November 15, 2017 - Minutes

Date:

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Place:

Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Bill McNulty, Chair
Councillor Derek Dang
Councillor Ken Johnston
Councillor Alexa Loo
Councillor Linda McPhail

Call to Order:

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

MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee held on October 11, 2017, be adopted.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

December 12, 2017, (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room

COMMUNITY SAFETY DIVISION

1.

Business Licences Quarterly Report – Third Quarter 2017
(File Ref. No. 12-8275-01) (REDMS No. 5612852 v.2)

Cecilia Achiam, General Manager, Community Safety, highlighted a 37% decrease in expired licences this quarter due to staffing changes to address the increasing number of expired business licences as well as those waiting to be processed.

In reply to queries from Committee, Ms. Achiam advised that applications for Bed and Breakfasts have steadied and staff are still working with Bed and Breakfast owners who are not in compliance.

Ms. Achiam noted that the new Sign Inspector has been helpful with regard to language capabilities for Business Licences as well as signs and more information will be provided to Committee on the role of the Sign Inspector.

In reply to queries from Committee, Ms. Achiam stated that staff were directed to bring forward a report in one year with regard to Air B&B’s in Richmond. Ms. Achiam advised that a memorandum will be provided to Council with an update on Vancouver’s progress on the matter. 

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report titled “Business Licences Quarterly Report – Third Quarter 2017”, dated October 17, 2017, from the General Manager Community Safety be received for information.

CARRIED

2.

Community Bylaws Monthly Activity Report - September 2017
(File Ref. No. 12-8060-01) (REDMS No. 5573181)

The Chair queried more background information on the role of the soils officer and in reply to the query, Greg Scarborough, Manager, Property Use, Policy and Programs, advised that more information will be provided to Committee.

In reply to queries from Committee, Mr. Scarborough advised that there are a number of reasons that are resulting in low revenue for paid parking. He noted that the new system being implemented for parking should eliminate some of the issues being encountered.

Discussion took place on the relationship between City of Richmond Bylaw Officers and the Richmond RCMP. In response to the discussion Mr. Scarborough advised that any concerns from the residents of Richmond can be reported and Bylaw Officers will investigate.  Mr. Scarborough noted that Bylaw Officers are trained in resolving issues and provided various options for assistance and any situations requiring RCMP attendance are responded to immediately.

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report titled “Community Bylaws Monthly Activity Report - September 2017”, dated October 10, 2017, from the General Manager, Community Safety, be received for information.

CARRIED

3.

Richmond Fire-Rescue Monthly Activity Report – September 2017
(File Ref. No. 09-5000-01) (REDMS No. 5601992)

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report titled “Richmond Fire-Rescue Monthly Activity Report – September 2017”, dated October 18, 2017 from the Acting Fire Chief, Richmond Fire-Rescue, be received for information.

CARRIED

4.

FIRE CHIEF BRIEFING
(Verbal Report)

Items for discussion:

(i)

Mitchell Island Safety Update

Kevin Gray, Deputy Fire Chief, Richmond Fire-Rescue, advised that the investigation on the recent fire on Mitchell Island is nearly concluded and noted that Richmond Fire-Rescue has partnered with various City staff involved with businesses on Mitchell Island to provide recommendations to reduce risk.

(ii)

Post Halloween Operations Update

Deputy Fire Chief Gray advised that Halloween night was very successful with no emergency response calls. Richmond Fire-Rescue had additional crew patrolling highly populated areas as well as crew present at all fire work displays within the City.

(iii)

Lighting of the Hamilton Fire Hall Event

Deputy Fire Chief Gray noted that an open house with family events will take place at the Hamilton Fire Hall followed by the lighting of the festive lights on December 5, 2017.

(iv)

Cambie Hall Opening

Deputy Fire Chief Gray thanked Council for attending the opening of Cambie Fire Hall and commended the volunteers on their hard work.

5.

RCMP Monthly Activity Report - September 2017
(File Ref. No. 09-5000-01) (REDMS No. 5576972)

Inspector Keith Bramhill, Richmond RCMP, introduced Inspector Sunny Parmar, Operations Officer.

