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27. 8. 97
REPORT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE
PARKS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE
| 19. | THE GROYNES - PROPOSED REGISTRATIONS OF INTEREST FOR SHOP/RECREATIONAL CONCESSIONS | RR 5933 |
The purpose of this report is to recommend a process for inviting registrations of interest for the shop/recreation concessions at the Groynes. The report was presented to a meeting of the Groynes Sub-Committee held on 18 August 1997.
As Councillors will recall early this year the Council adopted the Sub-committee's recommendations to purchase the buildings and improvements of the former lessee in order to invite registrations of interest for appropriate concessions at the Groynes. The improvements purchased by the Council included the shop building, caravan, boatshed and associated jetty. As a consequence the way is now clear to invite registration of interest from parties wishing to establish appropriate businesses or to operate concessions within the Groynes area.
LEGAL STATUS
Given that the Groynes recreational area is sub-leased from the Canterbury Regional Council it was necessary to determine the legal status upon which the Council could let the respective facilities and to determine any restrictions that may apply to the facilities when offered by the Council. An opinion has been obtained from Buddle Findlay concerning this issue. The legal advice confirms that the Council can:
It is important to note that while a lease may be granted over the shop and boatsheds site, only licences to operate over the water area and to operate a food stall can be issued. The reason for this is to ensure that exclusive use rights of the areas are not granted to a successful applicant to the extent that it would prohibit the use of the licensed areas by the general public or by the Council in operating other concessions over the sites subject, of course, to those operations not being in conflict with the concessions granted. The City Solicitor has emphasised that the Council should not grant concessions which in anyway necessarily restrict the public in the use and enjoyment of the Groynes area and should not allow licensees to construct any buildings without the consent of the Canterbury Regional Council in terms of the Council's obligations to the Regional Council under its lease. While the consent of the Regional Council is not required to the proposed lease or licences of the facilities it would be politic to at least seek their agreement.
It is clear therefore that the Council has the authority under Section 601 of the Local Government Act 1974 to grant leases and licences on such terms as it thinks fit.
PROPOSED REGISTRATIONS OF INTEREST PROCESS
In inviting registrations of interest, it is clear there are two principal objectives and these are:
In inviting registrations of interest it will be necessary to determine the Council's minimum requirements of the level of service to be provided and at the same time to establish guidelines as to the types of activities seen as desirable within the Groynes environment. As a consequence it is proposed to deal with the respective concessions separately as follows:
1. Shop Concession
It must be recognised that the operation of the shop facility and/or mobile food stall is both a seasonal and in the main a weekend activity. Clearly it is not a full time operation given that 80% of the 400,000 visits annually occur in the period September to May with by far the greatest majority of visitors attending at the weekends. Furthermore as with all outside activities the weather is by far the biggest governing factor influencing visitor numbers. In accepting the above the following are seen to be the minimum acceptable periods of operation for the shop and mobile food stall.
(i) Shop/Mobile Food Stall Concession
| Minimum Period: | 1 September to 30 April (8 months) |
| Essential Service: | School holidays, weekends, public holidays |
| Suggested Hours of Operation: | Minimum 11.00 am to 4.00 pm. Maximum 11.00 am to gate closure |
(ii) Produce Range
It is believed the shop concession should provide for both hot and cold supplies including tea, coffee, pies, hot dogs, chips, ice creams, cold drinks etc. It is important however not to limit applicants in the range of food and beverages to be supplied but rather ensure that the minimum requirements are met.
Given the expansive area of the Groynes and the travel distances to and from the existing shop it is seen that a mobile operation should be incorporated within the shop concession to provide a regular service to all of the picnic areas and intending applicants should indicate how they will provide this service.
2. Recreational Concessions
Surveys over the past five years have revealed that the majority of people visiting the Groynes come to enjoy the passiveness, peace and serenity, birdlife, safety of the reserve, the inexpensiveness and the tranquillity of the water. It is important therefore in attracting concessions that these attributes be preserved and it will be necessary to ensure that any recreational activities complement the Groynes and the environment. It is important to ensure that the area does not develop into a fun park and as such it is seen as important to preclude any motorised activities. While there are obvious recreational opportunities for the development of aquatic type activities including canoes, Canadian canoes, aquatic peddle bikes and peddle boats, rafts etc it is seen as important not to restrict or limit the opportunities available to other family orientated type activities which could include organisations specialising in personal development, self confidence and team building etc. It is understood several private operators are currently using the Groynes areas for these purposes.
Unlike the shop concession recreational opportunities are not necessarily governed by the seasons although obviously weather does play a large part in the patronage. Obviously the summer season between 1 September to 30 April would attract the majority of visitors but that should not necessarily preclude the operation being run over holiday periods and weekends during the remainder of the year. As a minimum therefore it is believed the concession should operate for the same period as the shop ie 1 September to 30 April but that an essential service should be provided during the school holidays, weekends and public holidays with the minimum hours being 11.00 am to 4.00 pm.
3. Lease/Licence Detail
It is essential that any proposed lease or licence be of sufficient term to afford any operator the confidence and security in which to establish their businesses and to give them the opportunity to recover any capital outlay. It is also important to ensure that all concessions run for the same term with the same rent review date to enable the Council to review the operations of all facilities at the same time. In the circumstances it is suggested that the lease or licences offered to be of a term of three years with one right of renewal for a further term of two years and with a performance review after the first 12 months. On expiry of the lease the facilities fresh registrations of interest will be called for the concessions. The rental will be determined by the registration of interest process.
A ratchet clause would be built into the lease to provide that on review the rent could not fall below the rent received in the previous year. The lease document would of course include appropriate provision regarding the maintenance of the buildings and requiring the operator to maintain appropriate standards to the Council's satisfaction.
In terms of the day to day management of the area the documents would ensure that the operators would be directly responsible to the Head Ranger with any matters relating to the lease provisions being the responsibility of the Property Manager. It is important that in letting any operations for the site, the lease is signed prior to the opening of the facilities for business. It is envisaged therefore that the documents will include a draft lease which would have to negotiated following the letting of concessions but before the operation of the facility. Other matters to be included in the document would cover the insurance of the facilities, public liability insurance, the provision of appropriate Health and Safety Plans etc.
4. Proposed Concession
It is believed that the evaluation of the registrations of interest should be undertaken under a weighted attribute system whereby appropriate factors other than the price would be considered before letting a lease or licence. Applications could therefore be evaluated on the basis of the following information which would be required to be submitted:
It is envisaged that intending operators would have the opportunity to present their submissions to the Groynes Sub-Committee for consideration prior to allocations being made. In doing so this would allow the Sub-committee the opportunity to vet and discuss in detail any proposals submitted to ensure that it complied with an met the Council's requirements. While the price is of importance the pre-requisite should be to obtain good operators who are going to enhance the facility and who are going to provide appropriate recreational opportunities for the area which will not only create interest and enjoyment for the general public but prove a continued attraction to the area.
Once selected the successful applicant would be required to enter into a lease/licence agreement with the Council which would require the applicant to provide a high quality service as well as:
It is believed that through the implementation of the above system and a evaluation selection process a high standard of operation will be maintained and that solvent, well managed businesses will be provided for the area.
| Recommendation: |
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CONSIDERED THIS 27TH DAY OF AUGUST 1997
MAYOR