MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee held on Tuesday, May 15, 2012, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

Tuesday, July 10, 2012, (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room

LAW AND COMMUNITY SAFETY DEPARTMENT

1.

RCMP's Monthly Report – April 2012 Activities

(File Ref. No. 09-5000-01) (REDMS No. 3514011)

Renny Nesset, OIC, Richmond RCMP, commented on the RCMP’s April 2012 activities and noted that progress has been made in relation to cell phone thefts, however those statistics are not reflected in the April 2012 figures.

Discussion ensued regarding excessive speeding along Steveston Highway and OIC Nesset advised that he would direct traffic personnel to examine the situation.

In reply to a query from the Chair regarding bank robberies, OIC Nesset advised that one suspect is in custody and is facing charges.

It was moved and seconded

That the report titled RCMP’s Monthly Report – April 2012 Activities (dated May 3, 2012, from the OIC, RCMP) be received for information.

CARRIED

2.

Richmond Fire-Rescue – April 2012 ACTIVITY REPORT

(File Ref. No. 09-5000-01) (REDMS No. 3534959)

In reply to queries from Committee, John McGowan, Fire Chief, Richmond Fire-Rescue, advised that the training facilitated in Marina and Small Watercraft firefighting was done in-service and as such, there was minimal financial impact.

Discussion ensued regarding Fire-Rescue’s protocol for attending community events.  Fire Chief McGowan advised that there is a process for vetting through these types of requests; however, due to an increase in these types of requests, Fire-Rescue must strategically choose which requests can be accommodated based on resources.  It was requested that information regarding Fire-Rescue’s vetting process for such requests be circulated to Council.

In reply to a query from the Chair, Fire Chief McGowan stated that no single cause was identified in relation to the increase in medical calls.

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report titled Richmond Fire-Rescue –  April 2012 Activity Report (dated May 29, 2012 from the Fire Chief, Richmond Fire-Rescue) be received for information.

CARRIED

3.

Community Bylaws – April 2012 Activity Report

(File Ref. No. 12-8060-01) (REDMS No. 3531991)

Wayne Mercer, Manager, Community Bylaws, advised that Community Bylaws has changed its annual coordination of KidSafe to be part of the annual Public Works Open House.  He highlighted that there was positive response from the community and that Community Bylaws raised over $200, which was donated to the Richmond Animal Protection Society.

In reply to queries from Committee, Mr. Mercer provided the following information:

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pumping service providers are contractors that empty grease traps for operators;

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the grease collected is typically recycled for bio fuel and other products; and

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off-leash dog complaints are relatively easy to enforce as once a complaint has been received, staff target the area and the time the alleged offence took place.

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report titled Community Bylaws – April 2012 Activity Report (dated May 10, 2012, from the General Manager, Law & Community Safety) be received for information.

CARRIED

4.

Anti-Idling Initiatives & Regulation ON PUBLIC PROPERTY

(File Ref. No. 12-8020-20-8829/8830/8831) (REDMS No. 3537567)

Mr. Mercer provided background information.

Discussion ensued regarding the anti-idling regulation on public property, and Mr. Mercer advised that tickets may be issued on school property at the request of the school.  Also, it was noted that the staff report be forwarded to the Council / School Board Liaison Committee.

In reply to a query from the Chair, Mr. Mercer advised that if the proposed anti-idling regulation were approved by Council, it would act as a tool to curb unnecessary idling on public streets and on City-owned property.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the City proceed with Option 2 as outlined in the staff report dated May 15, 2012 from the General Manager, Law & Community Safety titled Anti-Idling Initiatives and Regulation on Public Property;

(2)

That Traffic Bylaw No. 5870, Amendment Bylaw No. 8829 (Attachment 3) be introduced and given first, second and third reading;

(3)

That Parking (Off-Street) Regulation Bylaw No. 7403, Amendment Bylaw No. 8830 (Attachment 4) be introduced and given first, second and third reading; and

(4)

That Notice of Bylaw Violation Dispute Adjudication Bylaw No. 8122, Amendment Bylaw No. 8831 (Attachment 5) be introduced and given first, second and third reading.

(5)

That the staff report dated May 15, 2012 from the General Manager, Law & Community Safety titled Anti-Idling Initiatives and Regulation on Public Property be forwarded to the Council/School Board Liaison Committee.