Inspector Bramhill highlighted that (i) the Bike Bait Program has been very successful, (ii) the luggage theft issue at Vancouver Airport (YVR) has gained a lot of media attention and through collaboration with RCMP Officers and the Vancouver Airport Authority the suspect has been identified, and (iii) the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit has been heavily engaged with gang related crimes in Richmond and has been working with Officers in Richmond to target locations frequented by these individuals.

In reply to queries from Committee, Inspector Bramhill advised that new and high profile restaurants are the most popular locations for individuals involved in gang related crimes to occupy.

Discussion took place regarding the increase in volume at YVR and Committee queried the last time a review had taken place on staff resources.

As a result of the discussion the following motion was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That a letter be written to the Vancouver Airport Authority to review RCMP staff resources required to accommodate the increase in volume through Vancouver Airport.

CARRIED

Discussion ensued with regard to the RCMP Detachment at YVR. 

As a result of the discussion the following referral was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That staff provide information regarding the RCMP Detachment at YVR including staffing needs and report back to Committee.

CARRIED

The Chair requested that volunteers that assisted during the wild fires be recognized for their hard work and invaluable efforts in the next report.

It was moved and seconded

That the report titled “RCMP’s Monthly Activity Report – September 2017,” dated October 10, 2017, from the Officer in Charge, Richmond RCMP Detachment, be received for information.

CARRIED

6.

RCMP/OIC BRIEFING
(Verbal Report)

Items for discussion:

(i)

Halloween Update

Inspector Bramhill noted that Halloween went successfully and many RCMP Officers and Auxiliary Officers were patrolling the City. He advised that due to great partnerships with various groups there were a low number of calls and no major events or injuries occurred.

(ii)

Remembrance Day Update

Inspector Bramhill advised that 36 members attended the Remembrance Day event in Red Surge and noted that positive feedback was received from many people regarding the placement of barricades for public safety.

In reply to queries from Committee, Inspector Bramhill advised that the operational plan for the event was similar to last year with a few changes to placement of Officers in certain locations.

7.

Committee Standing Items

(i)

Emergency Programs

 Norman Kotze, Acting Manager, Emergency Programs provided the following information:

the Richmond Resilient Community Program (RRCP) pilot was launched at the Sea Island Community Centre on November 5, 2017;

the Richmond Resilient Community Program will be holding a workshop to engage Thompson Community at the Thompson Community Centre on November 18, 2017 and November 26, 2017;

Emergency Programs met with Thompson Community Association (TCA) garnering support for the RRCP workshop and offered support to the TCA for the upcoming Resilient Streets program;

following the Thompson Community presentations, a final update to the RRCP workshop content will be made before a launch to all communities in 2018; 

Emergency Programs participated at a presentation by Stacy Barter, a Learning and Community Engagement Specialist of the Building Resilient Neighbourhoods Project;

Building Resilient Neighbourhoods (BRN) is a collaborative effort to help create more social, environmental and economic resilient communities and neighbourhoods in British Columbia, Canada; and

staff are in the process of completing the application to be submitted to UBCM for funding from the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund.

(ii)

E-Comm

The Chair advised that the Board of Directors are holding a strategic planning session in January to examine various aspects of E-Comm and its growth in the province.

7A.

Earthquake preparedness

(File Ref. No.) (REDMS No.)

The Chair spoke to an email dated November 10, 2017 (copy on file, City Clerk’s Office) from Professor Kyle Matsuba, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, regarding the potential to partner with the City of Richmond to apply for a federal grant to conduct a study on preparing Richmond residents for an earthquake.  

As a result, the following referral was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That staff liaise with Professor Kyle Matsuba, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, to examine the nature of the study on earthquake preparedness and offer any assistance.

CARRIED

8.

MANAGER’S REPORT

(i)

Proposed Excise Duty Framework for Cannabis Products

Ms. Achiam stated that staff will bring forward a report to Council for endorsement to submit comments regarding the proposed excised tax for cannabis products.

(ii)

RCMP Toy Drive

Ms. Achiam noted that the Richmond RCMP will be hosting a toy drive at Ironwood Plaza on November 18 to collect donations for the Richmond Christmas Fund.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (4:34 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, November 15, 2017.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Councillor Bill McNulty

Chair

Sarah Kurian

Legislative Services Coordinator