February 18, 2025 - Minutes

Date:

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Place:

Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie, Chair
Councillor Chak Au
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 4:00 p.m.

AGENDA ADDITIONS

It was moved and seconded

That Buy Local Information for Richmondites be added to the agenda as Item No. 3, and that Additional Information on 2025 Health, Social and Safety Grant Applicants be considered as Item No. 4.

CARRIED

MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on February 3, 2025, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

1.

Official Community Plan Targeted Update – Phase One Public Engagement Summary and Phase Two (Next Steps)

(File Ref. No. 08-4045-30-08) (REDMS No. 7902635)

In response to queries from the Committee, staff noted (i) Phase 2 is anticipated to be completed by the end of June, following the public consultation to consider further refined topic areas and certain policy directions, and (ii) Phase 3 will follow with the preparation of the revised OCP document and Bylaw.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the report entitled “Official Community Plan Targeted Update – Phase One Public Engagement Summary and Phase Two (Next Steps)” dated February 3, 2025, from the Director, Policy Planning, be received for information; and

(2)

That staff report back on proposed strategic policy directions related to Housing Affordability, Equity, Environmental Protection and Enhancement and Climate Mitigation and Adaptation as outlined in the report entitled “Official Community Plan Targeted Update–Phase One Public Engagement Summary and Phase Two (Next Steps)” dated February 3, 2025, from the Director, Policy Planning.

CARRIED

COUNCILLOR CHAK AU

2.

  Assessing the Impact of the Canada-U.S. Tariff War and Reviewing Richmond’s Procurement Policy
(File Ref. No.) (REDMS No.)

Councillor Au provided an overview of the referral motion (attached to and forming part of these minutes as Schedule 1) and spoke on the negative impacts of proposed American tariffs on Canadian goods and the response from other municipalities.

In response to queries from the Committee, staff noted (i) the City has a procurement policy in place guided by the trade treaties (mostly province to province, and do not extend to the United States), and publicly advertised when above certain dollar thresholds, (ii) the Richmond Chamber of Commerce is collecting information and data from businesses across the country to understand the impacts of the potential tariffs on their businesses, in order to form their advocacy positions to senior government and policy makers, (iii) for the past month staff have been actively reaching out to the City’s vendors and contractors to get assessments of what the impact might be with respect to potential tariffs from the United States, and (iv) the City has many locally sourced contractors and consultants, with the City’s construction program in the range of 75% locally sourced already.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

Richmond City Council direct staff to review the likely economic impacts of the Canada-U.S. tariff war on local businesses and residents;

(2)

City staff review the current procurement policy in light of recent trade developments;

(3)

The City of Richmond seek clarification on our trade obligations; and

(4)

A report with findings and recommendations be presented to Council for further discussion and potential policy adjustments.

CARRIED

COUNCILLOR CAROL DAY

3.

buy local information for richmondites

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

Councillor Day provided an overview of the referral motion (attached to and forming part of these minutes as Schedule 2) and spoke on ways to encourage residents to support local businesses.

It was moved and seconded

Direct staff to research and highlight options for citizens to buy local in Richmond, and promote the information on the City website, City portals and in City facilities.

CARRIED

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

4.

Additional Information on 2025 Health, Social and Safety Grant Applicants

(File Ref. No. 08-4055-01) (REDMS No. 7956007)

It was moved and seconded

(1)

As outlined in the report titled “Additional Information on 2025 Health, Social and Safety Grant Applicants”, dated February 11, 2025, from the Director, Community Social Development:

(a)

That Parish of St. Alban’s (Richmond) receive additional one-time funding of $11,416 to support its Hamper and Community Meal Programs in keeping with the terms of the Health, Social and Safety Grant Program Guidelines;

(b)

That Church on Five receive additional one-time funding of $65,000 to support its After Hours Outreach Program in keeping with the terms of the Health, Social and Safety Grant Program Guidelines;

(c)

That The Salvation Army receive one-time funding of $20,000 to support its Mobile Feeding Program in keeping with the terms of the Health, Social and Safety Grant Program Guidelines; and

(d)

That Christian Addictions Recovery Ministries Society receive one-time funding of $2,500 to support its Substance Use Prevention Program in keeping with the terms of the Health, Social and Safety Grant Program Guidelines; and

(2)

That the total additional funding of $98,916 for implementation of these recommendations be funded from the Council Community Initiative Account and that the Consolidated 5-Year Financial Plan (2025–2029) be amended accordingly.

The question on the motion was not called as in reply to queries from Committee, staff noted (i) the additional one-time funding for the Parish of St. Alban’s (Richmond) and the Church on Five will equal the same funding as provided in 2024, (ii) staff will work with grant applicants to reflect the overall funding needs in 2025 and to seek external sources of funding for their application for the 2026 Health, Social and Safety (“HSS”) grant cycle, and (iii) staff are in the process of completing a review of the HSS grant program, which will include an analysis of the HSS grant budget and overall sustainability and equitable distribution of City resources.

Further discussion ensued with respect to increasing additional one-time funding for certain applicants.

In response to queries from Committee, staff advised (i) HSS grant recipients are required to submit a grant use report each year which describes the outcomes relative to their proposal and how the grant funds were utilized, and (ii) if a grant use report is not submitted, the grant recipient will not be eligible to apply for another grant until they submit that grant use report.

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

It was moved and seconded

That the motion be amended to increase the additional one-time funding for the Parish of St. Alban’s (Richmond) by $15,000, and Church on Five by $20,000.

CARRIED

The question on the main motion as amended, which reads as follows:

(1)

As outlined in the report titled “Additional Information on 2025 Health, Social and Safety Grant Applicants”, dated February 11, 2025, from the Director, Community Social Development:

(a)

That Parish of St. Alban’s (Richmond) receive additional one-time funding of $26,416 to support its Hamper and Community Meal Programs in keeping with the terms of the Health, Social and Safety Grant Program Guidelines;

(b)

That Church on Five receive additional one-time funding of $85,000 to support its After Hours Outreach Program in keeping with the terms of the Health, Social and Safety Grant Program Guidelines;

(c)

That The Salvation Army receive one-time funding of $20,000 to support its Mobile Feeding Program in keeping with the terms of the Health, Social and Safety Grant Program Guidelines; and

(d)

That Christian Addictions Recovery Ministries Society receive one-time funding of $2,500 to support its Substance Use Prevention Program in keeping with the terms of the Health, Social and Safety Grant Program Guidelines; and

(2)

That the total additional funding of $133,916 for implementation of these recommendations be funded from the Council Community Initiative Account and that the Consolidated 5-Year Financial Plan (2025–2029) be amended accordingly,

was then called, and it was CARRIED.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (4:55 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 Tuesday, February 18, 2025.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie
Chair

Lorraine Anderson
Legislative Services Associate