February 2, 2026 - Minutes

Date:

Monday, February 2, 2026

Place:

Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie, Chair
Councillor Carol Day
Councillor Laura Gillanders
Councillor Kash Heed
Councillor Andy Hobbs
Councillor Alexa Loo
Councillor Bill McNulty
Councillor Michael Wolfe

Call to Order:

The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m.

MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on January 19, 2026, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

FINANCE AND CORPORATE SERVICES DIVISION

1.

Award of Contract 8523Q – Microsoft Subscriptions and Licensing with Teams

(File Ref. No. 04-1300-01) (REDMS No. 8275682)

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That Contract 8523Q – Microsoft Subscriptions and Licensing with Teams be awarded to Econix Infotech Ltd. for a three-year term for an estimated value of $2,866.268.52, excluding taxes as described in the report titled “Award of Contract 8523Q – Microsoft Subscriptions and Licensing with Teams” dated January 8, 2026, from the Director, Information Technology; and

(2)

That the Chief Administrative Officer and the General Manager, Finance and Corporate Services be authorized to execute the contracts and all related documentation with Econix Infotech Ltd.

The question on the motion was not called as a brief discussion ensued with respect to the terms of the contingency.

The question on the motion was then called, and it was CARRIED.

PARKS, RECREATION AND CULTURE DIVISION

2.

2026 Arts and Culture Grants

(File Ref. No. 11-7144-01) (REDMS No. 8245108)

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the Arts and Culture Grants be awarded for the total recommended amount of $132,380, as identified in the report titled “2026 Arts and Culture Grants”, dated January 12, 2026, from the Director, Arts, Culture and Heritage; and

(2)

That the grant funds be disbursed accordingly, following Council approval.

CARRIED

3.

2026 Parks, Recreation and Community Events Grants 
(File Ref. No. 03-1085-01) (REDMS No. 8141733)

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the 2026 Parks, Recreation and Community Events Grants be awarded for the total recommended amount of $127,862, as identified in the report titled “2026 Parks, Recreation and Community Events Grants”, dated January 12, 2026, from the Director, PRC Planning, Strategic Initiatives, Director, Parks Services, and the Director, Recreation and Sport Services; and

(2)

That the grant funds be disbursed accordingly, following Council approval.

The question on the motion was not called as a brief discussion ensued with respect to rental space charges for the Richmond Oval.  It was requested that staff respond with a memorandum in advance of the next Council meeting.

In accordance with Section 100 of the Community Charter, Cllr. Loo declared to be in a conflict of interest as she is the Director of Recognition of KidSport – Richmond Chapter, and Cllr. Loo left the meeting (4:10 p.m.).

Staff provided an overview of the funding scope and criteria for funding requests, and in response to queries from Committee, noted (i) funding requests have been increasing over the years (e.g. six new applicants received this year), (ii) total funding requests far exceeded the available funding for the community, (iii) alignment of similar recommended funding amounts have been determined for similar types of programs and impacts, and (iv) in 2025 there were 25 applicants approved for funding; the amount of awards ranged, but were up to approximately $400 per individual.

An amendment motion to add $1,000 to the Richmond Winter Club grant and reduce the KidSport – Richmond Chapter grant by $1,000 was introduced but failed to receive a seconder.

The question on the motion was then called and it was CARRIED

            Councillor Loo returned to the meeting (4:18 p.m.).

4.

2026 Environmental Enhancement and Food Security Grants

(File Ref. No. 03-1085-07/) (REDMS No. 8257870)

Discussion ensued regarding the underutilized funding available.  Staff noted any remaining grant funds will be available, budgeted under the grant provision and if it is not utilized within the year, will be rolled over into the grant provision account.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the Environmental Enhancement and Food Security Grants be awarded for the total recommended amount of $68,178, as identified in the report titled “2026 Environmental Enhancement and Food Security Grants”, dated January 12, 2026, from the Director, Parks Services; and

(2)

That the grant funds be disbursed accordingly, following Council approval.

The question on the motion was not called as the following amendment motion was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That all remaining available grant funds be awarded to the Terra Nova Nature School.

DEFEATED
Opposed:  Mayor Brodie
Cllrs. Gillanders
Heed
Loo
McNulty

The question on the main motion was then called, and it was CARRIED.

PLANNING AND DEVELPMENT DIVISION

5.

