Budget, Bylaws, Beach Park Approved

Special meeting called to allow Council decision-making power

A number of significant decisions made it past the finish line at this week's special meeting of Council.

The special meeting pre-empted the regularly scheduled Committee of the Whole (COW), in order to address "a number of items that require Council decisions, such as the budget," according to Chief Administrative Officer Ross Blackwell.

Traditionally COW meetings are intended to offer time for fulsome discussion of issues and concerns facing Council, with regular (and occasionally special) meetings focused on decision-making.

Such was the case on Tuesday, when after wading through the approval of the minutes from the special meetings on April 1, 9 and 23, Council sprang into action.

Budget, Water, Sewer, Garbage Bylaws approved

In comparatively short order, the 2025 budget was finally approved. Blackwell said that while the window for strategic planning for this term has passed, he asked council to consider sitting down to set priorities for the upcoming year.

Council also quickly approved five percent increases in the Water Rates and Regulations Bylaw amendment, the Sewer User Rates Bylaw amendment and the Garbage and Recycling Collection Bylaw amendment, all of which had received third reading at the last special meeting.

However, the Zoning and Development Bylaw amendment was once again sent back to staff, with an eye to further discussion and review at an upcoming COW meeting.

Budget discussion points

In budget discussions, Councillor Neville Abbott questioned why the hard-fought line item that originally slated $140,000 for the removal of 'dangerous trees' had been renamed 'vegetation management." Council, who had already agreed to drop the figure to $60,000 settled on 'vegetation management/dangerous trees' as a final description.

After Abbott pointed out that Council has run through more than 90% of its budgeted funding for legal costs already, he reminded Council members that they had all campaigned on a platform of cost-cutting, but have not managed to do so.

In response, the Mayor moved that Council should report out of closed exactly what the legal expenses have gone to this term. Discussion addressed legal expenses that have gone toward solving respectful workplace issues, and the number of litigations that the Village has had to defend against this term. Ultimately, the motion was defeated, with Councillors Cunliffe and Abbott expressing concern about legal issues that are still pending.

Board of Variance vs DVP

There was some discussion about the recent trend away from residents availing themselves of the Board of Variance (BoV) and instead going directly to a Development Variance Permit (DVP). Councillor Michael Broughton said that he thought the Board of Variance was being under-used. Abbott proposed a motion encouraging applicants to utilize the BoV processes whenever possible, which after extensive debate, carried.

2023 Audit and Annual Report near completion, a year over-due

As a part of the business arising from April 23 minutes, Abbott addressed the items listed in what Mayor Ken Berry had termed Council's 'Action Plan,' stemming from the recommendations made back in 2023 by provincial consultant Randy Diehl.

Abbott noted that the first item on the list (found on page 13 of the evening's agenda) called for the review and approval of a 2024 audit by June 30, 2025. He asked whether these dates are indeed feasible, and further inquired about the 2023 audit and Annual Report, both of which were due back in June, 2024.

Blackwell agreed that given the timeline, it's "highly unlikely" they will meet this deadline, and Financial Officer Joe Chirkoff said he would come back to Council with a more accurate date. Chirkoff noted that the 2023 audit is complete and awaiting the Mayor's signature, and that the 2023 Annual Report should be ready to submit in June, in advance of the 2024 Audit and Annual Report.

EPC/ESS Restructuring

Abbott asked about the follow-up to Emergency Support Services (ESS) Director Mary Brown's request that the Emergency Program Coordinator (EPC) and ESS positions be restructured. Staff had not prepared a presentation. However, Berry made reference to last year's offer from Metro Vancouver to help shoulder the financial burden for smaller municipalities when it comes to emergency response resources. Blackwell said that sharing these responsibilities helps to "create resiliency". It wasn't clear if this issue would be addressed at a future meeting.

Accounts Payable Issues

Financial Officer Joe Chirkoff presented the quarterly Accounts Payable (AP) Report, which was unreadable due to formatting issues with the agenda. A Watershed request for a correctly formatted version went unanswered before press time.

Abbott asked that it be clarified in future AP reports that Fire Department expenses are taken from fundraising, and not from taxpayers funds.

Correspondence

There were four letters received this month, (beginning on page 145 of the agenda), three of which were received for information only.

Following up on his letter from last month, Sunshine Coast resident Paul Shepski, (page 158), wrote to give Council more information about his proposed trail running event starting and ending in Lions Bay. After discussion, it was decided to ask staff to seek input from Lions Bay Search and Rescue, and also to ask Shepski to produce a traffic management plan.

Lions Bay Beach Park Approval

Berry expressed his disapproval after staff requested permission to take the next steps with the updated Beach Park plan. He noted that the project had been handed over to staff a year ago.

Blackwell said that the resolution is important, as it means council is comfortable with the current design, and that he viewed it as a vote of confidence. The motion to approve the request carried.

In the absence of public questions, Council moved to return to a closed session and the public meeting adjourned.

The next regular meeting of Council is scheduled for May 20 at 6 p.m.

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