Date:

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Place:

Anderson Room

Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Sue Halsey-Brandt, Vice-Chair

Councillor Derek Dang

Councillor Ken Johnston

Councillor Harold Steves

Absent:

Councillor Linda Barnes, Chair

Call to Order:

The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m.

MINUTES

1.

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Public Works & Transportation Committee held on Wednesday, February 18, 2009, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

2.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. in the Anderson Room.

DELEGATION

3.

Ms. Carol Jung, 10471 Aintree Crescent addressed Committee and stated three concerns:

·          

as a replacement for the original asphalt on the boulevard fronting her residence, the City planted grass, but in front of her neighbour’s residence across the street, the boulevard was surfaced with asphalt;

·          

the lane at the back of her residence has pot holes; and

·          

safety issues arise due to: (i) the Jung’s residence being located on a curve; and (ii) at night the boulevard fronting the Jung residence is dark due to a lack of street lights.

During a brief discussion between staff and Committee the following advice was given:

·          

the standard outlined in the Boulevard Maintenance Regulation Bylaw No. 7174 is that City asphalt boulevards are replaced with grass and a gravel shoulder;

·          

the City’s boulevard that front’s the residence of Ms. Jung’s neighbour across the street has a paved parking area, similar to the earlier surface of the boulevard that fronts Ms. Jung’s residence; the City needed to remove only a 2 square foot portion of this area to facilitate the installation of a water meter, and it was more cost effective to replace this small portion than to remove the entire paved surface and replace it with grass;

·          

the lane behind Ms. Jung’s residence is scheduled to be upgraded in 2011, after current and future development activity takes place in the area; interim measures that will improve the condition of the lane, as well as regular maintenance activities, are ongoing; and

·          

it would be cost prohibitive for the City to add roadway lighting to the Aintree Crescent, an area that was built when City road standards did not include roadway lighting.

Robert Gonzalez, General Manager, Engineering and Public Works outlined for Committee the action staff will undertake in response to Ms. Jung’s concerns:

(i)

re-prioritize the lane upgrade schedule to attend to the condition of the lane at the back of Ms. Jung’s residence to alleviate the issue of pot holes;

(ii)

examine the facilitation of more appropriate parking in the rear lane;

(iii)

review the quality of the grass, and follow up with Ms. Jung regarding the landscaping on the boulevard, that fronts Ms. Jung’s residence; and

(iv)

commence a streetlight review.

COUNCILLOR GREG HALSEY-BRANDT

4.

MULTI FAMILY RATES FOR WATER AND SEWER SERVICES

(Report:  March 19, 2009, File No.:  03-0930-02-03) (REDMS No. 2589495, 1075220, 1471923, 2026956)

The Chair noted that Councillor Greg Halsey-Brandt was not able to be present to speak to his report, therefore, it was moved and seconded:

That the report dated March 19, 2009 from Councillor Greg Halsey-Brandt entitled “Multi Family Rates for Water and Sewer Services” be tabled until the April 22, 2009 meeting of the Public Works and Transportation Committee.

CARRIED

PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT

5.

INTEGRATED TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK STRATEGY

(Report:  January 26, 2009, File No.:  04-1335-01) (REDMS No. 2360251)

It was moved and seconded

That:

(1)

staff defer further independent work about researching partnering with private WiFi providers to deploy a City WiFi network;

(2)

staff issue a Request for Interest to ascertain the potential of vendors to use City-owned infrastructure to provide their telecommunication services to the community; and

(3)

the vision and goals that provide the conditions that support an open, market-driven, competitive environment as detailed in the staff report dated January 26, 2009 from the General Manager, Engineering and Public Works and the Director of Information Technology be adopted as the basis for the Integrated Telecommunications Network strategic plan.

CARRIED

6.

WEST NILE VIRUS SURVEILLANCE AND PRE-EMPTIVE LARVACIDING PROGRAM

(Report:  February 28, 2009, File No.:  10-6125-04-14) (REDMS No. 2581863)

Suzanne Bycraft, Manager, Fleet & Environmental Programs accompanied by Steve Chong, Manager, Health Protection, Richmond Public Health addressed Committee, and in response to queries, provided the following information:

A comment was made that the cold temperatures during the recent winter months sent birds further south than usual, and there is a remote possibility this might lead to a West Nile Virus problem. Mr. Chong responded that a provincial strategy through the BC Center for Disease Control would continue with enhanced surveillance targeted to portions of the southern Kootenay area and the Okanagon region.

A brief discussion ensued and the following information was given:

·         

the closest areas affected by West Nile Virus are central Washington state and southern Idaho;

·         

the public health community has determined that the risk of an outbreak in the human population is very low and that the virus requires up to a full year to amplify within the host bird population; and

·         

the City will continue its nuisance control program on Sturgeon Banks as it has done for many years now.

