It was moved and seconded

That the following matters be added to the agenda as additional items:

(a)        Damage caused by Fireworks; and

(b)        A Request for Menorah at City Hall.

CARRIED

MINUTES

1.

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on Monday, October 18th, 2004, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

DELEGATION

2.

Mr. Jim Kojima and Mr. Frances Turneau, Vice Chairs, Wakayama Japan Sister City Committee, to report on: the Committee’s efforts to implement cost saving measures; the requirements for staff time; and, to advise of the Committee’s contacts and commitments to date, in reference to the request for an opportunity to participate in the Canadian Pavilion at Expo.

(File No.:  01-0100-20-SCITI-01)

Please see Item 5 of these minutes for the delegation’s presentation and action taken on this matter.

FINANCE & CORPORATE SERVICES DIVISION

3.

9260 HEMLOCK DRIVE- RIGHT OF WAY FOR BC HYDRO AND TELUS

(Report:  Oct. 14/04, File No.:  06-2285-30-102/Vol 01) (REDMS No. 1345346)

It was moved and seconded

That a right of way be granted to BC Hydro and Telus over a portion of 9260 Hemlock Drive.

CARRIED

4.

SALE OF SURPLUS LAND AFTER CREATION OF COOK ROAD, EASTERLY EXTENSION - MCLENNAN NORTH, PORTION OF 6388 KATSURA STREET

(Report:  Oct. 18/04, File No.:  06-2290-20-077) (REDMS No. 1345884)

It was moved and seconded

That the sale of surplus land remaining from 6388 Katsura Street after the easterly alignment of Cook Road from Garden City Road to Katsura Road, to the owners of the adjacent property, be approved at the appraised unit value of $50 per square foot, as required under RZ 04-267632, and staff take the necessary steps to complete the sale.

CARRIED

5.

EXPO 2005 – SISTER CITY

(Report:  Oct. 26/04, File No.:   01-0100-20-SCIT01) (REDMS No. 1348365)

Discussion ensued among Committee members and staff on:

§           

whether representatives of the disabled community would form part of the delegation to Aiichi and Wakayama

§           

the financial responsibility of Sister City Committee delegation to each contribute $1,000 towards the cost of the trip

§           

the small number of City Council members who would be visiting Wakayama compared to the large contingents from Wakayama to Richmond, and whether the delegation to Japan was limited to only twelve

§           

whether those members of Richmond City Council who would be participating in the trip could also make a financial contribution

§           

the amount of staff time which would be required

§           

the various agencies and organizations, and other levels of government, which were being approached by the Sister City Committee to provide financial or sponsorship support.

Mr. Jim Kojima, and Mr. Francis Turneau, Vice Chairs of the Sister City Committee, provided detailed information on the people and businesses who had been approached by members of the Sister City Committee, which included MP Raymond Chan, Peter Dhillon of Ocean Spray, Bill Jones and Steven Archer, Tung Chan, Chair of the Board of the Richmond Public Library, and BCIT (Airport Division).

Mr. Kojima spoke also about:

§           

the benefits of sponsoring various facets of the “Richmond Day” event at Expo 2005 in Aiichi, Japan

§           

the amount of staff time required, which the Sister City Committee had now reduced from 100 hours to 60 hours, because much of the work would be undertaken by volunteers and the amount of material which was already available

§           

the intention of the Sister City Committee to focus on one key area - agriculture, at Expo 2005, and

§           

the cultural and economical benefits of having the Richmond Olympic Oval.

Discussion then ensued among Committee members and the delegation on:

§           

whether any consideration had been given to including ‘wineries’ as one of the opportunities to pursue

§           

whether any consideration had been given to limiting the size of the delegation, given the interest which had been shown in the proposed trip

§           

funding options

§           

the minimum cost per person which would be required to offset the expense of hosting “Richmond Day”, in the event that the Sister City Committee was unable to raise their target amount of $10,000

§           

the financial contribution of the six Sister City Committee members participating in the trip to Japan, and whether this could set a precedent for future trips which could result in those Committee members unable to pay, being excluded

§           

whether the members of the Sister City Committee should be making a financial contribution

§           

how the Committee would measure the success of the delegation to Aiichi and Wakayama.

Councillors Kumagai and Dang left the meeting at 4:32 p.m. and 4:39 p.m. respectively, during the above discussion.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the report (dated October 26^th, 2004, from the Manager, Customer Services), regarding the proposed Sister City delegation to Wakayama and to Expo 2005, be received for information.

(2)

That approval be given for the trip to Aiichi and Wakayama, Japan, on the basis of the contents of the staff report and a budget not to exceed $40,000.

The question on the motion was not called, as the Manager, Customer Services, Anne Stevens, was requested to provide a summary of the suggestions made by the delegation on who they intended to approach for funding.  Discussion then ensued briefly among Committee members on the proposed trip, during which the request was made that information be provided to Council prior to the trip taking place, on those businesses who were taking part in the event and other related information.

Councillors Kumagai and Dang returned to the meeting at 4:40 p.m. and 4:42 p.m. respectively, during the above discussion.

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

6.

ELECTRONIC MEETINGS AND PARTICIPATION BY MEMBERS OF COUNCIL

(Report:  Oct. 21/04, File No.:  01-0105-01/2004 – Vol 01) (REDMS No. 1341279)

Councillor Evelina Halsey-Brandt stated that under the current Council Procedure Bylaw, members of Council did not have opportunity to participate in these meetings if they were not physically present.  She added that while she appreciated the amount of work City Clerk Richard McKenna had put into the preparation of the report, she merely wished to see the option of electronic participation implemented for special Council meetings.

