January 5, 2015 - Minutes


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City of Richmond Meeting Minutes

 

General Purposes Committee

 

Date:

Monday, January 5, 2015



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 Harold Steves



Absent:

Councillor Linda McPhail



Call to Order:

The Chair called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m.



 

 

MINUTES

 

 

It was moved and seconded



 

 

That the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on Monday, December 15, 2014, be adopted as circulated.



 

 

CARRIED



 

 

COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT



 

1.

Metro Vancouver Homeless Transit Plan
(File Ref. No. 08-4057-01) (REDMS No. 4461116 v. 4)



 

 

It was moved and seconded



 

 

(1)

That a letter be sent to TransLink requesting that the feasibility of the recommendations put forward by the Transit Working Group, cited in the staff report, to improve transit services for people living in extreme poverty, be explored; and



 

 

(2)

That a copy of that letter be sent to BC MLAs.



 

 

The question on the motion was not called as in reply to queries from Committee, Dena Kae Beno, Affordable Housing Coordinator, advised that, due to the positive advancements by the Transit Working Group, staff are currently not seeking Council’s endorsement of the Metro Vancouver Homeless Transit Plan; however, staff will continue to monitor the process and update Council accordingly.  Also, Ms. Beno advised that the proposed letter to TransLink can indicate that the City supports the notion of a Metro Vancouver Homeless Transit Plan.



 

 

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



 

 

PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT



 

2.

Plebiscite to Enable New Regional Funding Source for Regional Transportation Investments: A Vision for Metro Vancouver
(File Ref. No. 01-0154-04) (REDMS No. 4462057 v. 2)



 

 

It was moved and seconded



 

 

That the staff report regarding a plebiscite to enable a new 0.5 per cent regional sales tax, termed the Metro Vancouver Congestion Improvement Tax, to support transportation investments in the Metro Vancouver area, dated December 18, 2014, from the Director, Transportation, be received for information.



 

 

The question on the motion was not called as discussion ensued regarding the specifics of the plebiscite question and it was noted that the language of the Mayors’ Council’s referendum question clearly identified the provision of independent audits and public reports, whereas the provincially approved plebiscite question does not.



 

 

In reply to a query from Committee, Victor Wei, Director, Transportation, advised that the Province holds that a referendum is not required as per the Referendum Act as the vote will be held under the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (TransLink).



 

 

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



 

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

 

It was moved and seconded



 

 

That the meeting adjourn (6:55 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, January 5, 2015.



_________________________________

_________________________________



Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie
Chair

Hanieh Berg
Committee Clerk