c) Allocates up to $2,000,000 (together with NZTA subsidy revenue of $510,000) of operational expenditure in the 2020/21 Annual Plan to contribute to an agreed solution;
(d) Approves the $990,000 operational expenditure to be debt funded and include a debt retirement charge of 4% per annum to finance repayment of this loan;
(e) Moves the report and resolutions into open public when discussions with NZTA are complete and NZTA has publicly announced the post-review decision on the underpass.
CARRIED
This information clarifies an earlier media release which indicated that the funding would go towards underpass investigations, and provides further details about the structure of the investment of up to $2 million.