MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee held on Tuesday, November 10, 2009, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

Tuesday, January 12, 2010, (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room.

1.

CITY RESPONSE TO ABANDONED BUILDINGS

(File Ref. No.:  12-8080-05) (REDMS No. 2737129)

Shawn Issel, Manager, Community Safety Policy and Programs emphasized the coordinated effort and approach among the RCMP, Community Bylaws and Richmond Fire Rescue.  Discussion ensued and the following points were made:

·   

the BC Assessment Authority will attend an abandoned site and assess it accordingly;

·   

Council has the power to direct staff to demolish a building if deemed a safety or nuisance hazard;

·   

support was expressed regarding the potential uses of an abandoned site, such as a community garden or some other suitable use; and

·   

fees charged to the owners of abandoned properties deflect some of the costs incurred by the City.

It was moved and seconded

That:

(i)

the BC Assessment Authority be requested to assess hazardous, abandoned premises to determine the appropriate tax value, upon identification of appropriate premises by the City; and

(ii)

 staff investigate the possibility and implications of the temporary use of abandoned sites for community gardens or for other suitable uses.

CARRIED

The Mayor left the meeting at 4:25 p.m. and did not return.

2.

911 DISPATCH PROTOCOLS 

(File Ref. No.:  09-5130-00) (REDMS No. 2772782)

Fire Chief John McGowan expressed support for the Greater Vancouver Fire Chiefs’ request to change E-Comm’s default policy of transferring motor vehicle incident calls first to BC Ambulance Service (BCAS) and then adding Richmond Fire Rescue to the incident call list. 

The Fire Chief suggested that 911 calls should first be directed to Richmond Fire-Rescue (RFR) for the following reasons:  (i) RFR has the appropriate equipment and scene management expertise necessary to effectively and efficiently handle the medical and/or hazardous issues that may be present at an incident; (ii)  once a 911 call is received, due to core information determinants, namely location and type of incident, RFR is able to respond sooner that BC Ambulance Service (BCAS) as the latter undergoes a more sophisticated core information determinant matrix before dispatching; and (iii)  a delay in attending a victim could occur if the incident, for example, involves hazardous materials, or the victim requires extraction from a vehicle, as BCAS must then wait for RFR to attend.  If RFR is dispatched first, the aforementioned situations could be managed immediately, resulting in more timely attendance to the victim.

In response to queries, the Fire Chief suggested that the timeline for potential changes to 911 dispatch protocols could occur sometime after the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report dated November 30, 2009 from the Fire Chief, entitled “911 Dispatch Protocols”, be received for information.

CARRIED

3.

ASSISTANCE TO SHELTER ACT

(File Ref. No.:  09-5350-00) (REDMS No. 2773422)

Lainie Goddard, Manager, RCMP Administration, reiterated the intent of Bill 18, namely that it establishes a scheme for issuing and cancelling extreme weather alerts and enables police officers to transport persons at risk to emergency shelters when extreme weather alerts are in effect.  She reported that Bill 18 will not necessarily alter the current manner in which the Richmond RCMP addresses the sheltering of homeless individuals, as traditionally, the need of transporting an individual to a shelter is uncommon;  however, upon assessment by an attending officer, an individual may be directed to or transported by an officer to a shelter.

Discussion ensued between Committee and staff and the following points were made:

·   

individuals needing shelter, as assessed by an attending officer, generally welcome the assistance;

·   

the police regularly monitor the well-being of individuals that may resist assistance to shelters;

·   

members document instances where individuals refuse shelter assistance;

·   

members look to the Mental Health Act to address those individuals who do not recognize the risk to themselves or to the public, due to mental health issues; and

·   

regarding homeless minors, particularly those 16 years and younger, Provincial Acts other than Bill 18 govern the actions required by RCMP members.

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report dated December 1, 2009 from the General Manager, Law & Community Safety, entitled “Assistance to Shelter Act”, be received for information.

CARRIED

4.

POLICE RECORDS INFORMATION MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENT BRITISH COLUMBIA (PRIME-BC)

(File Ref. No.: 09-5350-00 )  (REDMS No. 2724689)

Phyllis L. Carlyle, General Manager, Law & Community Safety provided background information to the staff report and reiterated the request for Committee support in sending a letter to the Solicitor General of British Columbia expressing opposition to the increase in PRIME-BC user fees. Discussion ensued and the following points were made:

·         

the Province should bear some responsibility for the cost of PRIME-BC;

·         

there is no municipal representation on the Board of Directors of PRIMEcorp, the single point of contact for the governance of PRIME-BC;

·         

if it is the Solicitor General’s intention that the municipalities bear the cost of the system, then elected officials should be appointed to the PRIME-BC Board of Directors in proportion to the costs paid by the municipal sector;

·         

the cost of the PRIME-BC user fees to the City is equivalent to a full-time additional officer;

·         

while no formal notice was given to the City regarding the increase in user fees, allowances were made in the budget in anticipation; and

·         

decisions regarding PRIME-BC were made within the policing community.