In response to a further query Committee was advised that despite a very remote chance, should West Nile Virus be introduced locally during the summer of 2009, the situation would be reviewed and a strategy would be developed which might include the reintroduction of the pre-emptive larvaciding program.

It was moved and seconded

That the City of Richmond discontinue the West Nile Virus surveillance and pre-emptive larvaciding program for 2009.

CARRIED

7.

VAN HORNE PUMP STATION TRANSFER OF FUNDS

(Report:  February 9, 2009 File No.:  10-6340-20-P.08602) (REDMS No. 2573182)

It was moved and seconded

That $750,000 funding approved from the 2008 Van Horne Sanitary Pump Station Replacement  Account (No. 40654) be used to fund rehabilitation of the Brighouse, Jones and Richmond Centre Sanitary Pump Stations.

CARRIED

8.

2009 PAVING PROGRAM

(Report:  March 18,2009, File No.:  02-0775-50-3452/Vol 01) (REDMS No. 2581926)

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report dated March 18, 2009 from the Director, Engineering, entitled “2009 Paving Program” be received for information.

CARRIED

CORPORATE POLICY MANAGEMENT GROUP

9.

METRO VANCOUVER TAP WATER CAMPAIGN AND MUNICIPAL DECLARATION

(Report:  January 31, 2009, File No.:  01-0157-20-WWMA1) (REDMS No. 2569629)

A brief discussion took place between Committee and Margot Daykin, Sustainability Manager regarding:

·          

whether it was preferable to: (i) reduce, (ii) phase out or (iii) outright ban bottled water;

·          

the importance of overall sustainability practices by the bottled water industry, and by levels of government; and

·          

improvements are being made regarding a better bio-degradable bottle container.

In response to the Chair’s comment that Part (iv) of the staff recommendation does not refer to accessible drinking fountains in buildings, parks and other public spaces, Ms. Daykin advised that the promotion of the value of municipal tap water is encouraged, and that staff intends to explore various options for increasing accessibility of tap water, such as refillable water bottle filling stations, among other ideas.

It was moved and seconded

That a letter, signed by the Mayor, be sent to Metro Vancouver indicating that the City of Richmond:

(i)

commits to promoting the value of municipal tap water;

(ii)

recognizes the purposeful uses of bottled water;

(iii)

intends to maximize opportunities for use of tap water in municipal facilities; and

(iv)

encourages Metro Vancouver, as part of their Tap Water campaign, to develop strategies for making tap water the “water of choice” and to work with the bottled water industry to develop a coordinated approach which recognizes the purposeful uses of bottled water.

CARRIED

OPPOSED: Councillor Harold Steves

10.

MANAGER’S REPORT

Mr. Irving reported that on April 2, 2009, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. City staff would be in the Galleria, at City Hall, hosting the 2009 Construction Projects Open House. The public is invited to attend and learn more about City services and capital projects.

Mr. Gonzalez reported that on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 Metro Vancouver would host a public information feedback session on Liquid Waste Management at Richmond’s Airport Executive Hotel. The public is encouraged to participate.

Victor Wei, Director, Transportation advised that staff investigated Minoru Boulevard, between Westminster Highway and Granville Avenue, regarding the feasibility of replacing the special crosswalks that have amber flashing lights with pedestrian signals, and concluded that upgrading the existing three special crosswalks along Minoru Boulevard to full pedestrian signals is not recommended at this time.

Dave Semple, Director of Parks and Public Works Operations reported that:

(1)

due to: (i) colder than usual winter, (ii) snowfall more than two and a half times more than normal, and (iii) seasonal forecast for continuing below normal temperatures for this time of year, the appropriate number of staff for spring tasks will be brought on board later than usual.

(2)

staff is investigating how to manage the snow geese population.

Councillor Ken Johnston referred to the Vancouver Airport Fuel Delivery Project, as discussed at the February 18, 2009 meeting of the Public Works and Transportation Committee, and questioned whether the City was monitoring the public information sessions hosted by the Vancouver Airport Fuel Facilities Corporation (VAFFC).

Advice was given that: (i) since February, 2009 staff has learned new information regarding the project; (ii) staff will bring a report on the VAFFC’s process forward to a future meeting of the Public Works and Transportation Committee; (iii) the City is one of several parties interested in the project and its process; and (iv) the Provincial Environmental Assessment Office that has designated the Project as reviewable and that ultimately the BC Utilities Commission will make recommendations regarding the project.

In response to a further enquiry regarding comments that the City’s Advisory Committee on the Environment (ACE) may have regarding the airport fuel delivery project, Mr. Gonzalez advised that he and other staff members comprise a staff team that is involved in issues related to the airport fuel delivery project, and that the team will follow up with ACE. 

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:20 p.m.).

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Public Works & Transportation Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Wednesday, March 25, 2009.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Councillor Sue Halsey-Brandt

Vice-Chair

Sheila Johnston

Committee Clerk