March 2, 2020 - Minutes

Date:

Monday, March 2, 2020

Place:

Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie, Chair
Councillor Chak Au
Councillor Carol Day
Councillor Kelly Greene
Councillor Alexa Loo
Councillor Bill McNulty
Councillor Linda McPhail
Councillor Michael Wolfe

Absent:

Councillor Harold Steves

Call to Order:

The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:14 p.m.

MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on February 18, 2020, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

COUNCILLOR CAROL DAY

1.

Hospital parking 
(File Ref. No.)

It was moved and seconded

That Richmond City Council write to the Provincial Government and the Vancouver Coast Health Authority to ask the Province and Vancouver Coastal Health to provide one hour free parking for patients and family of patients at BC hospitals.

The question on the motion was not called as discussion ensued with regard to the following:

§   

the current hospital parking system and use of third-party parking management companies;

§   

parking capacity in Richmond Hospital and options for overflow parking;

§   

options to introduce limited free parking and a pay at the exit parking system;

§   

options to limit abuse of free parking for non-hospital users;

§   

the high cost of parking and violation fines for hospital users;

§   

the portion of parking revenues that is allocated for hospital services;

§   

other local hospitals in the region that have adopted limited free parking;

§   

consultation on free hospital parking undertaken by the Province;

§   

options to streamline hospital parking and parking violation payment systems; and

§   

options to reduce parking costs for long-term hospital users and options to subsidize parking for low-income hospital users.

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

It was moved and seconded

That the phrase “two hours” replace “one hour” and that the phrase “to be paid upon exit” be included after the phrase “free parking”.

CARRIED

Discussion then took place on parking capacity in Richmond Hospital, and as a result, the following amendment motion was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That staff be directed to meet with Vancouver Coastal Health representatives to discuss consideration of addressing the lack of parking at Richmond Hospital.

CARRIED

The question on the main motion, which reads as follows:

(1)

That Richmond City Council write to the Provincial Government and the Vancouver Coast Health Authority to ask the Province and Vancouver Coastal Health to provide two hours free parking to be paid upon exit for patients and family of patients at BC hospitals; and

(2)

That staff be directed to meet with Vancouver Coastal Health representatives to discuss consideration of addressing the lack of parking at Richmond Hospital.

was then called and was CARRIED with Cllr. Loo opposed.

COUNCILLOR MICHAEL WOLFE

2.

Declaration of solidarity with wet’suwet’en people 
(File Ref. No.)

It was moved and seconded

That Council endorse the following resolution and request that Mayor and Council send a copy of to the Prime Minister of Canada, Premier of BC, Solicitor General of BC, Richmond MPs, Richmond MLAs, and member local governments of the UBCM:

The City of Richmond calls on the Government of British Columbia and Canada to end any attempt at forced removal of non-violent Wet’suwet’en People from their traditional territories, suspend permits authorizing construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline and commence good-faith consultation with the Wet’suwet’en People.

The question on the motion was not called as discussion ensued with regard to the following:

§   

the tentative agreement made between the Wet’suwet’en People and senior levels of government;

§   

declarations of solidarity made by other municipalities;

§   

the City’s agreement with the RCMP and retaining full RCMP services for Richmond;

§   

the importance of continuing dialogue and amending the resolution’s title to replace the word “Declaration” to “De-escalation”;

§   

RCMP enforcement of injunctions on the blockades related to the protests opposing the Coastal GasLink project;

§   

good faith consultation;

§   

supporting the rule of law; and

§   

role of municipal government and potential impact to the City of Richmond;

In reply to queries from Committee, staff noted that the Wet’suwet’en People utilize two governing structures consisting of a body of traditional Hereditary Chiefs and a body of Elected Chiefs.

The question on the motion was then called and it was DEFEATED with Mayor Brodie and Cllrs. Au, Day, Loo, McNulty and McPhail opposed.

COUNCILLOR CHAK AU

2A.