The suggestion was made that criteria be developed in the bylaw to require that electronic participation would only be used (i) by someone who could not physically attend the meeting; (ii) in case of urgent or unforeseen circumstances; (iii) for open and closed special Council meetings to be held in the Council Chambers; and (iv) for video conferencing; and would not be used for public hearings or committee meetings.  Discussion then ensued among Committee members on the proposed criteria.

It was moved and seconded

That the City Clerk bring forward appropriate amendments to the Council Procedure Bylaw to implement electronic meeting participation for members of Council, on the following basis:

(a)

Open and closed Special Meetings of Council held in either the Council Chambers or the Anderson Room; and

(b)

Public Hearings and open and closed meetings of all Standing and Select Committees of Council will not be held electronically or have electronic participation.

CARRIED

7.

PUBLIC PROCESS FOR OLYMPIC SPEED SKATING OVAL

(Report:  October 27/04, File No.:  01-0100-20-ROOP1-01/P2-01/P3-01) (REDMS No. 1327252)

Chief Administrative Officer George Duncan reviewed the proposed public process with the Committee, during which he circulated an amended Page 7 (Terms of Reference for the Richmond 2010 Olympic Oval Project Steering Committee).

Discussion then ensued among Committee members and Mr. Duncan on the proposed Terms of Reference for each of the three committees being established.  As a result of the discussion, the following changes were to be made to the Terms of Reference for each of the three committees:

§                     Membership – to require the committee in question to report to Council on a regular basis rather than ‘as required’;

§                     Membership – to elect an individual as Chair, rather than appoint

§                     Procedures – to delete in its entirety, the paragraph referring to the election of the Chair

§                     Code of Conduct – to amend the reference to ‘conflict of interest’ to indicate that the committee member would remove himself or herself from the discussion and decision;

§                     Membership – Stakeholder/User Committee – with reference to whom the committee would report to, to delete the word “Business” and substitute therefore, the word “Steering”;

§                     Membership – Stakeholder/User Committee – with reference to the selection of candidates, to delete the word “to” in the first line, and to substitute therefore, the word “may”; and

§                     Use of the term ‘Task Force’ instead of ‘Committee’ – staff were requested to substitute the term ‘committee’ for ‘Task Force’.

Also addressed during the discussion were such issues as:  whether three committees would actually be required; the selection process for the three committees; and the appointment of Council liaisons to each of the committees.  The suggestion was made that two Councillors should also be appointed to the Stakeholder/User Committee rather than one.

Reference was made to the Terms of Reference for the Steering Committee, and the question of whether the Steering Committee would be asked to make decisions on behalf of Council was addressed.

Accessibility to the new Olympic Oval was also briefly addressed, with the request being made that Social Services (referred to in the Terms of Reference for the Stakeholder/User Committee within the Membership component) included ‘people in need’.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the Richmond 2010 Olympic Oval Project Steering Committee be established (as per the Terms of Reference attached to the report dated October 27^th, 2004 from the Chief Administrative Officer) for this committee.

(2)

That the Richmond 2010 Olympic Oval Project Building Committee be established (as per the Terms of Reference attached to the report dated October 27^th, 2004 from the Chief Administrative Officer) for this committee.

(3)

That the Richmond 2010 Olympic Oval Project Stakeholder/User Committee be established (as per the Terms of Reference attached to the report dated October 27^th, 2004 from the Chief Administrative Officer) for this committee.

(4)

That staff begin a recruitment process immediately for the Richmond 2010 Olympic Oval Project Steering Committee, the Richmond 2010 Olympic Oval Project Building Committee, and the Richmond 2010 Olympic Oval Project Stakeholder/User Committee, and submit names of appropriate candidates to Council at the earliest possible time.

(5)

That Council designate two Council members to liaise with each of the following committees: the Richmond 2010 Olympic Oval Project Steering Committee, the Richmond 2010 Olympic Oval Project Building Committee, and two members to liaise with the Richmond 2010 Olympic Oval Project Stakeholder/User Committee.

Prior to the question on the motion being called, the request was made that the changes as discussed by Committee be made to the Terms of Reference for the three committees.

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

8.

DAMAGE CAUSED BY FIREWORKS ON OCTOBER 31^ST, 2004

Councillor Dang provided information on an incident which took place on October 31^st, 2004, which resulted in fire at local a townhouse complex.  Discussion ensued briefly on the issue of fireworks, as a result of which, the following referral motion was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That the matter of fireworks be referred to staff to obtain comments from the Fire Chief, Bylaw Officers and Richmond Hospital, on the Halloween events which occurred on October 31^st, 2004.

CARRIED

9.

REQUEST TO LIGHT MENORAH AT CITY HALL

Mayor Brodie circulated copies of correspondence received from Lubavitch BC, which requested the placement of a Chanukah Menorah at City Hall.  Discussion ensued, during which reference was made to a policy which was in place regarding such requests.  As a result, the following referral motion was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That the request of the Lubavtich BC be forwarded to the Intercultural Advisory Committee and to staff to review the current policy.

CARRIED

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (6:09 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, November 1^st, 2004.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie
Chair

Fran J. Ashton
Executive Assistant, City Clerk’s Office