May Council In Focus

A welcome, a reality tv show, and a new official bird

Before the official business of Tuesday night's regular council meeting began, Mayor Ken Berry opened by welcoming the sole candidate who stepped forward to take on the role of Councillor.

"We'd like to announce that Mr. Ron McLaughlan was acclaimed as a councillor and there will be a swearing in in the coming days or weeks," said Berry.

Chief Administrative Officer Ross Blackwell clarified that the Chief Electoral Officer has merely declared McLaughlin as the sole candidate, and the acclamation is not official until May 26.

Berry then reiterated his welcome and congratulations, subject to the May 26 deadline.

Following this and a brief discussion, minutes from the special meetings of Council on May 6, 13 and 14 were approved, with a couple of minor changes.

Filming Permit Request

Municipal staff member Karen Jeffery addressed Council with regard to the potential for filming a reality television series this fall in Brunswick Beach. She explained that the film company had "jumped the gun" on the process by addressing a few local residents, and she was present to offer clarification.

The project would be primarily filmed indoors at a Brunswick residence, with a shoot of around 16 days. Jeffrey said that if Council showed an interest in moving the project forward, a film permit would be applied for by the company, including polling local residents for their feedback.

After discussion, Council agreed to the idea in principal, as long as filming did not take place over the September long weekend.

Infrastructure Committee update

Councillor Neville Abbott presented the minutes (and accidentally the supporting notes) of the Infrastructure Committee (IC) meetings from January to April, which were received for information by Council.

This included a letter (found on page 27 of the evening's agenda) to be included with regard to a proposed UBCM resolution relating to emergency water treatment facilities in the Village.

Climate Action Committee Update

Abbott also presented the first quarter minutes of the Climate Action committee (CAC) for Council's information. He indicated the committee had chosen Community Recycling Depot as the new name for the Village's recycling project, to differentiate it from other depots run by Metro and the province. The proposed logo can be found on page 69 of the agenda.

Abbott also introduced discussion on where potential extra funding could be redirected toward lowering the cost of electric vehicles purchased by the Village.

LMLGA update

Berry and Councillor Jaime Cunliffe represented Lions Bay at the Lower Mainland Local Government Association (LMLGA) Conference in April, and both briefly discussed their take-aways from the experience.

Berry reminded Council that among the recommendations made by consultant Randy Diehl in 2023 was an updating of Village bylaws. He said that Don Lidstone of Lidstone & Company Law Corporation appeared at the LMLGA event, offering support for small communities in this area, and requested staff look into what the costs would be.

Cunliffe attended a Firesmart tour, and voiced her support for the program, noting there had been a "lot of buy-in" in the communities of Whistler, Langley and Abbotsford, where residents were offered support with thinning brush and moving firewood piles around their homes.

Berry noted that Lions Bay's motion (made last March) to seek provincial approval for the development of regional emergency operations centres, met with unanimous approval. Blackwell confirmed that the motion will be brought forward for consideration at the upcoming Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) meeting. Berry clarified that the resolution was intended to ensure Lions Bay would get as much support as possible in terms of financing and human resources during an emergency.

Emergency Services

Fire Rescue Dispatch Report (included with correspondence on page 88):

In February, Lions Bay Fire Rescue (LBFR) attended nine incidents, with 17 uses of apparatus and 47 members attending. Average turn-out time for the month was 10:04, average travel time was 9:10 and the average time on scene was 70:47.

Correspondence

Letters (beginning on page 92) were received this month from the Town of Enderby regarding local response to tariff uncertainty and both North Van City and Metro Vancouver, regarding nominations to the E-Comm Board of Directors.

The single letter from resident Dejan Grubic (page 100), asked that Council resume charging for parking, to cover the costs incurred by hikers. During discussion of this letter, Abbott clarified that, for reasons unknown, public parking at the top of Oceanview Road is no longer paid. He noted that parking along Bayview, Mountain and Sunset is paid. Blackwell said he would reach out to Bylaw Officer Taj Binder for clarification.

Other steps forward

The public portion of the meeting was held to under an hour, and a few other steps forward on various topics were taken. These included:

• The Anna's Hummingbird was ratified by Council as the community's Official Community Bird, in an initiative promoted by Bird Friendly Lions Bay and Historical Society.

• In an update on the Lions Bay Beach Park, Blackwell reiterated that the team is hoping to start construction in late September. Broughton reminded him that Firefighter's Day is customarily held the second weekend of September. In response to Abbott's request for a final cost, Blackwell said that the construction team has committed to bringing the project in under the budget, plus the "little bump" that was required to cover changes in the plans made after the public consultation.

• When asked for an update on Battani Creek, Blackwell said that there were no further updates of a public nature, but that the "on-going geotechnical study continues."

  
  

  There has been no information released from staff with regard to a geotechnical survey, and a question after the meeting to the CAO on the subject received no response. (In this April 27 article from the Vancouver Sun, it states : "A local state of emergency remains in place in Lions Bay four months after a deadly landslide so the municipality can complete a public safety study" but no confirmation of this information has been released to residents of Lions Bay).

In the absence of public comment, Council then voted to return to a closed session, and the open portion of the meeting ended.

 The next meeting of council is a Committee of the Whole, scheduled for Tuesday, June 3 at 6 p.m.

The Watershed values your opinion.

Share your thoughts below, or email editor@lionsbaywatershed.ca

Like what you're reading?

For as little as $5/month, you can support local independent journalism

by subscribing to The Watershed HERE.