July 5, 2021 - Minutes

Date:

Monday, July 5, 2021

Place:

Council Chambers
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie, Chair
Councillor Chak Au
Councillor Carol Day (by teleconference)
Councillor Andy Hobbs
Councillor Alexa Loo
Councillor Bill McNulty (by teleconference)
Councillor Linda McPhail (by teleconference)
Councillor Harold Steves (by teleconference)
Councillor Michael Wolfe (by teleconference)

Call to Order:

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

MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on June 21, 2021, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

FINANCE AND CORPORATE SERVICES DIVISION

1.

MUNICIPAL AND REGIONAL DISTRICT TAX IMPOSITION BYLAW NO. 10269
(File Ref. No. 08-4150-03-06) (REDMS No. 6685606)

It was moved and seconded

That the Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) Imposition Bylaw No. 10269 be introduced and given first, second and third readings.

CARRIED

COMMUNITY SAFETY DIVISION

2.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE EQUIPMENT AND FIRE BOAT OPTIONS
(File Ref. No. 99-Fire Rescue) (REDMS No. 6695897)

In reply to queries from Committee, staff noted that (i) there have not been formal discussions with other municipalities following the pier fire in New Westminster, (ii) the Port of Vancouver works in collaboration with Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, (iii) Richmond Fire-Rescue has the opportunity to use a water bomber system from the Province upon request, (iv) the high flow industrial pumper sufficiently mitigates the risk for land based fires, (v) vessels with fire-fighting capabilities are owned by multiple companies, (vi) the Panamax sized vessel would have a coast pilot,
(vii) a high flow industrial pumper is fixed to a vehicle, (viii) the Vancouver fire boat was used for two trawler-type vessels, (ix) there are currently no vessels that could deploy a containment boom, (x) hovercrafts have firefighting capabilities but is not within the scope of normal duties,
(xi) there is a cost associated with  fire boat requests from other municipalities, and  (xii) tanker fires are extremely rare in Canada.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the land based option of a high-flow industrial pump, with the source of funds of $800,000 of additional capital cost to come from the jet fuel agreement, be approved; and

(2)

That staff:

(a)

continue to have additional discussions for a regional solution for fire protection on water; and

(b)

examine if the industrial pump can be placed on a barge.

The question on the motion was not called as in reply to queries from Committee, staff noted that (i) a traditional fire pumper would require replacement in 2021 and be included in the 2022 budget, and (ii) the increased Operating Budget Impact of $60,000 would come from an additional level request.

There was agreement to deal with Parts (1) and (2) separately.

The question on Part (1) was then called and it was CARRIED with Cllrs. Day and Wolfe opposed.

The question on Part (2) was then called and it was CARRIED.

COMMUNITY SERVICES DIVISION

3.

COUNCIL STRATEGIC PLAN 2018-2022: 2019/2020 UPDATE
(File Ref. No. 01-0005-01) (REDMS No. 6595266)

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the report titled, “Council Strategic Plan 2018-2022: 2019/2020 Update” dated June 14, 2021, from the Director, Corporate Programs Management Group, be received for information; and

(2)

That the attached report titled, “Council Strategic Plan 2018-2022: Achievement Highlights for 2019/2020” (Attachment 2) be made available for download on the City of Richmond website.

The question on the motion was not called as in reply to queries from Committee, staff noted that (i) news releases can reach markets that do not access social media, (ii) media releases aim to pull the public back to the City website for more detailed information, (iii) there is currently no policy regarding the languages news releases are published in, and
(iv) the City is exploring more options for the Steveston Island Sea Gates proposal.

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

4.

REVISED PUBLIC ART POLICY – PUBLIC ART CONTRIBUTIONS
(File Ref. No. 11-7000-09-00) (REDMS No. 6581457)

The question on the motion was not called as in reply to queries from Committee, staff noted that (i) increasing the developer contribution rate would double the current contribution developers are requested to provide, and (ii) public art projects and projects in the Community Public Art Program would be threatened if funds from the Public Art Reserve Fund are allocated to other uses.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That Option 1 for the allocation of Voluntary Developer Public Art Contributions, as described in Table 1 on page five of the staff report titled, “Revised Public Art Program Policy - Public Art Contributions,” from the Director, Arts, Culture and Heritage Services dated May 18, 2021, be endorsed.

(2)

That Option 1 for the City and private Public Art Contributions, as described in Table 3 on page nine of the staff report titled, “Revised Public Art Program Policy - Public Art Contributions,” from the Director, Arts, Culture and Heritage Services dated May 18, 2021, be endorsed.

There was agreement to deal with Parts (1) and (2) separately.

The question on Part (1) was then called and it was CARRIED with Cllrs. Au, Day, Steves, and Wolfe opposed.

The question on Part (2) was then called and it was CARRIED with Cllr. Wolfe opposed.

COUNCILLOR CHAK AU

5.

RICHMOND CHRISTMAS FUND
(File Ref. No.)

It was moved and seconded

That the City of Richmond grant up to $500,000 to Richmond Cares, Richmond Gives for the Richmond Christmas Fund to be used for the purchase of $100 vouchers/cash cards to be distributed to Richmond residents and families in need that are redeemable within 90 days at any businesses in the City of Richmond; and further that staff identify the source of funding.

The question on the motion was not called as in reply to queries from Committee, staff noted that this matter would require further analysis. Discussion took place regarding the importance of helping Richmond residents and organizations especially given the impact from the Covid-19 pandemic.

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

It was moved and seconded

That staff reach out to recipients of the city grant program and assess how Covid-19 has affected them to evaluate whether they require additional funds in 2021, and report back.

The question on the referral motion was not called as discussion took place on the amount of money put into the grants program each year.

The question on the referral motion was then called and it was CARRIED with Mayor Brodie and Cllrs. Loo, McPhail, and Steves opposed.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:55 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, July 5, 2021.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie
Chair

Shannon Unrau
Legislative Services Associate