Community Services Committee Meeting Minutes - October 11, 2000

Date:

Wednesday, October 11^th, 2000

Place:

W.H. Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Harold Steves, Chair
Councillor Derek Dang, Vice-Chair
Councillor Malcolm Brodie
Councillor Ken Johnston
Councillor Linda Barnes

Also Present:

Councillor Lyn Greenhill

Call to Order:

The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m., and advised that the following matter, Summer Program Update, would be added to the agenda as an additional item.

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Community Services Committee held on Tuesday, August 29^th, 2000, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

RCMP MONTHLY REPORTS - JUNE & JULY, 2000
(Report: September 18, 2000, File No.: 5375-02) (REDMS No. 189145)

Supt. Ernie MacAulay, Officer in Charge of the Richmond Detachment of the RCMP, advised that he was available to respond to any questions which Committee members might have.

In response to questions, he advised that as many as 4 volunteer bicycle patrollers were deployed for a majority of the summer months at Garry Point Park, and had addressed many problem areas where it appeared that problems could be arising because of congregating youth.

During the brief discussion which ensued, the members of the South Arm Community Station were commended for their manner in dealing with attacks of vandalism against a newly immigrated family.

Reference was made to the sponsorship by Const. Ryhall of three McMath senior secondary students who completed their career preparation hours under his supervision. A question was raised as to whether this was the first such sponsorship, and Supt. MacAulay advised that he provide information on this to Council.

Reference was also made to the recent installation of the caretaker’s suite at Garry Point Park, and questions were raised about whether there was documentation available on the impact which the caretaker had made, if any, on the amount of vandalism occurring in the park. Discussion ensued on the period which should be reviewed, and as a result, the Chair directed that the months of June, July and August for the years 1998, 1999 and 2000, be reviewed if the figures were available, and that a report be provided to the Committee on any impact which the addition of a caretaker to Garry Point Park might have had on vandalism.

Reference was made to the recent homicide in the area of Bridgeport Road and Shell Road, and questions were asked about whether there were public safety implications which should be considered by Council. Advice was given that the killing was drug-related and was more of a regional rather than a Richmond problem, and it was only because the killing occurred in Richmond that the detachment was investigating the crime.

It was moved and seconded

That the RCMP Monthly Report for the months of June & July, 2000 be received for information.

CARRIED

The Chair directed that Item No. 4 would be dealt with at this time.

FIRE/RESCUE 2ND AND 3RD QUARTER REPORT, 2000
(Report: September 29, 2000, File No.: 5140-01) (REDMS No. 180508)

Fire Chief Jim Hancock reviewed the report with Committee members. In response to questions, he advised that:

with respect to the potential for liability regarding the Safe Ride Program, staff had taken a great deal of time to (i) ensure that training was thorough, and (ii) mitigate any risk which might occur; in the event of a problem, the Department was covered by the City’s liability insurance

with respect to E-Comm, even though the City had entered into an agreement for all services offered by E-Comm, only partial services were being provided and it appeared that the City was being levied charges for services which the City was not receiving; staff would be meeting with representatives of E-Comm to ensure that the City was not being billed for services which E-Comm was not delivering

regarding Automatic Aid Agreements and the manning of fire trucks to and from New Westminster will be a problem area because the service delivery to New Westminster would be better; there were labour implications which would have to be resolved; both Richmond and New Westminster were controlled by the same WCB regulations, and it was difficult to explain how New Westminster could man fire trucks with only three men.

It was moved and seconded

That the Fire/Rescue second and third quarter report for 2000 be received for information.

CARRIED

RECREATION AND CULTURAL SERVICES 1999 ANNUAL REPORT
(Report: September 21, 2000, File No.: 0375-01) (REDMS No. 185678)

The Director, Recreation & Cultural Services, Kate Sparrow, reviewed highlights of the 1999 annual report through a PowerPoint presentation. The Manager, Cultural Services, Jane Fernyhough, reviewed cultural and heritage services, as well as special services; the Manager, Arena Services, Vern Jacques, reviewed aquatic services; and the Manager, Aquatic Services, David McBride reviewed aquatic services.

