General Purposes Committee Meeting Minutes - June 5th, 2000

Date:

Monday, June 5^th, 2000

Place:

Council Chambers

Richmond City Hall

Present:

Mayor Greg Halsey-Brandt, Chair

Councillor Linda Barnes

Councillor Malcolm Brodie

Councillor Derek Dang

Councillor Lyn Greenhill

Councillor Kiichi Kumagai

Councillor Ken Johnston

Councillor Bill McNulty

Councillor Harold Steves

Call to Order:

The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on Monday, April 17^th, 2000, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

(Vice President, Contracts & Acquisitions, Sheri Plewes, and the Manager, Implementation Planning Glen Leicester)

The General Manager, Urban Development, David McLellan, introduced the Vice President, Contracts & Acquisitions, Sheri Plewes, and the Manager, Implementation Planning Glen Leicester, of TransLink.

Mr. Leicester, through a PowerPoint presentation, reviewed the proposed transit service to be provided to the City, including background history; the proposed area plan; area plan implementation; market analysis; the results of the consultation process, including the need to improve local and regional transit service; market priorities; September and December 2000 service changes; and performance expectations.

Ms. Plewes then reported on the proposed #98 B-Line and the infrastructure program, during which she provided an update on the project; as well as information on the work which was currently underway and the construction schedule. A copy of the complete presentation is on file in the City Clerks Office.

Discussion then ensued among Committee members and the delegation, on such matters as:

• the proposal to implement a trial run at the Airport Exchange and whether buses would be re-routed to accommodate this new service

• incentives which would be offered to encourage the use of transit by individuals who would normally drive

• whether a direct link would be provided from Steveston to the Riverport area

• the proposed hours of operation, and whether a bus other than an articulated bus would be used to provide transit service during the late evening hours

• the proposed new routes and whether additional east/west routes would be provided

• the proposed completion time of December, 2000 and whether this date could be achieved

• when the implementation of the 490 series of buses, which would give Steveston area transit users a direct route to Vancouver would take place

• the process to be followed to ensure that the public obtained the correct information about the proposed transit changes.

During the discussion concern was voiced about the fact that transit users from Steveston who wished to travel to Vancouver, would have to transfer to a B-line bus in the City Centre. Mr. Leicester responded to the concerns, and discussion ensued between Cllr. Steves and Mr. Leicester on the issue of providing direct service from the Steveston area to downtown Vancouver.

The delegation was thanked for their presentation.

(Report: May 30/00, File No.: 6480-01) (REDMS No. 156118)

It was moved and seconded

That the following proposed initiatives related to the start-up of the new #98 B-Line (as proposed by TransLink and outlined in the report dated May 30^th, 2000, from the Manager of Transportation) be supported:

The concept of introducing new express direct services (#491-No. 1 Road, #492-No. 2 Road, and #496-Railway Avenue) between West Richmond and Vancouver downtown using 16 of the 44 articulated buses originally allocated for the #98 B-Line; and

The initial three-month "trial run" of the #98 B-Line commissioning service between the new airport exchange on Miller Road and Vancouver downtown starting in September, 2000 prior to the official start-up of the service in December, 2000.

That the Chair of TransLink Board of Directors be advised of Councils support of the above initiatives.

That staff continue to work with TransLink and the contractor of the #98 B-Line No. 3 Road construction project to ensure that the proposed Construction Traffic Management Plan is followed to minimize the construction impacts on traffic and adjacent businesses.

CARRIED

(Report: May 29/00, File No.: 0105-01) (REDMS No. 155950)

It was moved and seconded

That the August 14^th Regular Council Meeting be cancelled in accordance with the provisions of the Council Procedure Bylaw.

CARRIED

(Report: May 31/00, File No.: 8060-20-7135/7136) (REDMS No. 152204, 151423, 151916)

City Solicitor Paul Kendrick reviewed the proposed changes with Committee members. In response to questions, he advised that:

• the City had the ability to determine what services were being provided with respect to the provision of body rub parlours

• with respect to second offences, he advised that the City could not set the offence fine higher than $100 as that was determined by the Provincial Government under the Municipal Ticket system; however, the City could charge the offender under the Offence Act which could result in a maximum fine of $2,000.

It was moved and seconded

That the following bylaws each be introduced and given first, second and third readings:

Bylaw No. 7135, which amends Business Regulation Bylaw No. 6902; and

Bylaw No. 7136, which amends Municipal Ticket Information Authorization Bylaw No. 7027.

