Date:

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Place:

Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Evelina Halsey-Brandt, Chair
Councillor Cynthia Chen, Vice-Chair
Councillor Sue Halsey-Brandt

Councillor Rob Howard

Absent:

Councillor Derek Dang

Call to Order:

The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.

MINUTES

1.

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee held on Tuesday, July 15, 2008, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

2.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008  (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room.

CARRIED

LAW & COMMUNITY SAFETY DEPARTMENT

3.

INTEGRATED PARTNERSHIP FOR REGIONAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (IPREM)

(Report:  August 11, 2008, File No.:  09-5125-01/2008-Vol 01) (REDMS No. 2475473)

In response to Committee queries, Deborah Procter, Manager, Emergency Programs advised that:

·               

the new regional initiative undertaken by the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) to establish an Integrated Partnership for Regional Emergency Management (IPREM) between (i) the GVRD, (ii) the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, would formalize the structure of regional emergency planning;

·               

IPREM would provide coordinated planning and response to emergencies that are confined to one area, as well as those that cross boundaries affecting the City and other parts of the region;

·               

the proposal includes a model for the partners to share funding equally; the Provincial government would expend the same amount of funding as a local government;

·               

the Regional Finance Advisory Committee is investigating the cost recovery model for the proposed IPREM and will look at municipal property assessment as well as alternatives for funding, to identify implications on how the initiative would allocate expenses.

It was moved and seconded

That Council consent to the adoption of Greater Vancouver Regional District Regional Emergency Management Service Establishment Bylaw Number 1079, 2008.

CARRIED

4.

SAFETY AT STEVESTON PARK AND THE VILLAGE OF STEVESTON
(Report:  August 3, 2008, File No.: 09-5375-02) (REDMS No. 2488045)

Supt. Rendall Nesset, Officer in Charge, RCMP advised that officers have spent a lot of time at Steveston park and the rest of the Village, and have taken steps to improve the safety of the park; this has led to a change in the public’s earlier perception of the park as an unsafe area;

In response to a query regarding Block Watch cells in the neighbourhood, Supt. Nesset advised that there had been Block Watch groups in the area in the past, and he would investigate to see if they are still active.

The Chair remarked that she was pleased to see the improvements made by a higher police presence and visibility in the Steveston Park and Village areas.

It was moved and seconded

That the update on the safety and security in Steveston Park and the Village of Steveston be received for information.

CARRIED

5.

EXPANSION OF ON-STREET PAY PARKING PROGRAM RICHMOND OVAL NEIGHBOURHOOD

(Report:  August 18, 2008, File No.:  10-6455-05-01) (REDMS No. 2492123)

Wayne Mercer, Manager, Community Bylaws advised that should an on-street pay parking program be implemented it would formalize parking in the neighbourhood of the UBC Boathouse and the Richmond Oval. During a brief discussion the following points were raised:

·         

the investment of staff time is greater if tires of cars are chalked, than if a parking stub on the dashboard method is used;

·         

pay parking programs address parking issues rather than make money for the City;

·         

future discussions with representatives of the UBC Boathouse and with Richmond Oval staff will clarify and establish the number of hours and the cost to park; future discussions regarding parking during the 2010 Olympic event will take place;

·         

when the Richmond Oval opens in late 2008 it is expected that the below ground level parking area will open at the same time;

·         

City Bylaw Enforcement staff will be assigned to monitor the on-street pay parking program; and

·         

between 10 and 12 complimentary, short-term parking spaces will be provided equi-distant between the UBC Boathouse the Cambie Road/River Road junction, with time restrictions being applied to these spaces.

It was moved and seconded

That attached report (dated August 18, 2008 from the General Manager, Law & Community Safety) on the expansion of on-street pay parking program be received for information.

CARRIED

OPPOSED: Cllr. Evelina Halsey-Brandt

6.

RCMP FIVE YEAR RESOURCING PLAN - 2009 - 2013 
(Report:  August 26, 2008, File No.: 09-5350-11) (REDMS No. 2499405)

Supt. Rendall Nesset, stated that the plan identified the need for an increase in RCMP support staff levels in order to try to alleviate administrative tasks from officers so that officers are free to be on the street. 

