A May Double Header
- kc dyer
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Council goes to bat: both COW and Special meetings in one night
It was a night for wrapping things up on Tuesday as Council held both a Committee of the Whole (COW) and Special Council meeting in a single evening.
The intent of most COW meetings is to allow for a more thorough discussion of topics of interest to Council, and Tuesday's meeting was no exception.
Chief Administrative Officer Ross Blackwell, attending online, presented no less than three reports for the information of Council members, who were all present in person.
Fire Truck Replacement
In a report addressing the potential replacement of the Lions Bay Fire Rescue Truck (page 7), Blackwell offered three major options:
Repair Engine 61 and Retain in Service
Advantages: Maintains current service levels in the short term; represents the lowest immediate cost; provides time to plan for the replacement of equipment in the future and preserves asset value.
Disadvantages: Does not address underlying age and reliability concerns; may result in additional maintenance costs; defers but does not eliminate the need for replacement.
1A. Repair Engine 61 and Sell
Advantages: Allows the Village to recover some value from the asset; avoids future maintenance risk; may contribute to funding a replacement.
Disadvantages: Requires immediate replacement planning; introduces some short-term operational risk if a replacement is not found immediately.
Replace Engine 61 with New Apparatus (Estimated cost:$1.4 million0
Advantages: Provides long-term reliability; meets modern standards; supports insurance and operational requirements; aligns with long-term asset management best practices.
Disadvantages: Significant capital cost; procurement timelines may be extended; requires financing strategy.
Replace with Used Apparatus
Advantages: Lower upfront cost than new engine; quicker acquisition timeline; maintains service capacity.
Disadvantages: Reduced service life; potential for unknown maintenance issues; may not fully align with long-term planning objectives.
No final decision was made, as all agreed the new Fire Chief should weigh in, but in discussion, several Council members spoke favourably toward repairing the existing engine with an eye to selling it in the future.
Land Clearing Regulations
Blackwell's report (page 13) offered an overview of the regulations required to develop a land clearing bylaw. During discussions, Councillor Neville Abbott suggested Blackwell take a look at the existing Soil Depost, Removal and Land Alteration bylaw to see if it can be adapted to include tree clearing until Land Clearing bylaw can be created. Blackwell agreed to review the bylaw and bring information back to Council.
Lions Bay Beach Park Entrance Concept
Council considered staff's design concept (page 21) for the entrance to the refurbished Beach Park.
Proposed improvements include:
Demarcation of three short-term drop-off parking spaces
Installation of bike parking facilities
Provision of electrical outlets for charging e-bikes and scooters
Installation of removable post barriers to assist with traffic delineation and management.
Blackwell clarified that wiring required for the e-bike charging station can piggyback on the existing system that will allow the provision of electricity for a food truck during special events, and that staff anticipates costs for the entrance upgrades can be covered by the project's contingency budget.
Councillor Michael Broughton introduced a number of questions about the status of the Beach Park project, and from this discussion it was determined that:
while the formal opening is slated for July 1 in conjunction with Canada Day events, an informal "soft" opening will only be possible in June when all scaffolding and construction equipment is removed from the site, and the grass has grown to a sufficient height that it has been mown once. Blackwell said that the opening dates will be provided in the Village Update and cautioned that visitors who walk on the newly sown grass are slowing the process down.
the swimming dock has been repaired and will be installed in the next couple of weeks.
daily opening and closing times of park facilities have yet to be determined.
Citizen Satisfaction Survey
Council discussed a summary of key findings from the 2026 Lions Bay Resident Survey (page 26). It was clarified that that information and comments from the survey will be used to inform the upcoming upgrade to the Official Community Plan.
Special Council Meeting: Tax Rates Set, Reimbursement Approved
Following a brief pause to regroup after the COW, Council quickly moved into the Special Meeting, where the agenda was speedily approved with minor changes.
After an introduction by Financial Officer Joe Chirkoff, the 2026 Tax Rates bylaw (No. 664, page 3) was adopted.
Council then agreed to resident David Udo's May 5 request for reimbursement for the costs of permitted tree work he undertook, which was subsequently removed as a part of the Beach Park redevelopment.
A motion to adjourn was approved just under six minutes after the meeting began.
The next regular meeting of Council is scheduled for May 19, with the public portion of the meeting beginning at 7 p.m.
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