CARRIED

(Report: May 24/00, File No.: 1085-00) (REDMS No. 154657)

The Manager, Customer Services, Anne Stevens, reviewed the report with Committee members, and responded to questions on how the proposed grants policy would be applied. Reference was made to Recommendation No. 3, and she advised that the Task Force was of the view that any applications for casino funding should be for the establishment of new and not existing programs.

Councillor Brodie, as Chair of the Task Force established in February of this year, elaborated on the proposed recommendations, during which he explained the intent of the Task Force with respect to Recommendation No. 3.

Further advice was given by Ms. Stevens that the two existing Eligible Grant categories would remain, and that Council would determine in which category an applicant would be placed.

Discussion ensued, during which reference was made to the gaming funds received by the City, and the comment was made that the City could not rely on this source of funding being available every year. Councillor McNulty, as a member of the Task Force, also spoke about the intent of the Task Force with respect to the use of gaming funds.

Reference was made to Recommendation No. 6, to approve grants in the amount of $57,500 for a Youth Coordinator and youth program for each of 2000 and 2001, and questions were asked about whether any other grants could be approved. The General Manager, Finance & Corporate Services Jim Bruce advised that the budget had been increased, during its preparation, by the amount of $57,500 in anticipation of changes which could be made to the allocation of grants. He indicated that subsequent to that, the Task Force made the decision to allocate $57,500 to the two programs identified in the recommendation. Mr. Bruce stated that now that the budget had been approved, funds could not be taken from other accounts to fund additional grants.

Mr. Vince Miele, Chair, Richmond Committee on Disability (RCD), accompanied by Mr. James Sullivan, a Director of the Resource Centre, referred to a referral from the Community Services Committee in March of this year, regarding the possible allocation of space for the Resource Centre in the former City Hall. He stated that advice had now been received that space within this facility would not be available for use by the RCD, and that as a result, another location had been found which would be suitable for the Centre, once certain renovations had been completed. Mr. Miele asked that Council show its support by approving a grant for the centre.

Mr. Sullivan spoke about the proposed criteria and expressed concern that the RCD would be unable to apply for funding for the Resource Centre, based on these criteria.

In response to questions about the proposed grant criteria, Mr. Sullivan advised that:

• the RCD had specific guidelines set down by the CAILC which had to be met in order to establish an independent living centre in the City

• the $25,000 represents rent costs for which the RCD would have applied for funding if the proposed criteria had permitted the RCD to do so.

During the discussion, Mr. McLellan reported further on the possibility that the centre could be located within a future City Centre development. He stated that because of the current state of the economy, a new location would not be forthcoming within the short term.

Frances Clark, of 8160 Railway Avenue, Chair of the Therapeutic Equestrian Society, and a member of the Richmond Community on Disability, referred to the proposed criteria for gaming funds. She stated that the Society could not apply for these funds because the Society was not seeking funding for a new program, but for an on-going program which it operated. Ms. Clark expressed concern that people with disabilities and senior citizens had not benefited from the grant review process, and she spoke about the need for the proposed RCD Independent Living Centre to serve a population which she felt was under-funded and under-served.

Discussion then ensued among Committee members and the delegation on the concerns expressed by Ms. Clark, and whether the Therapeutic Equestrian Society could qualify for additional funding.

It was moved and seconded

That the current City Grants Program Policy # 3013, be rescinded.

That the proposed City Grants Policy (Appendix A to the report dated May 24, 2000 from the Manager of Customer Service), be adopted.

That no additional funds from the Casino Funding (Appendix B to the report dated May 24, 2000 from the Manager of Customer Service), be provided to the 2000 Grants Program as adopted.

That the Guidelines for Casino Funding be accepted with the focus areas being:

Youth;

Seniors;

Policing in the community;

Childcare reserve fund;

Preventative, alternative and/or educational programs relating to addictive behaviour which could include:

Drug abuse

Alcoholism

Gambling

Smoking

That the following specific Council referrals for grant applications be approved in the following amounts:

Drug Task Force for $ 25,000; and

Youth Co-ordinator and youth program for $57,500 for each of 2000 and 2001; and

That staff develop procedures and funding considerations for casino funding prior to any further allocations, except as Council directs.

CARRIED

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:54 p.m.).

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Monday, June 5^th, 2000.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Mayor Greg Halsey-Brandt

Chair

Fran J. Ashton

Executive Assistant