Date:

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Place:

Anderson Room

Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Harold Steves, Chair

Councillor Evelina Halsey-Brandt, Vice-Chair

Councillor Sue Halsey-Brandt

Councillor Ken Johnston

Councillor Bill McNulty

Also Present:

Councillor Linda Barnes

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, November 23, 2010, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

Tuesday, March 1, 2011 (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room.

COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT

1.

Terra Nova Rural Park Public Art Bench Project

(File Ref. No.:  11-7000-09-20-110) (REDMS No. 3106264)

Eric Fiss, Public Art Planner, and Yvonne Stich, Park Planner, provided background information and in reply to queries from Committee advised that (i) the proposed project is currently at a conceptual stage, however a technical review of the materials is forthcoming; (ii) the budget for the proposed art includes maintenance costs; and (iii) the City will own the rights to reproduce the selected artwork, however copyright in the artwork, including the digital image, will remain with the Artist.

It was moved and seconded

That the concept proposals and installation of the Terra Nova Rural Park Public Art Project “Eco-tectural or Agri-tectural Bench” by the six artists/artist teams of Mark Ashby, Thomas Cannell, Khalil Jamal + Toby Colquhoun, ideale Artists Team, Peter Pierobon, and Norm Williams, as presented in the report from the Director, Arts, Culture & Heritage Services dated January 11, 2011, be endorsed.

CARRIED

2.

Richmond 2010 Arts Update

(File Ref. No.:  11-7125-01) (REDMS No. 3058951)

Kim Somerville, Manager, Arts Services, provided background information and highlighted the following:

§          

Richmond was the leader in the province-wide ‘Culture Days’ –  a new cross-Canada movement to raise awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement in the arts;

§          

the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale has brought eight major outdoor sculpture exhibitions to Richmond; and

§          

the Richmond Art Gallery was identified as one of the best small galleries in Canada in a survey of Canadian museum and gallery professionals by the international museum planning and consultation firm Lord Cultural Resources.

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report entitled “Richmond 2010 Arts Update” dated January 10, 2011 from the Director, Arts, Cultures & Heritage Services, be received for information.

CARRIED

Committee welcomed a presentation of the Richmond 2010 Arts Update at a future Council meeting.  As a result, the following motion was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That the a five minute visual presentation of the Richmond 2010 Arts Update be presented at a future Council meeting.

CARRIED

PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT

3.

Hamilton Community Centre Staffing Approval

(File Ref. No. ) (REDMS No. 3097134)

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That a Position Complement Code for a Recreation Facility Clerk position at the Hamilton Community Centre be approved; and

(2)

That the creation of a Position Complement Code for a Recreation Leader position at the Hamilton Community Centre be approved.

CARRIED

BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT

4.

sport hosting progress report

(File Ref. No.) (REDMS No. 3019114)

Anne Stevens, Senior Manager, Enterprises Services, and Mike Romas, Manager, Sport Hosting, provided background information and in reply to queries from Committee, advised the following:

§          

the Sport Hosting Incentive Grant is currently funded by Tourism Richmond through the 2% Additional Hotel Room Tax;

§          

Tourism Richmond funds the grant with a $500,000 contributed annually for the next five years;

§          

any grant funds not allocated in any given year, automatically transfer to the following year’s budget;

§          

in an effort to broaden the scope of eligible sport hosting recipients and attract more large scale sporting events to Richmond, the current Sport Hosting Incentive Grant policy will be reviewed; and

§          

the Sport Hosting Office looks at all local, provincial, national, and international sport hosting opportunities given Richmond’s facilities.

Discussion ensued and Committee commented that a detailed analysis of the Sport Hosting financial statements would be valuable.

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report entitled “Sport Hosting Progress Report” dated January 5, 2011 from the General Manager, Business & Financial Services, be received for information.

CARRIED

4A.

OTHER ITEMS

(i)

Kajaks Track & Field Club

Committee inquired about a letter dated January 4, 2011 from Fred Pawluk, President, the Kajaks Track & Field Club, regarding financial assistance for hosting the Kajaks Track & Field Club’s 50^th Anniversary Events at the Richmond Olympic Oval.

Dave Semple, General Manager, Parks and Recreation, advised that their request for financial assistance for hosting the Kajaks Track & Field Club’s 50^th Anniversary Events at the Richmond Olympic Oval has been denied.  Mr. Semple noted that staff have responded to Mr. Pawluk advising of the City’s decision and the reasons why.

(ii)

Martial Arts Licencing

Discussion ensued regarding business licence regulations related to martial arts establishments in Richmond.  It was noted that many of these businesses do not have standards related to certification requirements, which poses a safety risk to their respective students.

Also, Committee questioned whether the Business Licence Bylaw No. 7360 may be the appropriate avenue for introducing such standards.

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

It was moved and seconded

That staff investigate and report back on the City’s ability to regulate, through business licencing, martial arts related businesses’ practices in order to ensure that all safety regulations are met and businesses belong to a bonafide martial arts organization.

CARRIED

(iii)

Children’s Playgrounds

Mr. Semple advised that staff will bring forward a report that reviews all playgrounds in Richmond and will speak to the age-appropriateness of each playground.  Also, the report will detail the costs associated to upgrades to playgrounds identified as priorities.

5.

MANAGER’S REPORT

(i)

BookIt / Class Registration

Alan Cameron, Director, Information Technology, provided background information and noted that the new CLASS registration system has been very well received by users and has made the entire registration process more efficient.

(ii)

2011 Winterfest Weekend

Eric Stepura, Manager, Sports & Community Events, highlighted that Winterfest Weekend returns to the Richmond Olympic Oval on February 12 and 13, 2011.  He noted that the event is free and people can enjoy public skating and ice sport demonstrations, interactive sport activities, special cultural presentation, art displays, children’s activities, a tribute to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and much more.

(iii)

Alberta Road Greenway & Garden City Park

Mike Redpath, Senior Manager, Parks, noted that a portion of Alberta Road between Garden City Road and Katsura Road, will be closed and redeveloped for pedestrian and cyclist use, becoming a key part of the City’s trails and greenways network.

(iv)

Steveston Off-Leash Dog Park

Dee Bowley-Cowan, Acting Manager, Parks Programs, noted that the Steveston off-leash dog park is now open.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:15 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, January 25, 2011.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Councillor Harold Steves

Chair

Hanieh Floujeh

Committee Clerk