Date:

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Place:

Anderson Room

Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Linda Barnes, Chair

Councillor Sue Halsey-Brandt, Vice-Chair

Councillor Derek Dang

Councillor Ken Johnston

Councillor Harold Steves

Also Present:

Councillor Greg Halsey-Brandt (arrived at 4:05 p.m.)

Councillor Bill McNulty (arrived at 4:08 p.m.)

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 Public Works & Transportation Committee held on Wednesday, September 21, 2011, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room

ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

1.

METRO VANCOUVER DRINKING WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN

(File Ref. No. 10-6060-02-01) (REDMS No. 3372405)

It was moved and seconded

That the Metro Vancouver 2011 Drinking Water Management Plan be adopted.

CARRIED

2.

WIDENING OF WESTMINSTER HIGHWAY AND NELSON ROAD CN RAIL WORK PERMIT

(File Ref. No. 10-6340-20-P.11203) (REDMS No. 3368967)

It was moved and seconded

That the Chief Administrative Officer and the General Manager, Engineering and Public Works be authorized to sign documents as required for a Work Permit from CN Rail for Contract 4230P – Design of Westminster Highway and Nelson Road Widening.

CARRIED

COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT

3.

2011 CORPORATE ENERGY MANAGEMENT UPDATE

(File Ref. No. 01-0103-65-20-06) (REDMS No. 3363751)

Councillor G. Halsey-Brandt entered the meeting (4:05 p.m.).

Cecilia Achiam, Interim Director, Sustainability and District Energy, introduced Levi Higgs as the City’s new Corporate Energy Manager and spoke of Mr. Higgs’ education and past work experience.

Councillor McNulty entered the meeting (4:08 p.m.).

In reply to queries from Committee, Ms. Achiam and Mr. Higgs provided the following information:

§          

staff are continuing to explore energy saving measures that are beyond those mandated by the BC Hydro Power Smart program, in particular staff are examining reducing the consumption of natural gas and shifting to alternative modes of energy production such as solar and geothermal;

§          

under the City’s Energy Management Program (EMP), three projects that utilize solar thermal power have been completed;

§          

wind energy has not been utilized as it is difficult to obtain external funding for such initiatives, and wind energy technology has yet to be fully developed;

§          

Richmond continually accesses grant funding for many energy initiatives; and

§          

the Richmond Olympic Oval’s ballast replacement and increased lighting control upgrade will pay for itself in energy savings after three years.

Discussion ensued regarding lighting at the Richmond Olympic Oval and Cathryn Volkering Carlile, General Manager – Community Services, stated that staff would provide Council with a memorandum detailing energy efficiencies at the Oval.

Discussion further ensued and Committee queried how the information contained in the staff report entitled “2011 Corporate Energy Management Program Update” dated October 6, 2011 would be dispersed to Richmond residents.

Also a comment was made that energy saving initiatives be coordinated with other energy-related programs and events such as Earth Day.

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report entitled “2011 Corporate Energy Management Program Update” from the Interim Director, Sustainability and District Energy, dated October 6, 2011 be received for information and that staff be requested to provide a communication strategy on the staff report.

CARRIED

4.

MANAGER’S REPORT

(i)

Snow & Ice Removal

Bryan Shepherd, Supervisor II, Roads and Construction, provided an update on the City’s snow and ice removal strategy for the upcoming winter. In reply to a query from Committee, Mr. Shepherd advised that the City’s website would be updated to reflect the most current information regarding programs such as the Snow Angels.

(ii)

No. 1 Road & Moncton Street Intersection

John Irving, Director, Engineering, spoke of the No. 1 Road and Moncton Street intersection upgrades and noted that accessibility concerns have been addressed.

Mr. Irving advised that funds allocated for the City’s Toilet Rebate Program have been fully subscribed for 2011.

(iii)

Left Turn Lanes

Discussion ensued regarding left turn lanes and Victor Wei, Director, Transportation, commented on the Transportation Department’s protocol for the installation of left turn lanes.  Also, he advised that staff are currently examining the Railway Avenue corridor.

(iv)

Speed Humps

Discussion ensued regarding the installation of speed humps along Dyke Road between No. 2 Road and No. 3 Road in an effort to curb speeding.

(v)

Public Works Association of BC 2011 Project of the Year Award

The Chair highlighted that the City was awarded the Public Works Association of BC 2011 Project of the Year award for the recently completed No. 4 Road Drainage Pump Station project.  She thanked staff for their hard work and recognized key team members:  Milton Chan, Senior Project Engineer, Mile Racic, Engineering Project Manager, and Derek Hunter, Public Works Foreman.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (4:40 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, October 19, 2011.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Councillor Linda Barnes

Chair

Hanieh Floujeh

Committee Clerk