MINUTES

1.

It was moved and seconded

That minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee held on Tuesday, June 14^th, 2005, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

2.

The next meeting of the Committee will be held on Tuesday, September 13^th, 2005 at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room.

3.

POLICE CHIEF BRIEFING

(Oral Report)  (30 Minutes in duration)

Items for discussion:

(1)

Salmon Festival  - Insp. Rennie Nesset spoke about the success of the event from a policing standpoint.  He indicated that the road closure had been well received, and that the only area of concern had been  the beer garden held in the lacrosse box.  He asked that the Detachment be advised of any concerns received by the City about policing at the event.

(2)

Richmond Night Market  - Insp. Nesset advised that the opening of the Night Market last Thursday evening had been problematic and that the Detachment had been forced to call resources in on short notice.  He stated that the matter was being dealt with by Richard Toda and that an event meeting had been held to discuss options for the additional resources.

(3)

Update – Law Enforcement Torch Run – Insp. Tony Mahon provided information on recent and upcoming fund-raising events which were being held by the Detachment to raise funds for the Special Olympics.  He noted that to date, the Detachment had raised $4,000, with a goal of $12,000.

Reference was made to recent unfortunate events which had occurred in the City, and discussion ensued among Committee members and the delegation on whether there was a trend developing.  Concern was expressed by the delegation that the use of weapons instead of fists to resolve issues, was becoming an emerging trend throughout the Lower Mainland.

Reference was made to events which had occurred on the Skytrain in the past week.  The Chair noted that the RCMP was part of the team dealing with safety on the new RAV line, and she asked that the RCMP advise Committee and Council if they were ever of the opinion that their concerns were not being addressed.

Reference was made to the number of businesses which did not comply with City regulations, and Cllr. McNulty requested a report on the number of karaoke establishments which did not comply with City regulations.  He voiced concern for the safety of the patrons who visited these establishments.

During the discussion which ensued on this matter, information was provided on the cooperation between the Police, the Fire-Rescue Department and the Liquor Licencing Department, and on the team which was responsible for the inspection of liquor establishments, to ensure that all regulations were being followed.

Reference was made to 9-1-1 survey undertaken by E-Comm, and the Richmond Detachment was requested provide Council with the results of the survey as they related to the Detachment.

(4)

Positive Ticket Initiative – the Chair referred to correspondence received from the City of Grande Prairie, Alberta, which congratulated the Detachment on the implementation of the ‘Positive Ticket Initiative’, and which indicated that that City would soon be launching their own program on July 8^th, 2005.

Insp. Mahon advised that the Deputy Director General of the Office of Public Safety for Shanghai would be visiting Richmond to review Richmond’s policing model and to talk about community policing.

4.

FIRE CHIEF BRIEFING

(Oral Report)  (30 Minutes in duration)

Items for discussion:

(1)

E-COMM:  Client Survey –  Deputy Chief Geoff Lake circulated copies of the E-Comm 9-1-1 2004 Customer Satisfaction Survey to the Committee, and he reviewed the results as they pertained to Richmond.  (A copy of the survey is on file in the City Clerk’s Office.)

Deputy Chief Lake noted during his review, that a number of factors may have impacted the results, including the fact that (i) the survey was conducted six months after Richmond had transferred to E-Comm when problems were still occurring; (ii) the introduction of new portable radios the same week which the survey was sent out, and (iii) a large personnel turn-over had taken place within the Department.

Deputy Chief Lake advised that personnel were concerned about the accuracy of information being provided by the E-Comm dispatchers, and that one of the most common complaints was that the dispatchers were not familiar with Richmond.  He added that E-Comm intended to conduct another survey in November of this year.

(2)

E-COMM:  Increased Participation – Deputy Chief Lake provided information on the current level of participation in E-Comm, and advised that discussions were taking place on the inclusion of Delta, the Sunshine Coast, Whistler, the North Shore and Coquitlam in the agency. 

Discussion ensued among Committee members and Deputy Chief Lake on the results of the survey and how the measurements were determined.

At the conclusion of the discussion, the Chair thanked Deputy Chief Lake for his presentation.

5.

OPEN BURNING - BEACH FIRES

(Report:  June 27/05, File No.:  09-5170-00/Vol 01) (REDMS No. 1601183, 140516)

Fire Chief Jim Hancock, Deputy Chief Lake, and the Manager, Operational Support, Richmond Fire Rescue, Sandy Pearson, were present to respond to questions.

Discussion ensued among Committee members and staff on:

§           

how enforcement of ‘no beach fires’ would be undertaken

§           

whether barbeques would be allowed (advice was given that only small portable propane barbeques would be permissible)

§           

the need for a public advertising campaign, and the suggestion was made that the message board at the No. 1 Fire hall be used to educate the public about this new regulation  (advice was given that staff would be taking the educational approach for this summer and would not be ‘heavy handed’)

§           

whether there were any other locations where pit fires were acceptable (advice was given that barbeque pit fires were not allowed, and those which were located on City property, such as at King George Park, were in the process of being removed)

§           

when the new regulation would come into effect

§           

the criteria which would have to be met by which the Fire Chief could issue a special event permit, and those special events which might be approved, such as the Salmon Festival barbeque pit.

Reference was made by the Chair to the amount of the fines listed in the Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw for infractions of the Fire Prevention Bylaw, and she questioned whether these amounts could be increased to provide more of a deterrent.  Advice was given that staff were currently reviewing the entire Fire Prevention Bylaw, and that the fine amounts would be reviewed as part of that process.

It was moved and seconded

That open burning permits for the purposes of beach fires no longer be permitted, except by written permission of the Fire Chief for special events.

CARRIED

6.

MANAGER’S REPORT

(a)

Sandy Pearson provided information on the upcoming agenda for the SOS team, noting that the issue of grow-ops and the referrals from recent committee meetings, as well as steps being taken by the City of Surrey, would be addressed.

(b)

Jim Hancock reported that the fund-raising was now underway for Richmond Fire-Rescue members volunteering to travel to Sri Lanka to build new homes in March of 2006, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, and that a car wash would take place on Saturday, July 9^th, 2005 at the Lansdowne Mall parking lot.  He added that Cathay Pacific Airlines had agreed to sponsor 24 seats for the trip to Sri Lanka.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:14 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, July 6^th, 2005.

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Councillor Linda Barnes
Chair

Fran J. Ashton
Executive Assistant, City Clerk’s Office