Committee of the Whole Meeting (WL Council) - Tuesday, March 31st

Present:

Mayor Cook and Councillors T.C. Barr, G. W. Bourdon (arrived at 6:31pm), N.L. Montoya, SPS Rathor, L. Walters and S.J. Zacharias

Staff Present:

A. DeFeo - CAO (Chief Administrative Officer)
B. Carruthers - GM of Community Services
G. Goodall - GM of Planning and Operations
D. Lazzarin - GM of Financial Services
A. Burill - Manager, Social Planning (left meeting at 6:48pm)
L. Dragowska - Planner (left meeting at 6:49pm)
A. Madrigga - Manager, Economic Development (left meeting at 7:20pm)
C. Bouchard - Records Management Coordinator, Corporate Services Department

Meeting called to order at 6:30pm

Minutes of last Committee of the Whole were adopted

Delegation:

Laura McKay/Tom Lancaster - Powerpoint Presentation (17 mins) on the development of a ICSP (Integrated Community Sustainability Plan) and review of the City's OCP (Official Community Plan). The PowerPoint Presentation is here

A1 - Support for "Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods" Legislation - Whalley Enhancement Association

Moved by Councillor Rathor
Seconded by Councillor Walters:

THAT the Committee of the Whole recommends to Council:

"That Council encourage the Government of British Columbia to adopt “Safer Communities and Neighborhoods” legislation, modeled after the Province of Alberta’s legislation, in order to address the public disorder and neighborhood deterioration caused by illicit drug houses, problem addresses and the issues associated with them; and further that the Union of BC Municipalities be so advised of this resolution"

F1 - 2009 Fee-for-Service Contracts

Moved by Councillor Barr
Seconded by Councillor Rathor

THAT the Committee of the Whole recommends to Council:

"That 2009 Fee-for-Service Contracts remain at 2008 Funded levels"

D1 - Future Use of Fire Hall - Community Arts Council

Moved by Councillor Rathor
Seconded by Councillor Bourdon

THAT the Committee of the Whole recommends to Council:

"That Council confirm the intention to make the existing Fire Hall available to the Community Arts Council upon it being vacated by the Fire Department and further, Staff report back to the Committee of the Whole on funding options and costs associated with converting the building to a Community Arts facility"

Portfolio Updates:

Councillors Barr, Bourdon, Montoya and Walters reported on activities on-going in their Portfolios

The meeting adjourned at 7:55pm to resume In-Camera for Budget Discussions

The BC-NDP and Priorities

Tonight, I received a email asking BC NDP members to complete a survey to list the priorities of its' members. Some of the Questions included:

1) Do you support a balanced budget?
2) Do you support the Port Mann Bridge Expansion Project?
3) Do you support the Elimination of Child Poverty?
4) How much of a priority is funding programs exclusively for BC Liberal constituencies?
5) How much of a priority is BC Rail paying Patrick Kinsella $300,000?
6) How much of a priority is eliminating the gas tax?

Which much of the questions related to issues that the BC NDP traditionally pushes during an provincial election campaign, I'd like to focus a moment or two on 2 questions the BC NDP are asking:

1) Do you support the Port Mann Bridge Expansion Project?

I know my good blogger friend, Jordan Bateman, will be interested here, but for the NDP not to support this project (Port Mann Bridge Expansion) but cry out for more transit buses from Surrey into Metro-Vancouver, via the Port Mann Bridge and the Pattullo Bridge just demonstrates how out of touch the BC-NDP MLA's for Surrey are. Also, the NDP's position on this, relative to their environmental goals, shows their comments are at the absolute "height of hypocrisy". This bridge was built in 1964 and I doubt the Port Mann Bridge designers' had intended to have the amount of traffic on the bridge today, when the bridge was built 45 years ago. Also, any one driving on that bridge today will tell you that there is no way right now you can logically run a half-decent transit service via the Port Mann Bridge, given the traffic flows on that bridge. So kudos to Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon and BC Premier Gordon Campbell for pushing forward on this initiative

2) How much of a priority is eliminating the gas tax?

It still amazes me how they (BC-NDP) still promote the carbon tax as a "gas tax". I do agree with the Hon. Gordon Campbell (Premier of BC) that the NDP is being "intellectually dishonest" with the BC electorate on this subject. If you want to charge a price on carbon and affect environmental change in this province, it is better to charge it directly to consumers' then to sneak it in some other fashion, like the BC NDP is proposing to do, if they, God forbid, form government on May 12th.

