MINUTES

1.

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on Monday, March 3^rd, 2003, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

FINANCE & CORPORATE SERVICES DIVISION

2.

CORPORATE ADVERTISING REVIEW
(Report:  Feb. 4/03, File No.:  0190-01 ) (REDMS No. 895211, 113015, 957346)

The Manager, Communications & Public Affairs, Ted Townsend, reviewed his report with the Committee.  In response to questions and concerns, he advised that:

ads would be placed every other week for a total of 26 times per year; more frequent advertising had been considered however after consultation with other cities, it was found that there was a tendency to run items which were not essential; as well, to pursue weekly advertising would require an increase to the existing budget
 

consideration could be given to promoting recreational programs in the Spring and Fall
 

discretionary advertising would be placed in the proposed City page; statutory advertising would not be included because of legal requirements which must be met; the use of local rather than daily newspapers would be the most cost effective method for the City to pursue; ethnic newspapers reached a specific clientele, but distribution was limited; direct mail would be the most effective but also very costly;
 

any contract entered into with a newspaper could require a guaranteed placement in every issue in which the City page was published to ensure continuity, and would be more visually attractive; however, because of budget limitations, staff would have to ensure that the advertising was cost effective and that the public was made aware of any important messages
 

staff would be considering distribution as part of the Request for Proposal Call to ensure that delivery was as comprehensive as possible
 

the development of a policy on multicultural advertising was required; staff had to be cautious about undertaking such advertising until such time as a decision had been made on the appropriateness of the advertising and how funding would be provided.
 

General support was given by Committee members for the proposed Request for Proposal call, however, the suggestion was made that the City page should provide information on all upcoming meetings, including Standing Committees of Council and advisory committees. 

Concern was also expressed about the proposal to select one local newspaper over the other and the lack of distribution of sufficient copies of the newspapers to multi-family complexes, and discussion ensued further among Committee members and staff on the proposal to choose one newspaper for the City's advertising.  Also discussed was (i) the recreation brochure published by the Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Division, and whether any of the contents of that document could be included in the proposed City page; and (ii) the feasibility of publishing a portion of the City page in Chinese.

The suggestion was made during the discussion that Part (2) of the recommendation be amended to include the words and/or shared after the words single source.

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

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That Council Policy 1016 Corporate Advertising (Newspapers) be amended (as recommended in the report dated February 4^th, 2003, from the Manager, Communications & Public Affairs).
 

(2)

That the City issue a Request For Proposal to local community newspaper vendors for the single source and/or shared placement of all local corporate newspaper advertising (including discretionary and statutory advertising).
 

(3)

That the City establish a regularly scheduled City Page in place of the existing Notice Board (discretionary) advertising.

CARRIED

3.

Economic Development Strategic Plan Status Update
(Report:  February 24/03, File No.:  4150-04-01) (REDMS No. 970311, 970185)
 

It was moved and seconded

That staff, with input from the Richmond Economic Advisory Task Force and the City's Economic Development Strategy Team, review and update the Economic Development Strategic Plan to incorporate the issues reflected in the report dated February 24, 2003 from the Manager, Business Liaison & Development.
 

The question on the motion was not called, as discussion then ensued among Committee members and the Manager, Business Liaison & Development, Marcia Freeman, on:

the Economic Advisory Task Force and the Economic Development Strategy Team and how the two would function in relation to each other
 

who would be responsible for making the decision on the direction of future economic development in the City
 

the status of the film industry in the City and whether the City received any fees as a means of cost recovery
 

the proposed makeup of the Task Force and whether the appointees would be representing their own interests or the interests of the City.
 

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

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:00 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, March 17^th, 2003.

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Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie
Chair

Fran J. Ashton
Executive Assistant