MINUTES

1.

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on Tuesday, May 21^st, 2002, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

FINANCE & CORPORATE SERVICES DIVISION

2.

APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF ELECTION OFFICER NOVEMBER 16^TH, 2002 CIVIC ELECTION
(Report:  May 6/02, File No.:  8060-20-7368) (REDMS No. 705059, 707615)

It was moved and seconded

(1 )

That Mr. J. Richard McKenna be appointed as Chief Election Officer, and that Mr. David Weber be appointed Deputy Chief Election Officer, for the 2002 General Local and School Election.

(2 )

That Civic Election Administration and Procedure Bylaw No. 7244, Amendment Bylaw No. 7368 be introduced and given first second and third readings.

CARRIED

3.

2002 CAPITAL WORKS PROGRAM CAPITAL RESERVE EXPENDITURE BYLAWS
(Report:  May 24/02, File No.:  8060-20-7376/7377/7378/7379) (REDMS No. 724486, 720874, 720870, 720872, 721816)

It was moved and seconded

That the following Statutory Reserve Expenditure Bylaws, which fund the 2002 Capital Works Program be introduced and given first, second and third readings:

(1 )

Reserve Fund Expenditure Bylaw No. 7376;

(2 )

Development Cost Charges Reserve Fund Expenditure Bylaw No. 7377;

(3 )

Reserve Fund Expenditure (Sanitary Sewer and Watermain Replacement) Bylaw No. 7378; and

(4 )

Local Improvement Reserve Expenditure Bylaw No. 7379.

CARRIED

4.

Monthly Business Licence Renewals
(Report:  May 28/02, File No.:  4150-01) (REDMS No. 725541, 694933)

It was moved and seconded

That Business Licence Bylaw No. 7360, which repeals and replaces Business Licence Bylaw No. 6901, be given first, second and third reading.

Prior to the question on the motion being called, staff were commended for proposing such a proactive recommendation.  In response to questions, advice was given by the General Manager, Finance & Corporate Services, Jim Bruce, that any new business licence applicants would be issued licences in accordance with the new procedure, and that the licences for existing businesses would be incorporated into the new system over the next three years.

Further information was provided that the cost of implementing the program changes had been included within the Information Technology Departments Software Upgrades.  As well, advice was given that the overtime required at the end of each year to process licence renewal applications would be significantly reduced and customer service would improve as the result of a faster turn-around time.

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

5.

Updated Municipal Ticket Information Authorization Bylaw No. 7321
(Report:  May 10/02, File No.:  8060-20-7321) (REDMS No. 713554, 589570)

It was moved and seconded

That Municipal Ticket Information Authorization Bylaw No. 7321 be introduced and given first, second and third readings.

Prior to the question on the motion being called, City Clerk Richard McKenna responded to questions relating to the ticketing of offences.  During the brief discussion which took place, concern was expressed about the amount of the fines for tickets issued for dog infractions and to the fact that the SPCA acted as a ticketing agent for the City. 

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

6.

Casino Grants Process
(Oral Report)  (REDMS No. 722430)

Mr. Bruce referred to the inclusion of $200,000 of casino revenue in the 2002 budget for grants, and advised that several inquiries had been received from agencies on how access to these funds could be obtained.  He questioned whether the Committee wished to implement a similar process for these funds as was used for the 2001 casino grant applications.

Discussion ensued among Committee members and staff on a possible process to follow, during which it was noted that approximately $70,000 of the funds had been allocated to the Richmond Therapeutic Equestrian Society and to the Independent Living Centre.  Questions were raised during the discussion about the City's current policy and criteria for accepting casino revenue grant applications, and whether the criteria should be expanded to include on-going programs.  The suggestion was also made that consideration should be given to increasing the grants budget.

As a result of the discussion, the following referral motion was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That the matter of the process to deal with casino revenue grant applications be referred to staff for a report to Committee which would:

(a)

identify the City's previous policy, guidelines and criteria for the acceptance of casino grant applications;

(b)

identify applications received, the purpose of each application, and the amount being requested; and

(c)

examine the grants budget to determine if the types of programs being proposed for casino revenue funding could be handled more efficiently through the grants process.

CARRIED

7.

Parking Revenue
(Report:  May 30/02, File No.:  6455-05-03) (REDMS No. 722674)

The Manager, Community Bylaws, Sandy Tokarczyk, accompanied by Lorraine Bissett, President, CUPE Local 718, advised that they were in attendance to respond to any questions from the Committee.

Reference was made to Part (4) of the staff recommendation, and to the wording without prejudice to Councils further decision, and discussion ensued among the Committee, the delegation and staff on whether the Union could accept this proviso.  The General Manager, Community Safety, Chuck Gale, commented that the wording would apply both to the City and the Union.  He stated that if Council should decide to contract the work out to a private organization, the City did not want to eliminate the Unions right to challenge that action; at the same time, the Union did not want to delay implementation of the proposed program.  Ms. Bissett also confirmed that the wording was acceptable.

Discussion continued, during which information was provided by staff on the rationale for the anticipated $81,000 cost per officer for the three additional temporary fulltime employees who would hired to assist with the enforcement of timed, on-street parking.  The comment was made that while the City would have to finance the cost of officers up front, the net revenue proposed to the City could still be achieved.

Information was also provided that the City's current bylaw enforcement officers would continue to address any parking related safety and liability issues which arose, while the three temporary fulltime employees would be focusing on timed on-street parking violations.  Confirmation was also given that the City would have the ability to return the equipment to the provider without cost to the City at the end of the one year period. 

In concluding the discussion, Ms. Bissett confirmed in response to a question, that the Union would have sufficient time to analyze the situation and forward a report to Council by November 30^th, 2002.

It was moved and seconded

(1 )

That a contract for metered parking management services be awarded to EasyPark for a one year operating period;

(2 )

That the option of renewing the Easypark contract, and the City's equipment options under the contract, for a further four year period, be reviewed at the end of the one-year operating period;

(3 )

That staff  report to Community Safety Committee, by November 30th, 2002, on the implications of  having parking enforcement services provided, using City employees, and that Local 718 be invited to work with staff to develop the report and associated recommendations; and

(4 )

That CUPE 718 staff be used on a temporary full-time basis to enforce on-street time and permit parking infractions until such time as Council decides on a method for the provision of services, without prejudice to Councils future decision.

CARRIED

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:09 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 3^rd, 2002.

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Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie
Chair

Fran J. Ashton
Executive Assistant