MINUTES

1.

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee held on Tuesday, July 18^th, 2006, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

2.

The next meeting of the Committee will be held on Wednesday, October 11^th, 2006  (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room.

DELEGATION

3.

E-COMM UPDATE

(Oral report.  Delegation:  Kiichi Kumagai and Ken Shymanski)

Mr. Ken Shymanksi, President and CEO of E-Comm, introduced Cindy Defazio, Operations Manager, and Kiichi Kumagai, the City representative on the Board of Directors of E-Comm, to the Committee.

Mr. Shymanski then gave a PowerPoint presentation, a copy of which is on file in the City Clerk’s Office, during which he reviewed:

·            

emergency dispatch operations

·            

radio infrastructure

·            

Integrated Call Taking

·            

Fire dispatch structure

·            

previous RCMP structure to July 5^th/current RCMP structure

·            

Integration at Work – Expansion of 9-1-1

·            

Successes

During the presentation, Mr. Shymanski and other staff members responded to questions on:

·            

the length of time taken from the time a member of the public called in with an emergency to when a responder was dispatched

·            

whether certain events were sent to predetermined, specific resources

·            

whether emergency events were prioritized in order of importance.

Discussion then took place among Committee members and the delegation on:

·            

the availability of information relating to the ‘value for dollar’ audit and the timing of a future report to Committee on this matter; the need for an update on the financial issues relating to E-Comm

·            

the E-Comm governance structure, and whether the shareholders who were making decisions, which had a financial impact on the member municipalities, were also involved in competitive enterprises; the responsibilities of the Directors

·            

whether a code of conduct existed for the Directors; how conflicts of interest were handled, and whether a Director was required to sign a confidentiality agreement when that person was appointed to the Board of Directors.

During the discussion, Mr. Kumagai thanked the Committee for inviting the E-Comm delegation to make a presentation at this afternoon’s meeting.  He spoke about the cost of providing the 9-1-1 service per area, and addressed the issue of governance.  Mr. Kumagai referred to a workshop being held on Friday, September 15^th, 2006, and stressed the importance of obtaining the City’s comments.  The Chair responded briefly to Mr. Kumagai’s comments relating to the governance issues, stating that the more information the City received would result in a higher level of comfort about participation in E-Comm.

(Cllr. Barnes left the meeting at 4:40 p.m., and did not return.)

Discussion continued briefly, with Mr. Shymanski talking further about the financial aspects of E-Comm, during which he advised that the second quarter financial expenses had decreased and revenue had increased.  He also spoke about the opportunities for growth which existed with several municipalities.

The Chair thanked the delegation for their presentation.  Prior to leaving the meeting, Mr. Shymanski invited Committee members and other members of Council to tour the E-Comm facility if they had not yet seen the building.

POLICIES / STRATEGIES (0 ITEMS)

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DECISIONS / ACTIONS (0 ITEMS)

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INFORMATION / AWARENESS (3 ITEMS)

4.

CANADA LINE UPDATE

(Oral report.)

The Director, Major Projects, Greg Scott, provided an update to Committee on the proposed security at the Richmond Canada Line stations.  He reported that security would be provided by concessionaires, who would be responsible for general monitoring of the line and ensuring that passengers had purchased tickets.  He added that the Greater Vancouver Transit Authority Police would be called in when needed.

In response to questions, information was provided that cameras monitoring the stations would be in ‘real time’; that these cameras would be monitored by personnel for specific activity, and that the waiting areas would also be monitored.

5.

Police Chief Briefing

(Oral Report) 

Supt. Ward Clapham, accompanied by Insp. Tony Mahon and Insp. Keith Bramhill, provided an update to Committee on:

(1)

Air One Helicopter

Information was provided about the use of the helicopter ‘Air One’ to assist in the capture of an individual who was believed to have participated in the savage beating of another young man.

(2)

Verified Responses (Alarms)

An update was provided on the verified responses to alarms initiative – information was provided that the number of false alarms had decreased from 7,100 in 2005 to 2,000 in 2006.

