September 21, 2026 - Minutes
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General Purposes Committee
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Date: |
Monday, September 21, 2026 |
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Place: |
Anderson Room |
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Present: |
Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie, Chair
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Call to Order: |
The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. |
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MINUTES |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on September 8, 2026, be adopted as circulated. |
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CARRIED |
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PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION |
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1. |
Funding Considerations for After-Hours Outreach and Food Aid Delivery Programs (File Ref. No. 08-4057-11-01) (REDMS No. 8485962) |
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Discussion ensued with respect to the funding options contemplated in the report. |
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In response to queries from Committee, staff noted: |
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Option 1 requires the applicants to submit their application through the HSS Grant Program, and Option 2, one time funding, requires the applicants to submit a proposal outlining the activities and services they intend to deliver in 2027, and they do not need to apply to the HSS Grant Program; |
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Staff have met with all three organizations, Parish of St. Alban’s, Refuge Church and The Salvation Army, and confirmed they plan to continue the same level of service with the current level of funding they received in 2026, have also reviewed their 2026 interim grant use reports, and confirm they have all satisfactorily met the grant reporting requirements; |
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Refuge Church confirmed that following the retirement of their senior outreach worker, they continue to run the program under new leadership and continue to use food as a way to provide outreach services in 2026 as well as 2027; |
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The total 2027 HSS Grant for 2027 is $517,000, which is in accordance with Council policy to increase from the prior year to CPI, and 2% CPI was applied to the 2027 HSS Grant to derive $517,000; |
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All options of funding, including Gaming revenue, will be presented to Council for consideration; |
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Operation surplus figures have not been finalized, but the projection should be approximately $5-6 million this year; and |
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Staff are recommending that a subsequent report will be brought forward after the two frameworks have been completed to inform a longer-term funding approach to these programs. |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That a report be brought forward outlining funding options for homelessness and community food access programs for 2028 and beyond, following Council’s consideration of the Homelessness Strategy Guiding Framework (2026–2029) and the Community Food Access Framework (2027–2031), as outlined in the report titled “Funding Considerations for After Hours Outreach and Food Aid Delivery Programs”, dated August 24, 2026, from the General Manager, Planning and Development. |
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The question on the motion was not called as further discussion ensued with respect to funding options. |
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In response to further queries from Committee, staff noted: |
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Both the Homelessness framework and the Community Food Access framework will come forward in 2027, following which there will be a subsequent report that would outline potential sustainable funding options for 2028 and forward for Council’s consideration; |
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With respect to the timing of the Homelessness and the Community Food Access framework report for Council consideration, it would not be appropriate to rush any report that would lead to a permanent funding decision, but staff will make ever effort to provide a comprehensive report by mid 2027, however that will not be in time for either next year’s operating budget or the HSS Grant cycle; and |
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Consistent with City practice, all the one-time additional levels in the operating budget always come from surplus, which would be expected should Option 2 be selected. |
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As a result of the discussion there was agreement from the mover, the seconder and all members present to withdraw the motion, and the motion was WITHDRAWN. The following motion was then introduced: |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That $195,000 be taken out of the Rate Stabilization Account in full compensation to Parish of St. Alban’s, Refuge Church and The Salvation Army instead of any HSS Grant for 2027, to substitute for the HSS Grant. |
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CARRIED |
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2. |
Re-naming of Two City-Owned Child Care Facilities, 650-5688 Hollybridge Way and10277 River Drive (File Ref. No. 07-3070-01) (REDMS No. 8471838) |
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A minor correction to the staff recommendation was noted. |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the staff recommendation on the Agenda be changed to reflect the wording in the report by replacing “Children’s” in recommendation (1) with “Child Care”, and to replace “Development” with “Care” in recommendation (2). |
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CARRIED |
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It was moved and seconded |
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(1) |
That the City-owned child care facility located at 650-5688 Hollybridge Way be renamed to “Willow Child Care Centre”; and |
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(2) |
That the City-owned child care facility located at 10277 River Drive be renamed to “River Run Child Care Centre.” |
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The question on the motion was not called as a brief discussion ensued with respect to the necessity for the name change and the name selection for the facilities. |
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Staff noted the previous end component of the two facility names were specific to the branding for Atira Women’s Resource Society and that the intention is to maintain the original names that were approved by Council, Willow and River Run, and modify the names of the buildings to a more generic component in the event the operator were to change again in the future. |
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The question on the motion was then called and it was CARRIED with Cllr. Loo opposed. |
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DEPUTY CAO’S OFFICE |
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3. |
(File Ref. No. 08-4057-05) (REDMS No. 8477679) |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That Housing Agreement (Affordable Housing) (8520 Railway Avenue) Bylaw No. 10789 be introduced and given first, second and third readings to permit the City to enter into a Housing Agreement to secure the Low-End Market Rental homes secured through Rezoning Application RZ 21-936046 and DP 24-012854. |
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The question on the motion was not called as a brief discussion ensued regarding the Low-end Market Rental (LEMR) household asset limit criteria. |
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Staff noted Council recently endorsed policy that set the $100,000 threshold, and that they continue to review the structure of the LEMR program and the components that feed into it. |
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In response to a query from Committee, staff noted registration of the housing agreement is a condition prior to final adoption, and that any reconsideration or review of the asset limit would delay final adoption of the rezoning bylaw. |
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The question on the motion was then called and it was CARRIED. |
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ADJOURNMENT |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the meeting adjourn (5:00 p.m.). |
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CARRIED |
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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, September 21, 2026. |
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_________________________________ |
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Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie |
Lorraine Anderson |