MINUTES

1.

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on Monday, September 15^th, 2003, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

COUNCILLOR STEVES

2.

AMERICAN SAIL TRAINING ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE
(Report:  September 26/03, File No.:  0105-01) (REDMS No.  1070706)
 

Mayor Brodie questioned why the Committee was being asked to deal with the matter, especially when funding was available in the current budget.  In response, advice was given that any member of Council who wished to attend a conference outside of British Columbia was required to obtain Council approval. 

A brief discussion ensued, as a result of which, it was agreed that as long as funding was available in the Council Training and Conferences Fund, any requests from Council members to attend such conferences would not be submitted to Council for approval.  It was further agreed that any request from a Councillor to attend a conference outside of BC, for which funding was not available from the Training and Conferences Fund, would be submitted to Council for approval.

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

It was moved and seconded

That the report (dated September 26^th, 2003, from Councillor Harold Steves), regarding the American Sail Training Association Conference, be referred to staff and Councillor Steves for resolution.

CARRIED

PARKS, RECREATION & CULTURAL SERVICES DIVISION

3.

2005 Richmond Tall Ships and 2005 TALL SHIP CHALLENGE 
(Report:  September 25/03, File No.:  0100-20-TALL1; xref 7400-20-TALL1) (REDMS No. 1070538, 894261)

The Director of Parks Operations, Dave Semple, advised that he had nothing further to add to the report. 

Discussion then ensued among Committee members and staff on:

the proposed recommendations and whether these recommendations should be considered prior to Council reviewing the Richmond Tall Ships Festival Societys business plan

the degree of support which Council wished to give to the Society and the amount of responsibility which Council wished to have for the event, if any

whether the Council could assign rather than release the first rights of refusal to host the 2005 event to the Society, and the impact to the City of such action

whether the City could issue a letter to the Society authorizing the Society to negotiate on behalf of the City, rather than releasing the rights of first refusal to the Society

whether the rights of first refusal to host the 2005 event would revert to the City or to ASTA in the event that the Society failed to negotiate an agreement with ASTA

the need for the preparation of terms of reference prior to the October 14^th Council meeting, to provide clarity on the involvement of the City and the Society and other issues, including financial impact, the basis by which negotiations would take place, etc.
 

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

It was moved and seconded

That:

(1)

City Council assign the first rights of refusal to host the 2005 TALL SHIP CHALLENGE to the Richmond Tall Ships Festival Society (RTSFS), and
 

(2)

the American Sail Training Association (ASTA) and the Richmond Tall Ships Festival Society be advised accordingly.

CARRIED

It was moved and seconded

That staff prepare terms of reference in consultation with the Society, for presentation to the October 14th, 2003 Council Meeting, and that these terms of reference include a statement indicating that 'in the event that the Society does not successfully negotiate a contract with ASTA for the hosting of the 2005 event, that the rights of first refusal to host the event would be returned to the City'.

CARRIED

A brief discussion ensued on when the Committee would review the Societys Business Plan, and it was agreed that a special General Purposes Committee meeting would be held at 4:00 p.m., on Thursday, October 9^th, 2003, in the Anderson Room, to review the plan in detail.

FINANCE & CORPORATE SERVICES DIVISION

4.

Road Exchange Bylaw No. 7595 - Exchange of an Abandoned  Portion of Steveston Highway for Lands on Triangle Road
(Report:  September 19/03, File No.:  8060-20-7595) (REDMS No. 1068527, 1068550)
 

It was moved and seconded

That Road Exchange Bylaw 7595, which authorizes the exchange of an abandoned portion of Steveston Highway for lands on Triangle Road, be introduced and given first, second and third readings.

CARRIED

5.

Road Exchange Bylaw 7570 - 3911 Russ Baker Way
(Report:  September 19/03, File No.:  8060-20-7570) (REDMS No. 1055891, 1060371)

The Manager, Lands & Property, Christine McGilvray, briefly explained the proposed road exchange to the Committee.

It was moved and seconded

That:

(1)

Road Exchange Bylaw 7570, which authorizes the exchange of roadway in the area of 3911 Russ Baker Way, be introduced and given first, second and third readings; and
 

(2)

Rights of way for the City and Terasen Gas be granted to cover existing works.

CARRIED

(Cllr. Steves left the meeting 4:43 p.m.)

PRESENTATION

6.

TRANSLINK Presentation on the Financial and Capital Plan
 

Mr. Glen Leicester, Vice President - Planning, accompanied by Ms. Robin Nicholls, Manager, Financial Planning, of TransLink, reviewed through a PowerPoint presentation, TransLinks document entitled Keeping Greater Vancouver Moving:  Discussion Paper, A 10-Year Transportation Outlook & Three-Year Financial Strategy.  A copy of the PowerPoint presentation is attached as Schedule A and forms part of these minutes.
 

(Cllr. Steves returned to the meeting during the above presentation 4:50 p.m.)

During the discussion which ensued, the following matters were addressed:

transportation demands and how TransLink proposed to deal with these issues

U-Passes; the need to increase the number of buses on the UBC route, and the possible expansion of these passes to other post-secondary schools

backup on the 98B Line and the need to address close running times

the rationale for not increasing the cost of Fare Saver bus passes

the delay in implementing the community shuttle service on Williams Road

the use of transit services by seniors

the use of alternative fuel types and a possible expansion in the use of trolley buses

the proposed parking area/stall tax

with regard to proposed new revenue sources, provide a comparison of specific property tax increases rather than the average assessed amount per household

whether Federal funding would be available for the proposed plan.

(Cllrs. Dang and Steves left the meeting during the above discussion 5:30 p.m. and 5:31 p.m. respectively.)

The Mayor thanked the delegation for their presentation, indicating that Council appreciated their hard work on behalf of the City over the past number of years.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:34 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 6^th, 2003.

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Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie
Chair

Fran J. Ashton
Executive Assistant, City Clerks Office