It was moved and seconded

That a letter be sent to the Solicitor General of British Columbia requesting that:

(i)

 the Province not increase user fees for PRIME-BC; and

(ii)

elected officials be appointed to the PRIME-BC Board of Directors in proportion to the costs paid by the municipal sector; and further

That a letter be sent to the UBCM outlining the City’s position, as stated above, with copies sent to all provincial MLAs and affected municipalities.

CARRIED

Further discussion ensued and staff was requested to provide at the next Council meeting a resolution to be considered for submission to the UBCM.

5.

RCMP’S MONTHLY ACTIVITY REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 2009

(File Ref. No.:  09-5350-01 )  (REDMS No. 2756929)

Supt. Rendall Nesset provided background information and advised that in many areas crime statistics have levelled off.  When queried on the affect of the Canada Line and crime levels, the Superintendent remarked that thus far the impact has been unremarkable.

It was moved and seconded

That the RCMP’s Monthly Activity Report be received for information.

CARRIED

6.

UPDATE ON RCMP CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS

(File Ref. No.: )  (REDMS No. 2759379)

Phyllis Carlyle, General Manager, Law & Community Safety, provided an update to Committee and the following points were made:

·         

contract negotiations with the Provincial Government have recently begun;

·         

the Federal Government contract draft is expected in June 2010;

·         

many municipalities are not commenting on the negotiations due to the complexity of the issues as well as a lack of staff resources;

·         

a positive aside to the negotiations is that the province appears more willing to engage in regular discussions with municipalities regarding policing matters;

·         

Kevin Begg, Assistant Deputy Minister and Provincial Police Services Director, has suggested that he agrees with the concept of setting up some type of formal discourse structure with municipal representatives, where discussion regarding issues that impact municipalities, such as those concerning PRIME-BC, could take place;

·         

policing costs have increased 74% over 10 years; and

·         

the current funding model of police services is unsustainable.

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report dated November 17, 2009 from the General Manager, Law & Community Safety, entitled “Update on RCMP Contract Negotiations”, be received for information.

CARRIED

7.

FIRE CHIEF BRIEFING

(Oral Report) 

(i)

Ladder Truck Update

Fire Chief John McGowan reported that plans to purchase the ladder truck have been postponed due a number of factors, such as the current economic climate, as well as the anticipated departmental Master Plan, which is expected to assist in a more comprehensive and coordinated approach of effectively integrating the ladder truck into the department. Development of the Master Plan is only recently underway and completion is expected in the fall of 2010.

Committee thanked staff for taking a step back to reassess the acquisition of this equipment in order to ensure that it is utilized effectively and efficiently.

(ii)

Impact of the British Columbia Ambulance Service Disruption

Fire Chief John McGowan reported that there were some minor anomalies noted during the BCAS disruption, such as a slight increase in calls (7%) but suggested this could have been caused by other factors, such as the H1N1 flu, or inclement weather. He also reported a small increase in call-time duration, but overall the impact of the BCAS strike was not detrimental to the RFR Department.  Further, the Fire Chief stated that, during the Gold Exercise, less than a full compliment of BC Ambulance Service members was observed; however, BCAS managers did report in and their efforts were praised.

(iii)

Christmas Tree Chipping at Garry Point on January 2 and 3, 2010

Deputy Chief Tim Wilkinson reported that the annual Christmas tree chipping/recycling fundraising event has been taking place at Garry Point Park for over 20 years, and is a RFR and Local 1286 group effort.  He noted that the program has moved towards recycling, rather that burning, where 90% of the trees are chipped and deposited in local parks.  Trees that contain excessive tinsel or other objects are not recyclable as they are detrimental to park life. RFR has embarked on a public education program in an attempt to reduce the number of non-recyclable trees.  

In addition, the Deputy Chief remarked that this event is one of the larger fundraising events for Local 1286, typically raising between $8,000 to $10,000 per event. The proceeds are funnelled back in to the community towards programs such as the hot meal program at St. Alban's Anglican Church, as well to the Burn Fund.

8.

RCMP/OIC BRIEFING

(Oral Report) 

Items for discussion:

(i)

Members Attending Funeral Service of Lakewood Police Officers

Supt. Rendall Nesset noted that several members of the Richmond RCMP detachment joined hundreds of their Canadian counterparts to pay their respects at the funeral service for the fallen police officers of Lakewood, Washington. He stressed that most members attended on their own time and that no expenses had been claimed.

Committee expressed feelings of pride and appreciation towards those who attended the service.

(ii)

Auxiliary RCMP Graduation

Supt. Rendall Nesset reported that auxiliary RCMP graduation is underway this week.

9.

OTHER ITEMS

None.

10.

MANAGER’S REPORT

None.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:38 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, December 15, 2009.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Councillor Ken Johnston

Vice-Chair

Susan Steeves

Committee Clerk