MINUTES

1.

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee held on Wednesday, October 11^th, 2002, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

2.

The next meeting of the Committee will be held on Tuesday, December 10^th, 2002 at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room.

COMMUNITY SAFETY DIVISION

3.

APPLICATION FOR SOIL CONSERVATION PERMIT (SOIL PLACEMENT)
Applicants: Helen and Ronald Wong
Civic Address: 18300 River Road, Richmond
Legal Description: Lot: 5 Sec: 19-5-4 BL: 5 North Range 4  West NWD Plan: LMP11053
(Report:  Oct. 23/02, File No.:  8350-05) (REDMS No. 880147, 880065)

The Manager, Transportation Planning, Victor Wei, accompanied by the Supervisor, Community Bylaws, Bob Lang, indicated that they were present to answer any questions from the Committee.

(Mayor Brodie entered the meeting at 4:02 p.m.)

In response to questions, information was provided that the fill operation would be monitored to ensure that the operation proceeded cleanly.  Further advice was given that a number of conditions had been added to the permit to deal with any spillage of material into ditches, and if necessary, the applicants would be requested to install a wheel washer.

It was moved and seconded

That authorization be given for the issuance of a Soil Conservation Permit to Helen and Ronald Wong for the placement of 13,000 cubic metres of fill at 18300 River Road.

CARRIED

4.

strategies to discourage street racing
(Report:  Oct. 18/02, File No.:  6450-09) (REDMS No. 883548,  900343)
(Referred from the November 4^th, 2002 General Purposes Committee meeting for discussion.)

The Manager, Transportation Planning, Victor Wei, introduced Mr. Alex Lee, Road Safety and ICBC Loss Prevention Coordinator, and material was circulated to the Committee on the ICBC Road Safety Programs for Children and Youth, a copy of which is attached as Schedule A and forms part of these minutes.

(Cllr. Evelina Halsey-Brandt entered the meeting 4:05 p.m.)

Mr. Lee reviewed the material circulated, and discussion ensued among Committee members, the delegation and staff on the importance of educating children and youth about road safety.  It was noted that the ICBC road safety programs were only taught on a voluntary basis, even though these programs had been prepared in conjunction with the BC Primary Curriculum, were compatible with the BC Integrated Resource Package, and had been approved by the Ministry of Education.

Discussion then ensued on the action to take which would result in the mandatory teaching of the ICBC road safety programs in local schools.  Also addressed was whether these programs would help to address reckless driving.  As part of the discussion, the following suggestions were made (i) that the City show its support by endorsing the programs; (ii) that parents and the community become involved and be educated about the value of these programs in teaching children about road safety; and (iii) that any individual obtaining a drivers licence be required to successfully complete the ICBC road safety programs as part of their driver training. 

(Cllr. Sue Halsey-Brandt entered the meeting 4:15 p.m.)

During the discussion, information was provided by Mr. Lee on the steps taken by ICBC to present its road safety programs to School Boards and Parent Advisory Committees.  It was noted also that because of the many compulsory subjects which teachers were required to teach, any program which was not mandatory would only be taught if the teacher had the time to do so.  However, the comment was also made that if the ICBC programs were compatible with the BC Integrated Resource Package then these programs could be incorporated into the regular school curriculum, and that efforts had to be made to make teachers aware of the valuable information contained in these programs. 

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

It was moved and seconded

That:

(1)

an education program (as prepared by ICBC), which have been approved by the Ministry of Education and which have been designed to align with the BC Primary Curriculum, be endorsed for mandatory use in schools and by parents, and that a letter be written to the Ministry of Education requesting that these ICBC initiatives be implemented in all schools;

(2)

the appropriate Ministry be requested to require the completion of a mandatory road safety education program as part of obtaining a drivers licence;

(3)

staff investigate and report on the appropriate course of action to take to ensure that road education is legislated in the Kindergarten to Grade 12 school systems; and

(4)

that copies of the correspondence to the Ministry of Education be forwarded to all appropriate ministries and organizations, including School Boards, school principals and vice principals, the BC Teachers Federation and the Richmond Parents Association.

CARRIED

Supt. Ward Clapham, accompanied by Insp. Tony Mahon, Operations Support, Corporal Peter Thiessen, and Sgt. Ron Hobbs, of the Richmond Detachments Traffic Section, joined Mr. Wei at the table.  Copies of a list of the Detachments Priorities Regarding Criminal Driving Behaviour were circulated to Committee members for their information, and a copy is attached as Schedule B and forms part of these minutes.

(Cllr. Steves entered the meeting 4:38 p.m.)

Discussion ensued among Committee members and the delegation on the list of priorities submitted by the RCMP, during which in response to questions, the following information was provided:

-

the proposals had been placed on the list in order of priority

-

the most effective use of funds would be the proposed use of overtime in the amount of $40,000 because the result would be the immediate placement of officers on the street to resolve problems as they arose

-

the Detachment was intending to purchase at least some of the proposed twenty in car cameras and hoped to find the funding for this purchase through the Detachments current budget.

During the discussion, detailed information was provided on how the use of overtime would help to combat speed racing and aggressive driving.  Also discussed was the question of whether it would be more cost effective to hire additional officers rather than pay overtime to existing officers.  It was noted during the discussion that the use of overtime to fund shifts of officers who would target weekend enforcement could commence immediately rather than wait for the additional officers to be hired. 

Information was provided by the General Manager, Finance & Corporate Services, Jim Bruce, on (i) the financial impact of the requests and whether funding would be available if the seven requests were approved; (ii) the impact which approval of the requests would have on the 2003 budget; and (iii) how funding might be found within the Detachments current budget.  Also discussed with the delegation was the feasibility of re-priorizing the list in $50,000 increments as a means of lessening the impact which approval of all seven requests could have on the current budget.

Discussion also ensued among Committee members and the delegation on the need to (i) immediately begin changing the attitude of the public about street racing; and (ii) send a message out to all areas of the Lower Mainland that street racing was not permitted in Richmond and that any individual caught street racing would pay the price.

Also discussed was whether (i) the entire list of requests, or a portion thereof, should be approved, and (ii) consideration would be given to approving additional officers as part of the 2003 budget if the proposed use of overtime to fund officers who would target weekend enforcement, was successful. 

At the conclusion of the discussion, the following resolution was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That the list of Priorities Regarding Criminal Driving Behaviour (as submitted by the OIC, Richmond Detachment of the RCMP) be adopted in its entirety, subject to available financing.

The question on the motion was not called, as the following referral motion was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That the Priorities Regarding Criminal Driving Behaviour (submitted by the OIC RCMP, Richmond Detachment to the November 12th, 2002 Community Safety Committee meeting), be referred to staff to:

(1)

re-priorize the list in increments of $50,000, with recommendations from the RCMP on their most immediate needs;

(2)

create a communication strategy to advise the public of the action being taken to deal with street racing and aggressive driving behaviour; and

(3)

provide information on a possible source of funding which could be made available for immediate implementation of all or some of the priorities listed,

for report to a special meeting of the Community Safety Committee to be held at 4:00 p.m., Thursday, November 21st, 2002.

Prior to the question on the motion being called, staff were instructed to (i) provide a financial breakdown on the various combinations of priorities; and (ii) examine capital and operational budgets to determine if there were funds which could be used to finance those projects which were a one-time only expenditure and would not carry over to the 2003 budget.

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

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 Community Safety Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Wednesday, November 13^th, 2002.

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Councillor Linda Barnes
Chair

Fran J. Ashton
Executive Assistant