Date:

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Place:

Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Harold Steves, Chair
Councillor Bill McNulty, Vice-Chair
Councillor Sue Halsey-Brandt

Mayor Malcolm Brodie

Absent:

Councillor Linda Barnes

Councillor Rob Howard

Call to Order:

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

MINUTES

1.

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on Tuesday, December 18, 2008 be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

2.

The next meeting of the Committee will be held on Tuesday, January 22, 2008, at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room.

PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

3.

PROVINCIAL CHILD CARE MAJOR CAPITAL FUNDING
(Report:  December 17, 2007, File No.: 07-3070-03-01) (REDMS No. 2310605, 2302924, 2308631, 1735833)

It was moved and seconded

That Ms. Hoeppner’s application for Provincial Child Care Major Capital Funding be supported, and that Council’s support be conveyed to the Provincial Child Care Programs and Services Branch, B.C. Ministry of Child and Family Development.

The question on the motion was not called as discussion ensued regarding the following topics:

·      

if Ms. Hoeppner’s application for funding is successful it would bring some provincial child care money into the community;

·      

the City is committed to lending its support to non-profit and private sector child care, but the City’s Child Care Statutory Reserve Fund is exclusively for non-profit child care;

·      

the Province requires that applicants to the program include a letter of support from the municipality in order to assure the Province that issues, such as a proposed location for a child care facility and the permit process, are in order;

·      

the deadline for applications, set by the Province, is too short and difficult for many potential applicants to achieve;

·      

the School District advised City staff that it was interested in the provincial program but that it could not meet either of the application deadlines of November 20, 2007 and January 31, 2008;

·      

the requirement to commence construction within four months of the Provincial funding agreement is too restrictive and is another factor that would eliminate many potential applicants.

The Chair invited Pamela Hoeppner, 4600 Westwater Drive, to answer Committee questions. Committee commended Ms. Hoeppner for undertaking this project. She advised that:

·      

the honour system is used to monitor the number of subsidized spaces, and spaces used by underprivileged families, as no entity in the child care industry is charged with, or has a system for, this type of monitoring;

·      

improvements to her proposed space include: (i) converting the bathroom so that it is fully accessible and (ii) installing a ramp for wheelchair access;

·      

to her knowledge, a list of special needs children who are awaiting child care spaces does not exist.

Ms. Hoeppner thanked the City for its support.

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

Committee further discussed the problems posed by the Province’s tight time frame for applications, and as a result the following referral was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That a letter be sent to the Provincial Government to request that it re-examine the time frame requirements for applying for funding and the deadlines for commencing construction, in order to allow for more success by applicants.

CARRIED

Further discussion ensued with regard to the idea that vacant classrooms in Richmond schools could be used for child care purposes, and as a result the following referral was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That staff liaise with The Board of Education of School District No. 38 (Richmond) to enquire as to the possibility of using extra school classrooms for child care purposes.

CARRIED

4.

2007 ANNUAL REPORT AND 2008 WORK PROGRAM: CHILD CARE DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE

(Report:  December 20, 2007, File No.: 01-0100-20-CCDE1-01)  (REDMS No. 2315887, 2311416)

It was moved and seconded

That the 2007 Annual Report for the Child Care Development Advisory Committee be received for information, and the 2008 Work Program be approved.

The question on the motion was not called as Committee discussed the Child Care Development Advisory (CCDA) Committee’s request for an additional $1,000 to its annual operating budget to enhance Child Care Month celebrations. Joe Erceg, General Manager, Planning and Development, advised that the Committee’s request can be met this year, and that staff will include a $1,000 increase in the Committee’s budget during the 2009 budget process.

CCDA Chair Linda Shirley addressed Committee and advised that the idea to educate children about the “City process” by holding an Open House Mock City Council Meeting for children was an idea that came from the “Cities Fit for Children” convention. Richmond’s CCDA has plans to host a mock City Council meeting during Child Care month and are confident it will meet with success.

CCDA’s idea to conduct a survey of employers to determine the number of employees that have daycare needs was discussed, and Ms. Shirley advised that the survey results would be one way to discover the number of families with child care needs who commute into Richmond and would use employer-supplied child care services, as well as the number of Richmond families with child care needs who commute out of Richmond and use child care services outside the City.

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

5.

2007 ANNUAL REPORT AND 2008 WORK PROGRAM RICHMOND SENIORS ADVISORY COMMITTEE (RSAC)

(Report:  December 20, 2007, File No.: 01-0100-20-SADV1-01 ) (REDMS No. 2316375, 2316220)

It was moved and seconded

That the 2007 Annual Report for the Richmond Seniors Advisory Committee be received for information, and the 2008 Work Program be approved.

The question on the motion was not called as Committee briefly discussed the Richmond Seniors Advisory Committee’s (RSAC) report and proposed budget with Doug Symons, Vice Chair of RSAC.

Mr. Symons advised that the annual Wellness Fair includes the participation of RSAC as well as other organizations. He further advised that the proposed budget of $2,000 is adequate for the RSAC’s needs.

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

6.

MANAGER’S REPORT

(1)

City Centre Area Plan (CCAP) – No report was given.

(2)

Steveston Study – No report was given.

(3)

Official Community Plan (OCP) – No report was given.

(4)

Liveable Region Strategic Plan Review (LRSP)

Terry Crowe, Manager, Policy Planning advised that Metro Vancouver has arranged to host a second public open house in Richmond regarding the Growth Management Strategy. It will take place at City Hall starting at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 24, 2008, with Councillor Steves as Chair of the Open House.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (4:30 p.m.).

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Tuesday, January 8, 2008.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Councillor Harold Steves
Chair

Sheila Johnston
Committee Clerk