December 2, 2014 - Minutes

Date:

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Place:

Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie, Chair
Councillor Chak Au
Councillor Derek Dang
Councillor Carol Day
Councillor Ken Johnston
Councillor Alexa Loo
Councillor Bill McNulty
Councillor Linda McPhail
Councillor Harold Steves

Call to Order:

The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.

AGENDA ADDITION

It was moved and seconded

That the Richmond Division of Family Practice – A GP for Me be added to the agenda as Item No. 4.

CARRIED

MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on Monday, November 17, 2014, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT

1.

council policy housekeeping and policy updates
(File Ref. No. 01-0105-00) (REDMS No. 4314460 v. 12)

The Chair noted that a copy of Attachment 2 - Policy 9001 Demolition of City Owned Substandard Houses (attached to and forming part of these minutes as Schedule 1) was circulated on the table due to its inadvertent omission from the staff report.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the Council Policies, as listed in Attachment 1 to the staff report titled “Council Policy Housekeeping and Policy Updates”, dated Nov 28, 2014, 2014, from the General Manager, Community Services, be amended, including the consistent use of “within a five-house radius of the group home” throughout Policy 4001; and

(2)

That the Council Policies, as listed in Attachment 2 to the staff report titled “Council Policy Housekeeping”, dated Nov 28, 2014, from the General Manager, Community Services, be rescinded.

The question on the motion was not called as discussion ensued and staff was directed to amend Policy 4001 - Group Homes to reflect the consistent use of “within a five-house radius of the group home” throughout the Policy, particularly referencing the “Good Neighbour” guidelines on Page GP-49.

In response to a query from Committee, Jim Tait, Director, Human Resources, advised that Policy 6008 Employees – Recognition of Retirees and Long Service was obsolete; therefore, staff has recommended that the Policy be rescinded with the intention that an Administrative Directive be adopted in the near future.

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

ENGINEERING & PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

2.

2015 Paving Program
(File Ref. No. 10-6000-01) (REDMS No. 4440822)

In reply to a query from Committee, Milton Chan, Manager, Engineering Design & Construction, stated that, in an effort to mitigate potential difficulties with a single contractor completing the paving program within the dates specified in the contract, it is anticipated that the contract be awarded to more than one contractor.

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report titled 2015 Paving Program dated November 21, 2014, from the Director, Engineering, be received for information.

CARRIED

PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

3.

Update on Province of British Columbia 10-Year Transportation Plan: BC on the Move
(File Ref. No. 01-0150-20-THIG1) (REDMS No. 4447112)

In response to queries from Committee, Victor Wei, Director, Transportation, commented that he is not aware of any upcoming Elected Official Forum with TransLink with regard to the 10-Year Transportation Plan.  He further commented that the Province has committed to the George Massey Tunnel Replacement Project scheduled to commence in 2017.

Discussion then ensued among Committee members and staff and the following information was noted:

§   

the need to identify future interchange improvements as part of the George Massey Tunnel Replacement Project;

§   

the inclusion of Light Rail Transit (LRT) as part of the George Massey Tunnel Replacement Project;

§   

the potential to retain the Tunnel for rapid transit, green/electric vehicles, or other uses, and opportunities for further public input including input from elected officials;

§   

extending the Canada Line to Richmond City Hall, with an additional line from City Hall to Shell Road and through the Tunnel into Delta; and

§   

the submission of a written request to the Province for the potential retention of the George Massey Tunnel.

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report titled Update on Province of British Columbia 10-Year Transportation Plan:  BC on the Move dated November 28, 2014, from the Director, Transportation, be received for information.

CARRIED

COUNCILLOR DEREK DANG

4.

richmond Division of family practice – a GP for me
(File Ref. No.)

Councillor Dang circulated a presentation (attached to and forming part of these minutes as Schedule 2) from the Richmond Division of Family Practice (RDFP) titled “Richmond A GP for Me Presentation to Community Organizations”.   Councillor Dang spoke of the RDFP’s wish to establish a working relationship with the City in order to achieve its goals related to (i) cultural aspects within Richmond; (ii) access to medical care; and (iii) attracting family physicians to Richmond as approximately 25 Richmond family physicians will retire over the next five years. 

Councillor Dang then proposed the possibility of establishing a task force to promote the RDFP’s goals.

Councillor McPhail spoke to the Provincial initiative and to the grant funding used by the RDFP to hold a consultation process, noting that the presentation distributed by Cllr. Dang is the result of that process.  The RDFP is currently in the design stage of the initiative and further Provincial funding will be available for its implementation.  The RDFP is seeking the City’s support with the initiative.

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

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the Richmond Division of Family Practice’s presentation be referred to staff for comments and suggestions as to how the City can be engaged in the initiative; and

(2)

That staff report back to the General Purposes Committee meeting on Monday, December 15, 2014.

The question on the referral was not called as discussion ensued regarding (i) fast tracking business licensing for health practitioners; (ii) creating a database of available office space suitable for practitioners; (iii) the possibility of staff consulting with and providing comments from Vancouver Coastal Health prior to reporting back to Committee; and (iv) the City’s role in attracting practitioners to Richmond.

The question on the referral was then called and it was CARRIED.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (4:29 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 Tuesday, December 2, 2014.

_________________________________

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Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie
Chair

Heather Howey
Committee Clerk