Date:

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Place:

Anderson Room

Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Harold Steves, Chair

Councillor Evelina Halsey-Brandt, Vice-Chair

Councillor Sue Halsey-Brandt

Councillor Bill McNulty

Absent:

Councillor Ken Johnston

Also Present:

Councillor Greg Halsey-Brandt

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 Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Committee held on Tuesday, October 26, 2010, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

Tuesday, January 25, 2011 (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room

DELEGATION

1.

WETLANDS AT BLUNDELL ROAD AND NO. 6 ROAD

Richmond resident Julian Hudson, advised that he spoke on behalf of Nature Vancouver with regard to 79 acres of wetland on private property southeast of Blundell Road and No. 6 Road.

Using a PowerPoint presentation (on file in the City Clerk’s Office), Mr. Hudson stated that naturalists in the Lower Mainland are concerned that the wetland acres are threatened. He provided background information on the wetlands, and drew Committee’s attention to the following: (i) Ecowaste Industries Ltd. owns the land as well as the landfill to the east of the property; (ii) part of the wetland acreage is an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA), but the majority is not identified as an ESA; and (iii) the wetlands provide a breeding ground for Sandhill cranes, and are inhabited by other species, such as deer. 

In concluding his presentation, Mr. Hudson requested that the City work with the wetland owners to examine ways to protect the wetland area.

Discussion ensued among Committee, Mr. Hudson, Terry Crowe, Manager, Policy Planning, and Wayne G. Mercer, Manager, Community Bylaws in particular on:

·         

the site is designated “Agriculture” and the north west portion is designated as an ESA;

·         

Ecowaste has applied to the City for a non-farm use to place 5 metres of fill on the property over an 8 year period, followed by the placement of topsoil for the purpose of leasing the site for agriculture (e.g. blueberry cultivation); Ecowaste plans to leave the ESA on the site undeveloped;

·         

before any non-farm uses are begun, applications are considered by both City Council and the Agriculture Land Commission (ALC); the City has partial jurisdiction over landfill and the ALC has full jurisdiction; the quality and acceptability of the proposed fill would be scrutinized;

·         

Ecowaste has advised City staff that it is undertaking an environmental assessment for the entire 79 acre site;

·         

the Province’s Economic Gateway Strategy includes a discussion regarding a proposal to extend Blundell Road;

·         

the date of the most recent draining of the site is undetermined;

·         

the staff report regarding all of the City’s ESAs is in draft form, and the staff report regarding Ecowaste’s application for the 79 acre wetland site is in progress;

·         

Nature Vancouver has undertaken informal discussions with other environmentalist groups regarding the 79 acre wetland site; and

·         

to the north of the wetland site is a site owned by Rogers Communications.

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

It was moved and seconded

That the wetlands at 8060 No. 6 and Blundell Roads be referred to staff, and information regarding the wetlands come forward to Committee in conjunction with staff’s report on the Ecowaste Industries Ltd.’s application for the site.

CARRIED

COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT

2.

ACQUISITION OF VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL SCULPTURE BIENNALE 2009-2011 ARTWORK

(File Ref. No.:  11-7125-01) (REDMS No. 3059159)

Discussion ensued between Committee and Lucy Tompkins, Manager, Parks and Recreation Projects & Programs, and Jane Fernyhough, Director, Arts, Culture & Heritage Services, regarding the proposed on-line survey to gain public input to determine which works of art from the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale 2009-2011 might be considered for acquisition.

The discussion focused on:

·          

the potential cost of a survey, and costs of translating survey questions into Cantonese and Mandarin;

·          

staff has contacted Ipsos-Reid with the idea of a random phone survey;

·          

the value of artworks created by local artists, and the value of artworks created by artists outside the local area;

·          

the inclusion in the survey of a question asking whether respondents would choose to not buy any of the five Biennale sculptures available;

·          

the question of an expansion of the City’s Art Gallery in future years;

·          

the importance of including young people, senior people, and representatives of the City’s ethnic communities in the survey; and

·          

the small cost of advertising in the local newspaper to advise residents of the survey would keep the cost of the proposed survey low.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That a public consultation process be conducted to obtain feedback from the community on their preferred Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale 2009-2011 artwork, as outlined in the staff report dated November 2, 2010 from the Director, Arts, Culture and Heritage Services; and

(2)

That based on this feedback a listing of the favoured Biennale artworks and the potential funding options to acquire one or more permanent artwork(s) be brought forward for Council consideration in spring 2011.

DEFEATED

OPPOSED: Cllrs. McNULTY

STEVES

Discussion ensued with regard to the idea of the City purchasing a canvas by local artist John Horton. Staff advised that the Richmond Art Gallery does not have an acquisitions budget.

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

It was moved and seconded

That staff develop an acquisitions policy to acquire artwork from local artists.

CARRIED

PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT

3.

REFERRAL ARISING FROM THE NOVEMBER 24, 2009 PARKS, RECREATION AND CULTURAL SERVICES COMMITTEE MEETING REGARDING THE OPERATIONAL UPDATE SUBMISSION FROM THE RICHMOND AREANAS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION (RACA)

(File Ref. No.) (REDMS No. 3020450)

Committee commended staff and members of the Richmond Arenas Community Association (RACA) on the annual fees and charges for the operation of Minoru Arenas and the Richmond Ice Centre.

David McBride, Manager, Aquatic and Arena Services, provided background information regarding: (i) the KidSports grant program, and (ii) the weekly allocation of hours of ice time for RACA’s minor sport groups at the Olympic Oval.

Frank Claassen, Chair, RACA, addressed Committee and stated that RACA and the Oval have a good working relationship. The agreement in place for minor arena sport ice allocation at the Oval ensures that Minoru Arena and Richmond Ice Centre users have opportunities to use the Oval ice.

A brief discussion ensued among Committee, staff and Mr. Claassen regarding the likelihood of a further lifespan of at least 20 years for the City’s Minoru Arenas facility.

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report dated November 2, 2010 entitled “Referral arising from the November 24, 2009 Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Committee Meeting regarding the operational update submission from the Richmond Arenas Community Association (RACA)” from the Acting Director, Recreation be received for information.

CARRIED

4.

MANAGER’S REPORt

(1)

Opening Dates

Ms. Fernyhough advised that: (i) the Art Gallery’s next exhibition is opening on Thursday, November 25, 2010; and (ii) the Museum’s next exhibition is opening on Tuesday, December 14, 2010.

(2)

Fantasy Gardens Site

Jamie Esko, Park Planner, Parks Planning and Design, reported that a public consultation opportunity regarding the former Fantasy Gardens site would take place on Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at the South Arm Community Centre. Staff will report back at the January, 2011 meeting of the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Committee.

(3)

Community Gardens

Dave Semple, General Manager, Parks and Recreation, reported that staff is preparing the two new community garden sites for use, and the sites will be ready in the spring of 2011.

(4)

Young Farmers

Mr. Semple advised that the idea of working with young farmers is moving forward.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:25 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 23, 2010.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Councillor Harold Steves

Chair

Sheila Johnston

Committee Clerk