General Purposes Committee Meeting Minutes - October 16, 2000

Date:

Monday, October 16^th, 2000

Place:

W.H. Anderson Room
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 4:03 p.m.

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on Monday, October 2^nd, 2000, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

INTERIM REPORT ON TASK FORCE ON DRUGS AND CRIME
(Report: Sept. 22/00, File No.: 0100-20-DCRI1) (REDMS No. 193263, 160710, 185683)

Mayor Halsey-Brandt reviewed his report with the Committee, during which he spoke about and elaborated on the strategies proposed for Richmond.

Discussion then ensued among Committee members on issues relating to the report, including such matters as:

the lack of School Board representation on the Task Force

the lack of treatment facilities and mental health services for youth and women in Richmond

whether a zero tolerance policy for marijuana grow operations was the correct way to proceed

whether any consideration had been given to forming a resource group comprised of parents of youth involved with drugs and crime, to provide information on the problems which they had encountered.

The Mayor was reminded during the discussion that the Casino Funding Task Force would be soon be reviewing applications and making recommendations on suitable projects, and the suggestion was made that the Task Force should provide an estimate to the Casino Task Force on the monies which might be required to fund possible projects.

Reference was made to a project in Holland to reduce the problems related to the use of marijuana, and information was provided on that project.

Discussion also ensued on (i) the use of heroin and the drug Ecstasy at Rave parties; (ii) the number of people involved in traffic accidents who were impaired because of having drugs in their systems, and (iii) the number of burglaries which occurred because addicts needed money to purchase drugs.

It was moved and seconded

That the interim report (dated September 22^nd, 2000, from Mayor Halsey-Brandt) regarding the status and progress of the Crime and Drugs Task Force, be received for information.

CARRIED

EXEMPT STAFF SALARY INCREASE
(Report: October 12/00, File No.: 1800-03) (REDMS No. 198891)

Chief Administrative Officer George Duncan reviewed his report with the Committee, and responded to questions on the proposed recommendation; the impact which the salary increase would have on the Exempt Staff Salary Bands; and the upcoming market survey on exempt staff salaries.

It was moved and seconded

That the Exempt Staff Salaries be adjusted as follows:

a 2% increase retroactive to January 1, 2000;

a 2% increase effective January 1, 2001; and

a 2% increase effective January 1, 2002.

The question on the motion was not called, as the following amendment was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That part (c) be deleted, and the following substituted, "a 3% increase effective April 1, 2002."

The question on the amendment was not called, as concern was expressed that the salary increases for exempt staff were being associated with the salary increase negotiated for the City's union employees.

The question on the amendment was then called, and it was CARRIED.

OPPOSED: Cllr. Steves

The question on the main motion, as amended, was then called, and it was CARRIED.

It was moved and seconded

That the Exempt Staff Salary Band Schedule be adjusted to accommodate the increase to exempt staff salaries.

CARRIED

PROGRAMMING OPTIONS FOR THE NEW CITY HALL
(Report: Sept. 25/00, File No.: 2050-00) (REDMS No. 180821, 197527, 179777,184538, 197525)

The Manager, Policy & Research, Lauren Melville, accompanied by Richard Toda, reviewed the proposed options, and responded to questions from Committee members on the following:

security of City Hall and the tower in particular in the event that meeting rooms in the tower or on the 8^th floor, were made available for public use

the ability of the City's food service provider to provide food and beverages if required, at meetings

the use of food preparation equipment in the event that an outside caterer was used for a particular function

the types of displays which might be permitted and whether food or beverages would be allowed

the need for a definition of Corporate Special Event

the amount of time which would be required to handle the administrative duties connected to the booking of facilities at City Hall and whether a person would have to be hired to undertake these duties

the proposal to allow groups to meet in City Hall 6 times before they were charged for use of the facilities

whether an appeal process was required

the proposed damage deposit structure and whether the amounts proposed were sufficient.

It was moved and seconded

That the Policy (attached to the report dated September 25^th, 2000, from the Chief Administrative Officer), regarding programming for City Hall, be adopted.

That staff proceed with Phase 1 of the City Hall Programming Implementation Strategy and report with the results to the General Purposes Committee in 3 months.

CARRIED

CONSOLIDATION OF BUSINESS REGULATION BYLAW
(Report: Oct. 6/00, File No.: 8060-20-7148/7178) (REDMS No. 196334, 161809, 195587)

It was moved and seconded

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

Business Regulation Bylaw No. 7148; and

Municipal Ticket Information Authorization Bylaw No. 7139, Amendment Bylaw No. 7178.

CARRIED

BLOCK WATCH PROGRAM REVIEW
(Report: Oct. 6/00, File No.: 5355-01 ) (REDMS No. 192573, 152938, 144931, 112312)

The General Manager, Urban Development, David McLellan, briefly reviewed the report with the Committee.

