Date:

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Place:

Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Linda Barnes, Chair
Councillor Sue Halsey-Brandt, Vice-Chair
Councillor Cynthia Chen (4:02 p.m.)
Councillor Harold Steves

Absent:

Councillor Bill McNulty

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 Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Committee held on Tuesday, October 23, 2007, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

2.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008 (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room.

PARKS, RECREATION AND CULTURAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT

3.

Steveston Museum & Post Office
(Report:  November 2, 2007, File No.: 11-7140-01 ) (REDMS No. 2299515)

In response to several questions, the Manager, Heritage and Cultural Services, Jane Fernyhough, accompanied by the Supervisor, Richmond Museum and Heritage Services, Connie Baxter provided the following advice:

§   

$38,000 has been requested for building renovations, museum exhibit upgrades and enhancement (including the addition of programming), and the continuation of museum and post office operations. This request has been submitted as part of the 2008 Ongoing Additional Levels, which will be considered for approval at the November 29, 2007 Finance Committee meeting;

§   

in support of the Steveston Historical Society, the Steveston Community Society has approved a one time honorarium for $6,000; and

§   

the intent is to continue operating the Steveston Museum without charging admission fees to visitors.

Graham Turnbull, Chair of the Steveston Historical Society (SHS), indicated that financial assistance is required in order for the Society to continue operating the Steveston Museum and Post Office. He advised that although the post office receives monthly statistical reports from Canada Post,  it is difficult to predict how much funding would be required to subsidize the operations of the post office. Mr. Turnbull concluded by thanking the Steveston Community Society for their generous grant of $6,000.

Lorne Sly 11911 3^rd Ave, indicated that the Steveston Community Centre has assisted the post office by utilizing the post office’s services for processing their own mail, and by volunteering to send staff to provide coverage. Mr. Sly inquired why the Steveston post office’s services have not yet been utilized to process City mail.

In response to Mr. Sly’s inquiry, staff advised that the City’s IT Department is responsible for processing the mail, and the physical locations of both the post office and City Hall make it unpractical to use the Steveston post office.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the report (dated November 2, 2007, from the Director, Recreation and Cultural Services) regarding the Steveston Museum and Post Office be received for information.

(2)

That Council send a letter to the Steveston Community Society thanking them for their support of the Steveston Historical Society and operation of the post office.

CARRIED

It was moved and seconded

That staff report back with potential options for generating revenue for the Steveston post office related to processing the mail produced by the City and the City’s related associations.

CARRIED

4.

Recreation and Cultural Services Financial Review
(Report:  November 15, 2007, File No.:  03-1200-01, XR: 11-7375-01/2007-Vol 01) (REDMS No. 2298334)

Vern Jacques, Manager, Projects and Programs, accompanied by Kate Sparrow, Director, Recreation & Cultural Services, and Jerry Chong, Director, Finance, provided a brief history associated with the evolution of the financial review.

A discussion took place, and the following was noted:

§   

the Richmond Nature Park is not included as a community partner organization in the financial review; 

§   

having three different year end dates for the City and it’s community association partner’s does not pose an issue from a financial perspective; and

§   

the data provided in the financial review will be analyzed further for purposes such as (i) including specific financial reporting requirements in  agreements with community association partners, (ii) adjusting and improving current programs and operations, (iii) determining subsidization and fee based operations for specific programs (iv) comparing trends, and (v)  enhancing the pricing policy.

Ian Shaw, a member of the South Arm Community Association, spoke about the benefits resulting from the Recreation and Cultural Services Financial Review, including easy identification of revenue generating activities; programs requiring subsidization; and programs requiring a fee structure or an increase in fees.

Jim Kojima,  a member of the Steveston Community Society, explained how the Recreation and Cultural Services Financial Review has given him a better understanding of the costs incurred by the City, and an appreciation of the City’s process and staff. He also spoke about the social and philosophical aspects related to community centre programming. 

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the recommendations contained in the report prepared by MMK Consulting (Attachment 3), dated November 15, 2007, regarding a Financial Review of Recreation and Cultural Services in the City of Richmond, and as summarized in the staff report dated November 15, 2007, from the Director, Recreation and Cultural Services and Director of Finance, be endorsed;

(2)

That the consultant’s report be forwarded to the Boards of Directors of Recreation and Cultural Services partner organizations (Attachment 1) for implementation;

(3)

That letters be sent to all community representatives who worked on the Recreation and Cultural Services Financial Review, thanking them for their contribution.

The question on the motion was not called, as staff was directed to report back to Committee with details related to the costs associated with generating the City of Richmond Financial Review of Recreation and Cultural Services.

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

5.

MANAGER’S REPORT

Maintenance costs due to recent storms

Dave Semple, Director of Parks and Public Works Operations, spoke about damages incurred during the recent wind storm. Maintenance and clean up costs added up to approximately $4,000 during the storm, and another $10,000 on the following day.  Details regarding the different types of storms, and related costs are now being tracked to provide a trend analysis, and to identify the impact of storms on the budget. 

2009 National Soccer Championships awarded to Richmond

Eric Stepura, Manager, Sports & Community Events, reported that the Canadian Soccer Association has accepted the proposal from the Richmond Youth Soccer Association to host the 2009 National Boys All-Stars games which will take place in July 2009.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:00 p.m.).

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Tuesday, November 27, 2007.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Councillor Linda Barnes
Chair

Shanan Dhaliwal
Committee Clerk