(3)

“Marching Forward – Richmond RCMP Report to the Community”

Congratulations was offered to Insp. Keith Bramhill and his team on the preparation of an excellent brochure which provided detailed information on the work undertaken by the Richmond Detachment of the RCMP.  In speaking further to the matter, Insp. Bramhill stated that the brochure was to be converted to newspaper format for distribution to all Richmond residents.

(4)

Kidnapping

Insp. Mahon provided a brief report to the Committee on a recent kidnapping incident which took place in Richmond.  Discussion then took place on whether (i) the number of kidnappings was increasing, and (ii) the Detachment had been successful in charging the kidnappers.

(5)

Update on Oval/Olympic Security

Supt. Clapham reported that at the present time the Detachment was trying to determine anticipated police costs during the time of the 2010 Olympic Games, and that there were no other details available at the present time. 

Discussion then took place on the precautions which would be taken during construction of the Oval facility and how security during construction was being addressed.  Information was provided that a strategic plan was being developed to ensure the security of the Oval while construction was taking place.  Also addressed was the question of (i) how the City would be policed during the Olympic event, and (ii) whether there would be sufficient manpower available in British Columbia to provide adequate security during the Olympic Games.

Cllr. McNulty referred to correspondence received from Clare Fanning, a resident at 7360 Minoru Boulevard, regarding a fire at the Minoru and Blundell condominium complex, in which she expressed her thanks to the RCMP for the assistance they provided during the fire.  She also thanked the other participating teams, including Emergency Programs staff, the Emergency Social Services Volunteers, City Bylaw staff, and RCMP Victim Services, for ‘…coordinating their efforts and humanitarianism, liaising and organizing on behalf of the people of Richmond.’

Cllr. McNulty, in referring to the above correspondence, suggested that copies of the letter should be provided to every individual who attended the fire.

Cllr. Sue Halsey-Brandt referred to correspondence received from Bill Sorenson regarding late night illicit activities taking place in Minoru Park, and she questioned what action had been taken by the RCMP to address this matter.  Information was provided that dedicated bicycle patrols had been initiated in the Park in response to the initial complaint, and as a result, there had been no more problems occurring.

Cllr. Sue Halsey-Brandt referred to correspondence received regarding an issue relating to motorcycles and street racing on Graybar Road, and she passed this correspondence to Supt. Clapham for action.

6.

FIRE Chief Briefing

(Oral Report) 

Item for discussion:

(1)

Update on Oval/Olympic Security

Deputy Fire Chief Geoff Lake reported that a Fire Services Advisory Committee had been formed to advise VANOC about the type of fire protection which would be required throughout the Olympic Games event, primarily at the various venues and in the urban domain.  He stated that a report would be submitted in October outlining protection levels and how these levels could be achieved during the Games. 

A brief discussion ensued among Committee members and Deputy Chief Lake on (i) the level of services to be provided in the City during the Olympic Games; (ii) the need to respond on a ‘first responder’ basis and who would be responsible for paying for that response; (iii) how the allocation of personnel would be determined; and (iv) the need to know that the provision of emergency services would not have an impact on the City’s budget.  Deputy Chief Lake reported that he would be providing further reports to the Committee as more information became available.

7.

MANAGER’S REPORT

The General Manager, Law & Community Safety, Phyllis Carlyle introduced to the Committee, Deborah Proctor, the new Manager of Emergency Preparedness.

The Manager, Community Safety Policy & Programs, Shawn Issel, circulated to the Committee, a memorandum entitled ‘IHIT (Integrated Homicide Team) Increase – Business Case, in which she indicated that staff would be submitting a report to the October Committee meeting on the business case for an increase in the complement of IHIT, which had been submitted by the RCMP Lower Mainland District.

Ms. Issel also referred to a referral to staff to address the theft of metal, and advised that staff were in the process of preparing a bylaw which would relate to scrap metal dealers.  She stated that this bylaw would be submitted to the Committee in November for review.  Ms. Carlyle referred to a report issued by the Privacy Commissioner that the City would not be able to take action as proposed because of privacy issues, and advised that staff would be responding to the Commissioner’s report.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:30 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 Tuesday, September 12^th, 2006.

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Councillor Rob Howard
Chair

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