A brief discussion ensued between Supt. Nesset and Committee on:

·         

when a team is funded and dedicated to a specific function, changes to the team’s funding and assignment would only be made in order to re-direct resources to an emergency situation;

·         

RCMP and representatives of the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) are in discussion regarding issues surrounding policing the Canada Line;

·         

Richmond RCMP is working with the Greater Vancouver Transit Authority Police (GVTAP) on a memorandum-of-understanding; GVTAP patrols and enforces statutes on transit property and vehicles and has full jurisdiction throughout the Province; the local detachment maintains a good working relationship with them;

·         

the high number of volunteer hours invested by police officers in their off-duty time is equal to $85,000 per month per RCMP member;

·         

the public is encouraged to report criminal activity and new staff member Lainie Goddard, Manager, RCMP Administration, has been tasked with creating a system whereby residents can report on-line;

·         

Corporal Annette Martin has been assigned as RCMP liaison for the Hamilton neighbourhood;

·         

on average it takes up to 80 days to recruit an RCMP officer and it is difficult to expedite the process; and

·         

at present Richmond Detachment has six police officers funded through gap financing, and it is assumed that the gap financing would continue.

In response to a query from the Chair, regarding the idea of a pool of trained officers and their potential deployment in the Lower Mainland area, Phyllis Carlyle, General Manager, Law & Community Safety advised that: (i) the Chief Administrative Officer’s group, which she chairs, has investigated the issue and has been advised by RCMP representatives that the current vacancy rate of 9.2% means the idea of a pool cannot be supported at this time; and (ii) the concept of a pool will be re-visited by the CAO group in 2009, after the RCMP has looked further at the issue of recruiting.

The Chair thanked staff for including in their report that Richmond is recognized as one of the safest and most liveable municipalities in Canada.

It was moved and seconded

That the report (dated August 26, 2008 from the Officer in Charge, Richmond RCMP Detachment) on the RCMP Five Year Resourcing Plan – 2009-2013, be received for information.

CARRIED

7.

FIRE Chief Briefing

Introduction of New Staff Member

Acting Fire Chief Ron Beaman introduced the new staff member hired to work with him as Administrative Assistant.

Decontamination Tents

Acting Fire Chief Beaman, accompanied by Acting Deputy Chief of Operations Stuart Corrigal, reported that until the recent purchase by Richmond Fire Rescue (RFR) of their own Decontamination Tent, RFR had used one of three tents owned by Vancouver Coastal Health, which were shared with other communities. They remarked that:

·            

the width of the tent measures 15 feet x 20 feet, and cost $13,000;

·            

RFR’s Technical Rescue Unit will store the tent at No. 7 Fire Hall from where it will be deployed when needed;

·            

the tent takes 2 minutes to inflate; a further 6 to 8 minutes is needed to hook up water and heaters, with emergency responders and members of the general public using the tent within approximately 10 minutes; and

·            

the tent can process between 15 and 100 people per hour depending on the type of decontamination required.

8.

RCMP/OIC Briefing

Night Market

Supt. Nesset reported that some counterfeit products had been found at the market and that enforcement had been required to address the situation. He added that the market’s manager had co-operated with the RCMP and had taken steps to ensure that the number of counterfeit products would be as few as possible.

In response to queries Supt. Nesset further advised that there were no reports of any concerns regarding the traffic created by the market event.

9.

OTHER ITEMS

None.

10.

MANAGER’S REPORT

Mr. Mercer reported that planning for the License Inspectors and Bylaw Officers Association (LIBOA) Conference being planned by City Bylaw Enforcement staff members, hosted in Richmond during the second week in October, 2008, was progressing well, and that the conference was attracting delegates from across the province.

The Chair asked Mr. Mercer to acknowledge and thank the staff members who were organizing the conference.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:01 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 9, 2008.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Councillor Evelina Halsey-Brandt

Chair

Sheila Johnston

Committee Clerk