Conclusion:

This survey tells me that the BC NDP do not have a plan for BC and voters, both in the Cariboo-Chilcotin Electoral District and BC generally, should not vote for the BC NDP but for the BC Liberals' on May 12th

CRD Board Highlights - Friday, March 27th

Delegations:

1) Ron Rasmussen, CA and CRD Auditor - Review of 2008 Audited Financial Statements, for year ending December 31st, 2008 for the Cariboo Regional District and Cariboo/Cariboo-Chilcotin Regional Hospital District Boards

Business:

1) On April 20, 2009, Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Hospital District (CCRHD) Vice Chair, Mary Sjostrom and North Cariboo Area C Director, John Massier will be attending a Northern Health orientation for RHDs. Twice each year, Northern Health and the Regional Hospital Districts meet in Prince George to discuss capital planning and Northern Health’s priority setting strategies. The orientation will include an overview of Northern Health, including the organization, structure, capital planning, and capital project operations

2) The Cariboo Regional District will provide support to Cariboo Chilcotin internet service providers’ (ISP) applications for the Building Canada Fund. Under the Broadband and Connectivity portion of the program, the purpose of the funding is to help ISPs in the expansion of broadband and connectivity services to rural and remote communities. Further information is available by contacting the CRD at 250-392-3351 or toll free at 1-800-665-1636.

3) A regional meeting will be held with the municipalities, the Cariboo Regional District and the Town of Smithers on April 8 at 1:30pm at Thompson Rivers University to discuss the NAV CANADA Discussion Paper regarding Air Traffic Service Requirements. MP’s Dick Harris and Cathy McLeod along with key stakeholder groups will also be invited to the session. The study proposed service changes for the Quesnel and Williams Lake Regional Airports. In response, the Cariboo Regional District, the City of Williams Lake, the City of Quesnel, and the District of 100 Mile House sent letters to NAV CANADA expressing the desire not to lose or have reductions to these important services.

4) The Cariboo Regional District updated its Building Inspection Bylaw to comply with current BC Building Code requirements. Residents planning on new construction projects or renovations are encouraged to contact the CRD Building Inspection Department to see if they are within a designated Building Inspection Boundary.

5) The Cariboo Regional District will be submitting applications to the Building Canada Fund for a number of shovel ready projects throughout the Cariboo Chilcotin. The CRD has identified a number of projects including the North Cariboo Multi-Centre (Quesnel), the Kyllo Water Reservoir Replacement (108 Ranch), the South Cariboo Airport Improvements (South Cariboo region) and Wheelchair Accessible Trails (Regional). The Federal and Provincial Governments recently announced the second intake of applications for the Building Canada Fund with a deadline of April 24, 2009. Eligible categories for this round include water, wastewater, solid waste infrastructure, local roads, green energy, disaster mitigation, culture, tourism, sport, recreation and collaborative projects. Further information on the Building Canada program is available online at www.buildingcanada-chantierscanada.gc.ca

6) The Area 'J' Director, Alex Bracewell requested that emergency preparedness education programs available through the CRD, Municipalities or independent fire departments be expanded to the Chilcotin elementary schools. Bracewell suggested that schools along Highway 20 in Alexis Creek, Tatla Lake and Anahim Lake would provide excellent opportunities. Presentations to the students would include demonstrations with the CRD Fire Safety House, Fire Smart information, fire escape plans and information about when to use 9-1-1.

7) The Cariboo Regional District will provide letters of support to the District of Wells for their Job Opportunities Partnership funding program applications. The first project is the implementation of recommendations of the Wells/Barkerville Community Wildfire Plan. Work will involve treatment in and around the Wells waste transfer station and the area surrounding the New Barkerville subdivision. The work entails fuel modification activities such as thinning, pruning, and removal of fuels. The second project is the replacement and repair of existing structures for a mountain bike trails project. The location of these trails is in the Wells/Barkerville area of the Quesnel Forest District - an area roughly bounded by Stanley to the west, Mount Murray to the north, the 3100 road to the east, and Mount Burdett to the south.

8) The CRD Board of Directors' passed the 2009 Budget and 5-Year Financial Plan for Years 2009-2013. Area 'B' Director Roberta Faust voted against the Budget, as she was unable to review the Budget 'line-by-line' on her laptop and was unable to get a printed spreadsheet. Area 'F' Director Duncan Barnett also voted against the Budget. His reasons for voting against the Budget include concerns about the Administration Function