INSURANCE COSTS FOR CONDOMINIUMS 
(File Ref. No.)

It was moved and seconded

That letters be sent to the Federal Government, Provincial Government, the Insurance Council of British Columbia, and the Insurance Bureau of Canada to urge them to take immediate actions to address the spiking strata insurance costs affecting many strata owners in B.C. and Richmond.

The question on the motion was not called as discussion ensued with regard to the following:

§   

the increased insurance rates for stratified properties in British Columbia;

§   

the negative impact of rising insurance rates to stratified property owners;

§   

the distinction between rental properties and stratified properties;

§   

business model of insurance companies;

§   

the governing bodies overseeing insurance companies; and

§   

the short notice given to stratas of rising insurance rates.

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

ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION

3.

Award of Contract 6715P – Traffic Control Services 
(File Ref. No. 10-6000-01) (REDMS No. 6346166  v. 5)

It was moved and seconded

That Contract 6715P – Traffic Control Services be awarded for a three-year term commencing April 1, 2020, to three bidders, with the intent of assigning the majority of the work to Ansan Traffic Group as the primary service provider, and with Lane Safe Traffic Control and Traffic Pro Services serving as secondary and tertiary backup service providers.

CARRIED

COMMUNITY SAFETY DIVISION

4.

Provincial Consultation on new Anti-Money Laundering Legislation and Regulations 
(File Ref. No. 09-5350-20-CAOP1) (REDMS No. 6403586  v. 4)

Staff reviewed the consultation related to the new Anti-Money Laundering Legislation and Regulations, noting that the proposed expanded registry that includes businesses beyond real property will be utilized by law enforcement and the City supports efforts to modernize regulations related to mortgage brokers, private lenders and unregulated brokers.

Discussion ensued with regard to (i) the role of municipal government to enforce regulations, (ii) impact to privacy, and (iii) the role of media in uncovering suspicious transactions.  

In reply to queries from Committee, staff noted that the consultation process is open to the public.

It was moved and seconded

That the responses summarized in Attachment 3 and 4 of the staff report titled “Provincial Consultation on new Anti-Money Laundering Legislation and Regulations”, dated February 4, 2020, from the General Manager, Community Safety be endorsed for submission to the BC Ministry of Finance.

The question on the motion was not called as discussion ensued with regard to duties to report suspicious financial transactions to FINTRAC by financial entities.

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

5.

Proposed Interim Inter-Municipal Business Licence Bylaws for Ride-Hailing Services 
(File Ref. No. 12-8275-06) (REDMS No. 6332491  v. 7)

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That Inter-Municipal Business Licence Agreement Bylaw No. 10134, to allow the City to enter into an agreement with partner municipalities for ride-hailing services, be introduced and given first, second and third readings;

(2)

That Inter-Municipal Business Licence Bylaw No. 10159, which specifies various licensing terms for ride-hailing, be introduced and given first, second and third readings; and

(3)

That staff be directed to report back on the development of a permanent inter-municipal business licence for ride-hailing services.

The question on the motion was not called as discussion ensued with regard to the fee distribution structure and harmonizing taxi fees with Transportation Network Services (ride hailing services).

In reply to queries from Committee, staff noted that Uber, Lyft and Kabu are licensed in Richmond.

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

COMMUNITY SERVICES DIVISION

6.

City Events Strategy Guiding Principles 
(File Ref. No. 11-7000-01) (REDMS No. 6381683  v. 2)

It was moved and seconded

That the City Events Strategy Guiding Principles, as presented in the staff report titled “City Events Strategy Guiding Principles”, dated February 7, 2020, from the Director, Arts, Culture and Heritage Services be endorsed to guide the development of a City Events Strategy.

The question on the motion was not called as discussion ensued with regard to (i) engaging local groups to organize events, (ii) supporting events of varying size, and (iii) the roles of sponsorship in event organization.

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

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:32 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, March 2, 2020.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie
Chair

Evangel Biason
Legislative Services Coordinator