2026 Health, Social and Safety Grants

(File Ref. No. 08-4055-01) (REDMS No. 8227458)

Discussion ensued with respect to (i) the overall complexity of the grant process, the challenge of distributing grants fairly and measuring results, (ii) accountability of grant recipients and requirement for applications from previous recipients to include Grant Use Reports outlining how grants were used, (iii) consideration to provide funding to the Richmond 55+sers Wellness and Fitness Society, as currently no grant is recommended, (iv) significant requests from certain applicants that cannot be met, e.g., Salvation Army, (v) recommended grant amount for Refuge Church (formerly Church on Five) being equal to last year’s recommended grant, with the organization receiving additional funding from the Council Community Initiative Account in 2025, (vi) receiving additional information on the organizations, including whether additional funding requests have been made, (vii) the importance of considering more than just the homeless, unsheltered population, as issue of food insecurity is wide, (viii) the value of undertaking an overall analysis, the need to be proactive about feeding people and importance of metrics, and (ix) overall concern in not providing sufficient funding that will affect the City’s outcomes.

In response to queries from Committee, staff noted (i) multi-year applications are considered/approved for the first year only and will be identified as further funding requests anticipated for the subsequent years, (ii) staff will be bringing forward an update to the Homelessness Strategy which will address questions of outcomes, (iii) outreach positions have been filled, with staff working in collaboration with all organizations, (iv) in order to obtain specific data regarding the overall homelessness and food insecurity situation, staff would need to work with the organizations and obtain information that is gathered from various sources, (v) staff are currently working on a food action plan and are involved with the Food Security Table, and (vi) information on the food insecurity situation can be incorporated within the upcoming Community Food Action Plan.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the 2026 Health, Social and Safety Grants be awarded for the total recommended amount of $506,908 as identified in the report titled “2026 Health, Social and Safety Grants”, dated January 20, 2026, from the Director, Community Social Development; and

(2)

That the grant funds be disbursed accordingly following Council approval.

The question on the motion was not called as the following amendment motion was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That a grant of $10,000 from Council Contingency be allocated to the 55+sers Wellness and Fitness Society.

CARRIED

The following referral motion was then introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That staff review potential funding sources, including the general funding situation and needs of the following organizations - Church On Five, Salvation Army and St. Albans Parrish Church, including an analysis of their needs and other sources of funding they have, and the outcomes of previous grants, and report back.

The question on the referral motion was not called as discussion ensued with respect to the merits of the referral motion.

The question on the main motion, amended as follows:

(1)

That the 2026 Health, Social and Safety Grants be awarded for the total recommended amount of $516,908 as identified in the report titled “2026 Health, Social and Safety Grants”, dated January 20, 2026, from the Director, Community Social Development, including an addition of $10,000 to the Richmond 55+sers Wellness and Fitness Society, and

(2)

That the grant funds be disbursed accordingly following Council approval.

was then called, and it was CARRIED with Cllr. Day opposed.

The question on the referral motion was then called, and it was CARRIED.

6.

2026 Child Care Grants

(File Ref. No. 03-1085-01) (REDMS No. 8203333)

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the 2026 Child Care Capital Grants be awarded for the total recommended amount of $46,295.05 as identified in the report titled “2026 Child Care Grants”, dated January 16, 2026, from the Director, Community Social Development; and

(2)

That the grant funds be disbursed accordingly following Council approval.

CARRIED

LAW AND COMMUNITY SAFETY & PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISIONS

7.

Direction to Prepare a Zoning Amendment Prohibiting Certain Odour Generating Industrial Uses

(File Ref. No. 08-4430-03-01) (REDMS No. 8295574)

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That in accordance with section 463(2) of the Local Government Act, the City hereby begins the preparation of an amendment to Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500 to prohibit, throughout the City, the use of property for open air food waste composting facilities, and for animal, fish, and food waste rendering;

(2)

That pursuant to section 463 of the Local Government Act, staff bring all building permit applications to Council for such developments received more than 7 days after the passage of the resolution contemplated by Recommendation 1 of this report, to determine whether such applications are in conflict with the proposed bylaw and, if so, whether Council wishes to direct the withholding of the permit under section 463 of the Local Government Act; and

(3)

That staff be directed to review additional industrial odour generating uses which require Metro Vancouver Air Quality Permits related to odour, and provide a recommendation to Council on whether any such uses should be prohibited throughout the City.

The question on the motion was not called as a brief discussion ensued with respect to the proposed amendment bylaw.

In response to queries from Committee, staff advised the proposed bylaw is City-wide and not site specific, and will be drafted following Council direction.

CARRIED

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:26 p.m.).

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Monday, February 2, 2026.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie
Chair

Lorraine Anderson
Legislative Services Associate