May 19 Council In Focus

Audit, many strategic priorities complete

With all Council members present at the table, and a comparatively small gallery of 12 attendees on line and in person, the final Council meeting of May took place on Tuesday evening.

Chief Administrative Officer Ross Blackwell joined Council members at the table, and Financial Officer Joe Chirkoff was present in the gallery. The evening's agenda, which was approved with a few minor additions, can be found HERE.

MNP's Cory Vanderhorst addresses 2025 Audit

Accounting firm MNP representative Cory Vanderhorst appeared as a delegation, and offered a summary of the 2025 audit for Council's consideration (page 4). He thanked Village staff for their support of the process, and noted the improvement in timeliness over last year.

Vanderhorst said that the Village's total revenue of $6.2 million was up from 2024's total of $5.5 million, He added that the debt carried by the Village also increased from last year's $1.4 million to $2.5 million in 2025.

After discussion, Council voted to accept the financial statements, and with that approval, Vanderhorst said the completed audit would be ready for delivery.

Council Strategic Priorities

CAO Blackwell pointed Council to his report (page 53), which reviewed actions that have been taken to address Council's established priorities. Discussion primarily focused on a number of items that remain in progress. These included the bus stop relocation and the progress being made at the Beach Park. Blackwell said that the Beach Park, when complete, will be "a gem" that can favourably compete with any of the parks he's designed for larger municipalities in the past.

Staff Reports

A proposed amendment to Fees Bylaw ( No.497), to reduce the amount of fees charged to those owners making property available for temporary use, and the addition of a new no-cost rate for facility use in the case of volunteer-led community events were introduced for first, second and third readings.

A heated exchange arose between Councillor Neville Abbott and Mayor Ken Berry regarding whether Berry would recuse himself from the discussion. After Berry declined, Abbott moved on.

In the discussion that followed, Abbott objected to the reduction of costs to owners putting their homes up for short-term rentals when, he noted there is a desperate need for long-term rental housing and housing for fire fighters within the Village.

Blackwell explained that excessive fees cannot be used to regulate the process, and that the fees must only be used for covering staff costs and not to make a profit for the Village. He noted that objections to short-term rentals should be addressed through bylaws and not by the punitive use of fees. The three readings successfully passed.

Committee Reports

• Speaking on behalf of the Infrastructure Committee, Abbott noted that the committee plans to address the report on the feasibility of well water in the community at the next meeting. He asked that the Director of Operations or another staff member be in attendance.

• At the beginning of the meeting, Berry announced that the recipient of the Curly Stewart Memorial Trust Fund (CSMTF) had been chosen, and said the name will be announced at the school ceremony and the Canada Day celebration. When reporting on committee events, Abbott presented the draft minutes from the May 11 CSMTF Committee meeting (page 86), and offered his thanks to retiring committee members Hugo van Hoogstraten, Nicole Strahl and Jennifer Heatherington for their long service to the committee. Abbott also thanked van Hoogstraten's employer KPMG for their donation of $500 to the fund.

  
  

Mayor and Council Reports

• Berry put forward a motion stating in part that Council is "firmly and unequivocally opposed to any destruction, obstruction or tampering with bear traps", and called for the strict enforcement and appropriate penalties for any such action. He said the motion, which passed, was intended to show support for the work of Conservation Officers in the community.

• Councillor Ron McLaughlin addressed the watercraft storage project at the Beach Park. He said he has crafted a letter which will be sent to the more than 50 past users of the storage racks, asking them if they are willing to volunteer time or expertise to the project, with an eye to creating a six to eight-person study group to facilitate the construction and oversight of the storage racks.

• Councillor Michael Broughton's report (page 89) regarding water quality at Lions Bay Beach Park asked that staff identify a means to manage Beach Park water quality. In the discussion that followed, Blackwell explained that while staff test the water, they are not biologists, they have no idea of the source of the high coliform count, and are not qualified to report or act on the subject. The motion was defeated.

• Broughton brought a second report asking staff to review security at the Beach Park and report back to Council (page 90). Blackwell said the standard opening and closing hours of the park will remain, and there are electronic locks on the bathroom. The motion passed.

• In response to Broughton's concerns regarding pedestrian safety at the Beach Park Entrance (page 91), Blackwell said a professional engineer has been consulted and the risk is as low as it can be practically made.

• With regard to the upcoming 2026 Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) conference, Blackwell directed Councillors to think about which Ministers they would like to speak to at the conference.

Emergency Services

Fire Rescue Dispatch Report (included with correspondence on page 96):

In April, Lions Bay Fire Rescue (LBFR) attended 6 incidents, with 10 uses of apparatus. The number of members attending was not reported this month. Average turn-out time for the month was 6:17, average travel time was 4:20 and the average time on scene was 78:31.

Correspondence

Public correspondence (beginning on page 100) opened with a letter from GranFondo Director of Operations Riya Chak, seeking Council's support for this year's event, to be held September 12. Council agreed and resolved to offer support.

Other letters included:

• City of Abbotsford's Mayor Ross Siemens regarding changes to the provincial sales tax (page 101).

• A thank you from the District of Tumbler Ridge regarding Council's support following the tragic events in that community (page 103).

• Premier Dave Eby regarding the upcoming UBCM conference (page 104).

  
  

A flurry of correspondence was received from local residents concerned about changes to parking regulations.

These included Mountain Drive residents Rebecca Casperson (page 105), Gail Craig (page 106), Joanna Koponka (page 107), Timbertop residents Andrew and Ingrid Wray (page 108), Sunset Drive residents David and Meribeth Tikkanen (page 110), Judith Jordan (page 112), Bill and Sharon Skibinski (page 113), Johan and Adele van Tonder (page 114), and Mick Vassilev (page 116). Councillor Abbott offered to reply to residents regarding Council's decisions.

Resident Jodie Braaten wrote in support of replacement of the watercraft racks at the Beach Park (page 109) and resident Betty Birrell wrote about her concern over the quantity of garbage that is being left strewn along the Tunnel Bluffs trail by visiting hikers. Blackwell said that outreach with the province would be necessary to address issues on crown land, and Abbott agreed to represent Council to lobby MLA Jeremy Valeriote for support to address the problem.

Other Items of Note

• Minutes from the regular Council meeting on April 21 and the special Council meeting held on May 12 were approved with a few minor changes.

• Councillor Cunliffe proposed a separate special opening event of the Erin Moore Playground at the Beach Park, prior to the official Canada Day opening, and said she would facilitate this with the family.

• Council discussed awareness of e-bike and e-scooter rules, and noted that the Lower Mainland Local Government Association has plans to address province-wide standards.

• New seasonal Parking and Parks Patrol Officer Gabrielle introduced herself to Council members.

• McLaughlin addressed a request from volunteer Firefighter Charity Stelmacker for a short hold on 12 Kelvin Grove Beach parking spots on June 7 for her wedding to a fellow firefighter. The request was approved, and a resolution to standardize these requests for future events was added to the strategic plan.

• McLaughlin asked that applications for candidates for the Citizen of the Year be extended to June 2, which was approved.

  
  

In the absence of any public questions, the meeting adjourned. The next regular meeting of Council is scheduled for June 2, with the public portion of the meeting beginning at 7 p.m.

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