In concluding the presentation, Ms. Sparrow acknowledged the dedicated staff who helped ‘to make it happen’ and the community groups with which the City worked in partnership. She stated that the department would continue to look at areas where improvements could be made to the present gaps in service and endeavour to remove barriers for those individuals who were not yet participating in community programs.

Ms. Sparrow asked that the report be sent to the community partners, accompanied by a letter from the Chair, acknowledging their efforts in making Richmond a vibrant and healthy community.

Discussion then ensued briefly among Committee members and staff on such matters as:

the usefulness of the annual report in its present format as a tool to the public and the feasibility of preparing a user friendly brochure, 4 or 5 pages in length - Kate Sparrow responded that staff could work with the City’s Manager of Communications & Public Affairs, Ted Townsend, to develop communication strategies to get the messages contained in the report to the public

the impact which the construction of the overpass at Steveston Highway and Highway 99 might have on attendance at Watermania - staff were asked to monitor the situation once the construction had been completed

the likelihood that the cost recovery figures at ‘Watermania" could be raised another 10% over the next year - information was given that the goal of Aquatic Services was to attract more patrons which would result in increased revenue; however it was important to recognize that the recovery targets were becoming increasingly difficult to achieve because of rising costs.

It was moved and seconded

That Council receive the Recreation and Cultural Services Department 1999 Annual Report; and

That a copy of the Annual Report be sent to the community groups that jointly operate facilities and provide recreation and cultural services along with a letter from the Chair of the Community Services Committee thanking them for their enthusiasm and hard work in making Richmond a more liveable community.

CARRIED

SUMMER 2000 PROGRAM

Ms. Sparrow advised that members of the Summer 2000 Program Committee were present to share some of the successes of the program. She then introduced Ms. Cindy Eward, Summer Administrator, accompanied by Kuo Wong, a member of the steering committee, and Scott Schroeder, Recreation Programmer.

Ms. Eward then gave a PowerPoint presentation which highlighted successes of the Program, which offered the opportunity to (i) work with children; (ii) develop and improve communication skills; (iii) children to remain physically active while improving their social skills; and (iv) children to explore more of their community and the surrounding areas.

A brief discussion ensued, during which Ms. Eward was thanked for her efforts in preparing the PowerPoint presentation. As a result, the following referral motion was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That the oral report on the Summer 2000 Program be received for information, and forwarded to Council for presentation.

CARRIED

MANAGER’S REPORT

The Director, Parks, Dave Semple, reported that the hunting season had now commenced, and that to date, only one complaint had been received from a resident in South Richmond. He added that the Hunting Advisory Committee would be meeting again within the next 2 weeks.

Concern was expressed during the discussion on this matter, that the City had not been advised by the BC Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks about the lack of communication regarding the notification of early season opening dates for Canada Geese. Concern was also voiced about the large crow and coyote population and the problems which these two species were causing.

Ms. Sparrow reported at length on the status of the Program Registration Review, and on the results of the Board workshops held on the provision of customer service. She noted that Board issues included the loss of community identity, membership, and volunteers, as well as technical issues which were being worked on with Finance & Corporate Services staff to address these concerns. Ms. Sparrow advised that newsletter updates would continue as it was important to provide a high level of communication with all concerned.

The Chair referred to a telephone call which he had received from an individual searching for acre organic gardening plots. The General Manager, Urban Development, David McLellan reported that staff were aware of the request and were examining the feasibility of establishing such plots in the City nursery, outside of the operations area. He stated that the Manager, Lands & Property, Christine McGilvray would be presenting a report to the Committee on the matter.

Councillor Johnston referred to correspondence received from Julie Halfnights regarding an injury to a patron at the recent "Nibbles & Bites" event. He requested that staff provide a response to the next Committee meeting as there were concerns in the correspondence about liability and the future of "Nibbles & Bites".

It was MOVED and SECONDED

That the meeting adjourn (5:10 p.m.).

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Community Services Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Wednesday, October 11^th, 2000.

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Councillor Harold Steves
Chair

Fran J. Ashton
Executive Assistant