Date:

Monday, December 12, 2011

Place:

Anderson Room

Richmond City Hall

Present:

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie, Chair

Councillor Chak Au

Councillor Linda Barnes

Councillor Evelina Halsey-Brandt

Councillor Ken Johnston

Councillor Bill McNulty

Councillor Linda McPhail

Councillor Harold Steves

Absent:

Councillor Derek Dang

Call to Order:

The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:07 p.m.

AGENDA ADDITIONS

It was moved and seconded

That the following matters be added to the agenda: Item No. 5 - City Subsidized Events and Exclusive Commercial Arrangements; and Item No. 6 - The Onni Site.

CARRIED

MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on Monday, November 7, 2011, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

BUSINESS & FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT

1.

Rokapa Management Ltd., doing business as Well Pub 6511 Buswell Street Re-location of Liquor Primary Licence

(File Ref. No. 12-8275-05/2011-Vol 01) (REDMS No. 3405681)

Glenn McLaughlin, Chief Licence Inspector & Risk Manager, advised that the City provides comments to the Provincial Liquor Control and Licensing Branch (LCLB) on noise, traffic and community impact, however there will not be such an impact from the relocation the existing Liquor Primary License Area to another area within the same premises.

A discussion ensued about:

§      

the history of the establishment’s business license applications, and whether it would be appropriate for the City to provide comments;

§      

the pub’s interior physical set up and additional seating in the Food Primary area;

§      

the LCLB regulation which stipulates that an establishment may have one liquor license for each retail store; and

§      

whether it is acceptable to move the Well Pub in Legends to an area of dormant space within the establishment.

Staff was requested to provide further information on the rules and regulations related to the matter as well as concerns related to the relocation of the Well Pub within the premises and any related community impact. 

It was moved and seconded

That the liquor license amendment application submitted by Rokapa Management Ltd., doing business as Well Pub, to re-locate their liquor primary licensed area within the premises, be referred back to staff to provide further information on the details regarding having one pub with two liquor licenses with a dormant seating area and whether the application would have any impact on the community.

The question on the motion was not called, as discussion ensued about the application of LCLB rules in relation to the establishment’s specific scenario.

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

CORPORATE SERVICES DEPARTMENT

2.

2011 General Local and School Election – Official Results

(File Ref. No.:  12-8125-01) (REDMS No. 3415375)

David Weber, Director, City Clerk’s Office, was available to answer questions.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the Declaration of Official Results for the 2011 General Local and School Election (attached to the report dated November 30, 2011 from the Chief Election Officer) be received for information by Richmond City Council in accordance with the requirement of Section 148 of the Local Government Act; and

(2)

That staff report back on the election program generally and on the various new initiatives that were implemented for the 2011 election.

The question on the motion was not called, a discussion ensued about:

§      

the number of spoiled ballots in the 2011 Election.  It was noted that the most common reason for spoiled ballots results from over-voting for a particular competition, and that the number of spoiled ballots in 2011 was not unusual;

§      

how the automated vote counting machines alert voters about spoiled ballots.  Voters are then given an opportunity to check their ballot and request a new one.  In rare cases when an elector chooses not to fill out a new ballot, the machine is capable of accepting the spoiled ballot, however the machine will only tabulate valid votes for any particular contest, and votes for contests that were over-voted would be rejected;

§      

concerns from voters about voting places that were not used in the 2011 Election, but have been open in previous years;

§      

accessibility issues at the General Currie voting location, it was noted that voters had to walk a long way to arrive at the school’s gym doors, and in past elections the front doors have been open;

§      

how the City Centre had been under serviced in previous years, making it necessary to redistribute voting places in 2011 to the area from other areas in the City; and

§      

the feasibility of expanding the number of voting places in the future.

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

3.

2012 COUNCIL AND COMMITTEE MEETING SCHEDULE

(File Ref. No.:  01-0105-00) (REDMS No. 3350243)

It was moved and seconded

That the 2012 Council and Committee meeting schedule, attached to the staff report dated December 6, 2011, from the Director, City Clerk’s Office, be approved, subject to the following revisions as part of the regular August meeting break:

(1)

That the Regular Council Meetings (open and closed) of August 13 and August 27, 2012 be cancelled;

(2)

That the August 20, 2012 Public Hearing be re-scheduled to Wednesday, September 5, 2012 at 7:00 pm in the Council Chambers at Richmond City Hall.

CARRIED

COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT

4.

Process for Evaluating and Approving requests for Financial Support for Major Sporting Events

(File Ref. No.: ) (REDMS No. 3423236)

Cathryn Volkering Carlile, General Manger, Community Services, joined by John Mills, General Manager, Richmond Olympic Oval, and Mike Romas, Manager, Sport Hosting, circulated a revised version of Attachment 1 - City of Richmond Sport Hosting Task Force - Amended Terms of Reference, which is attached, and forms part of these minutes as Schedule 1.

A discussion then took place about:

§      

further amending Attachment 1 - City of Richmond Sport Hosting Task Force - Amended Terms of Reference, to include a fourth bullet under the title “Purpose”, to state that review and recommendation on the allocation of funding for sporting events over $25,000 be undertaken by the General Purposes Committee, through staff for final approval;

§      

providing all members of Council with a copy of the Sport Hosting Strategy Implementation Plan;

§      

Major Sport Event Eligibility Guidelines, in particular the rationale for limiting the Major Sport Events that will be considered during a single calendar year to three in order to stay within the $500,000 annual contribution budget towards sport hosting;

§      

the difference between bidding and hosting.  A bid requires a business case and a budget which provides information on how much of an investment would be needed;

§      

the definition of a Major Sport Event; and

§      

the role of Council to handle any events that may be considered unconventional.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That recommendations 1 through 4 as outlined in the report entitled “Process for Evaluating and Approving Requests for Financial Support for Major Sporting Events” from the General Manager, Richmond Olympic Oval, be approved; and

(2)

That Attachment 1 “City of Richmond Sport Hosting Task Force Amended Terms of Reference” be amended by adding the following sentence:

“to review and make recommendation on the allocation of funding for sporting events over $25,000 to the General Purposes Committee, through staff, for final approval,

to the Purposes section of the Terms of Reference.

CARRIED

5.

City Subsidized Events and Exclusive Commercial Arrangements

A brief discussion ensued about concerns related to City subsidized events for which organizers make exclusive arrangements with businesses such as hotels.  Comments were made about the necessity for guidelines and Committee members expressed their views on the fairness of exclusive arrangements.

It was moved and seconded

That staff report back on a policy for City subsidized events and the possibility of non-exclusive commercial arrangements. 

CARRIED

6.

Onni Site

A brief discussion ensued about concerns related to damage to the boardwalk in Steveston resulting from construction at the Onni site.  Joe Erceg, General Manager, Planning and Development, and Robert Gonzalez, General Manager, Engineering and Public Works, advised that a stop work order had been put in place at the site, and staff were now monitoring the dyke.  The developer has had a technical engineer visit the site, and must now make a determination on how to proceed forward with the restoration of the dyke without disturbing it further. 

It was suggested that an alert be put along the boardwalk to advise the public that the City is aware of and is addressing the issue. 

It was moved and seconded

That the oral report on the Onni Site in Steveston be received for information. 

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, December 12, 2011.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie

Chair

Shanan Dhaliwal

Executive Assistant

City Clerk’s Office