February 3 Council In Focus

Bylaws, grant applications approved; Memorial faces roadblocks

The first meeting of February Tuesday night saw forward motion on bylaw and grant application approvals, but an unexpected roadblock for the proposed Enns Memorial.

As the meeting opened to the public, all members of Council were present in person, with Financial Officer Joe Chirkoff and new Director of Operations Eric Villeneuve seated in the gallery. Public attendance totalled 15 residents, in person and on line.

The agenda was accepted with the addition of an on-table item by Councillor Neville Abbott.

The meeting opened with Mayor Ken Berry reporting that Council has completed the Chief Administrative Officer's (CAO) review.

McLaughlin Makes a Plea for Respectful Conduct

Before the business of the evening commenced, Councillor Ron McLaughlin made a statement that he said stemmed from Council members' behaviour that "fell short of decorum" in recent meetings.

He asked that Council members refrain from pressuring staff to include agenda items outside "appropriate governance or procedural parameters", that all introduced items be supported by a written report in order to provide context and foster informed discussion, and that any "materials, motions, or documents" introduced during a meeting be formally received or adopted by Council in accordance with procedure.

McLaughlin said he offered his comments "in the spirit of strengthening Council’s collective effectiveness and professionalism."

As the discussion that followed these remarks became more heated, CAO Ross Blackwell was forced to intervene.

"You need to speak to the issue, not the individual," he said. "It's the only way you guys are going to maintain the table. You have to stop personalizing these issues."

Collection Building and User Rate Bylaws Approved Amendments

• After a protracted discussion, the Solid Waste and Recycling Collection Bylaw Amendment (page 16) was adopted.

• The new Building Bylaw (page 44) passed without further discussion.

• Chirkoff presented the Solid Waste, Water and Utility User Rate Bylaw amendments (page 103) which set the garbage, water, utility rates and the sewer rates for Kelvin Grove residents, all of which were also speedily adopted.

  
  

Staff Identify Multiple Roadblocks to Enns Memorial Park

Blackwell then presented a report (page 96) outlining a number of considerations that need to be addressed before the approval of a Memorial Park in memory of Barbara and David Enns, whose lives were lost in the debris torrent that flowed down Battani Creek on December 14, 2024.

These considerations included the "importance of a structured park development process", as well as roadblocks including assessment of land use and zoning, environmental constraints, risk assessments, access and parking, insurance considerations and more.

Blackwell said these restrictions would apply to the creation of any new park, and that associated costs are not insubstantial. He noted that to meet legal standards, any volunteer work on municipal land needs to be supervised.

"If you want to do anything, there are rules that have to be followed," he said, noting these apply "whether it's a butterfly garden or a full-blown park."

After discussion, it was decided to address the issues and concerns surrounding the memorial at a future Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting.

Following this, Blackwell offered a report (page 100) he said is intended as "an exploratory planning document" that identifies some of the principal structural challenges facing Lions Bay.

Climate Action Committee

As a follow-up to discussions at the most recent COW meeting, Councillor Neville Abbott presented the Climate Action Committee's recommendation (page 115) to move forward on procuring a grant to undertake a Municipal Fleet Electrification Transition Study. He also made a motion for staff to prepare a Request for Proposals for a qualified consultant to deliver the study.

Both motions were successful.

Highway Noise Monitoring in the Works

Abbott then presented a report on the possibility of acquiring a highway noise monitoring device (page 118) to gather data on highway noise, again a topic covered in a recent COW meeting. After discussion, it was decided to pursue an agreement with manufacturer Elec-Tech for noise sensors and monitoring software and move forward with the project.

Correspondence

Public correspondence (page 123) begins with a letter from Metro Vancouver Chair Mike Hurley regarding development south of the Fraser River.

Queena Wong of the BC Epilepsy Society wrote to request Council proclaim March 26 as International PURPLE DAY for Epilepsy Awareness. (page 126)

David MacDonald, Director General of the Resilient and Innovative Communities Directorate Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (page 128) wrote to reject an application made by former DO Karl Buhr for a grant in support of an energy upgrade for the Village Hall. MacDonald said that the proposal did not meet the committee's program requirements.

Other Items of Note

• Minutes from the Council meeting held January 20 (page 5) were approved after a few minor changes.

• Action Items Log (page 15): Items marked as complete (including the 2024 Water Shortage policy and a draft letter to the Federal government addressing Emergency Management) are to be removed from the list.

• New DO Villeneuve was invited to the table for a discussion of the location of public washroom facilities in the Village, to meet the increasing demands of passing visitors. Blackwell suggested that a report should be available for discussion before the summer season. It was also noted that none of the public toilets in the Village are winterized.

• Chirkoff presented the fourth quarter Accounts Payable report (page 108) for information.

• A brief discussion was held regarding attendance at upcoming municipal conferences including Local Government Leadership Academy in Richmond (March) Lower Mainland Local Government Association in Whistler (April), and Union of BC Municipalities Conference in Vancouver (September). No final decisions were made.

  
  
  
  

Public Participation, Questions & Comments

In the opening session, Kevin Grove resident Vincent Reiche spoke in support of the installation of noise-monitoring equipment, and quoted the positive results experienced by Port Moody when they installed the equipment last year.

However, just as Council was seeking public comments to end the meeting, a technology glitch caused the broadcast system to fail, and since staff were unable to restart it the meeting came to an untimely close.

Presuming the equipment is once again operational, the next regular meeting of Council is scheduled for February 17, with the public portion of the meeting beginning at 7 p.m.

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