Discussion then took place among Committee members and staff, during which the following comments were made:

the volunteer booth was intended to be a display which would provide information on any organization seeking volunteers; the suggestion was made that Richmond Connections, located in Richmond Centre Mall, provided such a service and it might be more appropriate to have the volunteer information displayed at that booth

the position should not be called Blockwatch Assistant Coordinator" because the person in this position was responsible for the operation of the Blockwatch program

the RCMP were very supportive of, and committed to, the Blockwatch program

it was important to encourage new residents to participate in the Blockwatch program, and brochures should be prepared which explained this program.

It was moved and seconded

That the Block Watch Program be enhanced by:

Reallocating funds and staff position to work on the program;

Having Council host an annual recognition reception to honour the support volunteers who participate in the program.

Charging the Citizens Advisory Committee on Policing with the responsibility of developing a 5 year program for the program.

CARRIED

TRANSLINK STRATEGIC TRANSPORTATION PLAN - REVENUE OPTIONS AND RELATED COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
(Report: Sept. 7/00, File No.: 6480-01) (REDMS No. 174795)

The Manager, Transportation, Gordon Chan briefly reviewed the staff recommendations with the Committee. He advised that he had compared these recommendations to those being recommended for adoption by the TransLink Board of Directors, and found them to be consistent for the most part with those being proposed by City staff, which was to approach the Federal Government to lobby for a return of a portion of the fuel tax revenues.

Mr. Chan noted however that the vehicle levy proposed by TransLink did not reflect transportation demand management objectives such as encouraging transit use and reducing vehicular trip making. He also advised that the current GVTA Act did not allow the TransLink Board to impose a gasoline tax.

Considerable discussion ensued on this matter, during which the following comments and suggestions were made:

with regard to Part 4(a) of the staff recommendation, the issue of whether the vehicle was used for pleasure or business should be part of the question of whether the transportation improvement fee should be obtained through a vehicle weight or a combination of vehicle weight and insurance options

the proposed tax levy based on the weight of the vehicle had no relevance to the amount of pollution put into the air by vehicles

the tax should be a fuel tax coming from the fuel tax already being paid based on actual fuel pipe emissions and not the weight of the vehicle, as there were larger sized fuel efficient vehicles now on the road

there was no consideration given to seniors who drove large vehicles only a few days each month

reference was made to Recommendation 2, and the suggestion was made that political parties should be included

the suggestion was made that appropriate authorities should be asked to give the Greater Vancouver Transit Authority the authority to impose a gasoline tax; the suggestion was also made that if the Federal Government did not return a portion of the fuel tax, a flat tax should be imposed for everyone and the additional 2% obtained from the Provincial Government.

Councillor Kumagai, as Councils representative on the Board of Directors for TransLink, voiced his concern about the proposal to charge $190 for commercial vehicles, especially if fuel efficient vehicles were being driven. He suggested that the Committee and Council should reaffirm the position taken at the September 25^th Council Meeting, that the public consultation process should include a referendum on the various funding options.

Councillor Kumagai spoke further on the proposed tax levy, advising that the matter would be addressed at the Council of Councils meeting scheduled for December 4^th, 2000 and he stressed the importance of making the City's views known at that meeting.

As a result of the discussion, the following recommendation was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That the need for reallocation of existing resources or introduction of additional revenue sources to fund new transportation improvements in the Greater Vancouver region be recognized.

That TransLink be requested to initiate a joint effort with other agencies, stakeholders, political parties, and the public to lobby the Federal Government to re-direct a portion of the fuel tax revenues towards improving the Greater Vancouver transportation system.

That TransLink be requested not to consider the concept of imposing a region-wide Transportation Improvement Fee until all efforts related to the federal gasoline tax revenue re-direction option are exhausted and all cost savings achievable through efficiency gains by TransLink have been identified.

That the position of City Council be reaffirmed that the Greater Vancouver Regional District and the Greater Vancouver Transit Authority be advised that City Council requests that the public consultation process being held include a referendum on the various funding options.

That, if the proposed region-wide Transportation Improvement Fee is determined to be the only viable option after all efforts outlined in recommendations 2 and 3 above are exhausted, the following principles be considered by TransLink in determining the means of generating the required revenue for improving the regional transportation system:

Any Transportation Improvement Fee implemented should (i) have a transportation demand management and environmental enhancement relevance (air emissions), (ii) address the question of whether the vehicle was used for pleasure or business; and (iii) include options based on the number of kilometres driven;

The Transportation Improvement Fee should not be tied to any "transit access" formula as one of the options being examined by TransLink;

Any Transportation Improvement Fee implemented should have a positive impact on goods movements in the region considering the reduction of road congestion as a result of enhancements to the Major Road Network.

Property taxation should not be considered as a possible revenue source.

That the above recommendations be conveyed to the TransLink Board of Directors and member municipalities, on the understanding that:

Recommendations 1, 2 and 3 are the first priorities of Richmond City Council; but

if the reallocation of existing resources or a portion of the Federal fuel tax is not possible,

then the TransLink Board of Directors consider Recommendations 4 and 5.

That staff report to Council, through the Public Works & Transportation Committee, on the results of the public consultation process conducted by TransLink to seek input on the various funding options being considered.

CARRIED

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (6:16 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, October 16^th, 2000.

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Mayor Greg Halsey-Brandt
Chair

Fran J. Ashton
Executive Assistant