CARRIED

5.

FIRE Chief Briefing

(Verbal Report) 

Items for discussion:

(i)

BC Fire Chief’s Conference

Fire Chief McGowan commented on the success of the 2012 BC Fire Chief’s Conference held at the Richmond Olympic Oval, noting that over 400 delegates and 750 trade shows attended.

(ii)

IAFF Western Conference

Fire Chief McGowan advised that the IAFF Western Conference will be held June 24 to June 27, 2012 in Richmond.  He noted that the IAFF represents over 300,000 full-time fire-fighters and the conference anticipates the attendance of over 100 delegates.

(iii)

Fire Boat Incident

Fire Chief McGowan spoke of a fire boat incident that occurred on May 27, 2012 and commented on the interoperability of Fire-Rescue with other agencies.

(iv)

Rescue at Shady Island

Fire Chief McGowan commented on the recent rescue of a couple on Shady Island and noted that Fire-Rescue assisted in getting the couple to safety.

(v)

Langara Agreement

Fire Chief McGowan provided background information and spoke of upcoming workshops to be held by three Langara College students in the Integrative Energy Healing program.

(vi)

700 Megahertz

Fire Chief McGowan referenced a recent announcement from the Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety, regarding the allocation of 10 MHz of the 700 MHz bandwidth for the use of emergency responders including police, firefighters and paramedics.

6.

RCMP/OIC Briefing

(Verbal Report)

Items for discussion:

(i)

Police Week

OIC Nesset spoke of Police Week and highlighted that the detachment hosted an outdoor event on May 19, 2012.  He stated that the event was a big success with over 400 people attending and he thanked the Steveston Rotary Club for their support.

(ii)

Jimmy Ng 10^th Annual Ball Hockey Tournament

OIC Nesset spoke of the Jimmy Ng 10^th Annual Ball Hockey Tournament.

(iii)

Bank Robberies

Please refer to Page 2 regarding this matter.

(iv)

Policing in the Hamilton Area

In reply to queries from Committee, OIC Nesset advised that (i) based on the statistics for the Hamilton area, the calls for service are fairly low;  (ii) approximately 325 calls for service were reported over a five-month period; and (iii) the community space in the Hamilton Fire Hall may not be suitable for policing activities as the site does not lend itself well to walk-in customers.

In reply to a query from the Chair, OIC Nesset advised that an analysis of community police stations is not underway, however it can be if that is Council’s wish.  Also, he was of the opinion that an independent observation may be more suitable for such an analysis.

Also, OIC Nesset provided an update on the City Centre community police station.

Discussion further ensued regarding policing in the Hamilton area and OIC Nesset advised that he must assess the number of calls for service in a particular area and determine how many resources are to be allocated to that area.

7.

MANAGER’S REPORT

(i)

Update on Status of Joint Emergency Preparedness Program

Deborah Procter, Manager, Emergency Programs, provided background information regarding the Joint Emergency Preparedness Program and noted that Metro Vancouver’s Greater Vancouver Regional District Board has requested that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities pass an emergency resolution to restore the Program.

PRESENTATION

8.

With the aid of a PowerPoint presentation (copy on file, City Clerk’s Office), David Guscott, President and CEO, E-Comm, accompanied by Doug Watson, Vice-President of Operations, E-Comm, highlighted the following information:

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E-Comm provides the following services for Richmond: (i) 9-1-1 call answer services; (ii) police and fire dispatch services; (iii) fire computer aided dispatch and record management system; and (iv) police and fire wide area radio services;

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since 2009, 88% of 9-1-1 calls for police have been answered in ten seconds;

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since 2009, 90% of 9-1-1 calls for fire have been answered within one minute; and

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E-Comm completed upgrades to its radio network on June 5, 2012 with no impact to users.

Mr. Guscott spoke of the 2011 Stanley Cup riot, noting that in the span of four hours, E-Comm received approximately 2000 calls.  Typically, E-Comm handles 2400 calls in 24 hours.  He highlighted that despite the volume of calls, calls were answered in a timely manner due to the consolidated dispatch centre.  Also, Mr. Guscott commented on the need for cell phone providers to improve their equipment in an effort to curb accidental 9-1-1 calls.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:05 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, June 12, 2012.

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Councillor Derek Dang

Chair

Hanieh Berg

Committee Clerk