Councillor denied vote on Timaru’s Aorangi Stadium project after investigation over ‘benign’ coffee with friend

Thursday, 21 November 2024

A vote on one of Timaru council’s most significant capital projects of the year was held in a manner some councillors feel was rushed, with two not voting and the project going ahead due to the mayor using his casting vote.

It has since been revealed that one of the councillors who did not vote at the extraordinary Timaru District Council meeting on the Aorangi Stadium project, on Friday, was told she was not allowed to - following an inquiry launched after she was spotted having coffee with an unrelated engineering firm’s boss.

Councillors voted, behind closed doors, to build a new eight-court indoor sports stadium at Aorangi Park, while retaining and earthquake strengthening the existing Aorangi Stadium.

Mayor Nigel Bowen used his casting vote to move the project to the next stage, with the motion to accept the tender tied four all.

Councillors also awarded the task of designing and building the stadium to South Canterbury company Thompson Construction and Engineering.

Following the meeting, the council issued a press release stating that councillor Stacey Scott had attended but did not vote.

It gave no explanation as to why.

When asked, Scott told The Timaru Herald she had been advised by the council she was not allowed to vote following a two-month investigation, launched after she was spotted having coffee with the chief executive of an engineering and professional services company in the region.

Scott said that person was a friend and did not tender for the Aorangi Stadium project.

She had felt overwhelmed by the investigation, and said it came as a “huge surprise’’ given they had not tendered for the project.

“It was a genuine coffee with a friend who happens to be a general manager of an engineering firm.

“At what point, as a councillor … can you not have a coffee with a friend and it turn into an investigation?’’

She said she was hugely passionate about the Aorangi Stadium project and not being able to vote was “under duress’’.

“It wasn’t by choice [not voting at the meeting on Friday],’’ she said.

“I had to step aside, I had to negotiate with the council to be in the conversation.’’

While the experience had been upsetting, she said she was not deterred and said there were highs and lows as a councillor.

Had she been allowed to vote, Scott said she would have voted against the motion.

“I felt that the council needed to go away and do some more work, which would have extended it [a decision] by two to three weeks.

“We were all unprepared.’’

Council group manager corporate and communications Stephen Doran said an independent investigation was launched in August “after matters arose suggesting Scott may have breached the code of conduct in interactions with a potential submitter to the Aorangi Stadium tender’’.

“Whilst the investigator reported that he was satisfied that the discussion did not go beyond publicly available information, and that he did not doubt that Clr Scott and the potential submitter believed their conversation was benign, he found that there had been a breach of the code of conduct,’’ Doran said.

“This finding was that in engaging in an informal discussion about the tender could give rise to an appearance of partiality that could jeopardise public confidence in council’s procurement processes.’’

He said it was agreed that while Scott was free to take part in the discussions and debate at the meeting “to manage the risk of a perceived non-pecuniary interest, she was not able to vote on final acceptance of any of the tenders’’.

The meeting was originally scheduled to take place on November 26, but was brought forward.

Mayor Bowen, along with deputy mayor Scott Shannon and councillors Peter Burt and Owen Jackson, voted for the project. Councillors Allan Booth, Gavin Oliver, Stu Piddington and Michelle Pye voted against.

Councillor Sally Parker also did not vote. When asked why, she said she had a pre-existing commitment so attended the meeting online until noon, leaving before the vote.

Parker was one of five councillors to dial in to the meeting online along with Booth, Pye, Oliver and Scott.

The council’s chief executive Nigel Trainor was also absent.

Asked why that was brought forward when several councillors could not be there in person, Doran said: “Under standing orders the chair has the ability to call extraordinary meetings.”

Mayor Bowen chaired the committee.

“On this occasion it was to enable the project to progress in a timely manner and to meet the timelines outlined in the tender process,’’ Doran said.

He said standing orders allowed members to attend meetings via an online link and vote.

“However, they are not counted in quorum.

“There were enough people physically present in the meeting to meet quorum requirements and so the meeting was able to progress.’’

Speaking after the meeting, councillor Piddington said while everyone around the council table was keen to see more indoor courts, “the disagreement was about the process’’.

“I believe, along with four of my colleagues, there was not enough information provided to make a robust decision on the existing stadium,’’ he said.

“We just wanted three weeks to better understand the costs of earthquake strengthening and delayed maintenance, so we don’t have to potentially slice and dice the proposed new stadium to fit the budget.’’

His fear was the project could “turn into a debacle similar to the Theatre Royal, once the true costs are known’’.

He said he found the fact Scott had been unable to vote, allowing the mayor to use his casting vote, was “bizarre’’.

Piddington also questioned the timing of it during the meeting, saying “I haven’t had a reasonable explanation why we’ve rushed this’’.

When asked if Scott would be excluded from voting on any other capital projects, Bowen said the recommendation from the investigator was she should not vote on the stadium project while the project was out for tender.

“These processes are operational as per our standing orders and code of conduct and independent from governance,’’ he said.

“I would stress this was very minor and I have every confidence in Clr Scott.’’