Monday Meeting Marathon

COW addresses Village vehicles and natural assets

Lions Bay Council is closing out the month of January with a meeting marathon. Last night's double-header Committee of the Whole (COW)-Special Meeting combo went into extra innings, extending past 10 p.m.

Monday's COW meeting opened at 6 p.m. with all Councillors in attendance and six residents online. The evening's agenda was swiftly approved.

The intent of COW meetings is to allow for information and discussion without the pressure of requiring a decision, and several topics were addressed.

Fleet Transition Study

A report from the Climate Action Committee (CAC), informed Council of the availability of an 80% grant through the Municipal Fund to do a study to look at the feasibility of the electrification of the Village fleet of vehicles (page 9).

Discussion included a clarification regarding the source of funding for the remaining 20%, which is expected to be around $10,000. Councillor Neville Abbott, who is the Chair of the committee, clarified that no money would come from taxpayers to fund the study. Instead, the money would come from the Local Government Climate Action Program (LGCAP).

Abbott noted that the Village currently has $112,000 of LGCAP funds in trust that must be spent before 2027, and that this study would be a good candidate for these funds.

While the idea of the study met with a generally positive response from Council, when Mayor Ken Berry asked for staff input, Chief Administrative Officer Ross Blackwell had a different take.

Blackwell said that staff don't support electrification of the fleet, that he feels electrification is the wrong decision for the community, and suggested the money could be used for other more pressing issues. He reiterated the concern he had raised at the last regular Council meeting regarding overloading staff.

Referencing the additional projected staff hours that will be required to complete the parking plan on top of what is already a busy schedule, he cautioned Council: "You can't keep putting things into the basket without taking anything out."

In response to a question from Councillor Ron McLaughlin, Abbott said that the study would help create a forward-looking strategy for the electrification (or other non-fossil fuel option) of the fleet of Village vehicles, along with any required infrastructure.

Council decided to go move forward with the project, asking staff to submit a grant application to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund to fund a Municipal Fleet Electrification Transition Study.

Natural Asset Inventory

CAC member John Robb then stepped forward to seek Council's support for a Natural Asset Inventory for the Village — another LGCAP initiative.

Robb outlined the need to establish foundational data as part of a Natural Asset Management Strategy, which can help the Village build resilience toward climate change.

Options discussed to gather the information included sharing the cost of hiring a university student for the job, versus hiring a consultant. Robb said he was congizant of the stressors on staff time, and said the CAC would make every effort to find volunteers to support staff in this initiative.

Robb's proposal was well received by council members, and it was agreed that it would be refined by the CAC before formally bringing to Council.

Highway Noise Monitoring

Abbott presented a report to Council on an option for monitoring highway noise (page 27), based on work that has been done over the past several years in Port Moody. Lions Bay resident Vince Reiche, who helped create the report, also addressed Council.

A wide-ranging discussion followed, addressing past efforts to address noise, speed and safety on the Sea to Sky. Retiring Director of Works Karl Buhr sat in on the discussion, noting that the concept of speed/distance cameras had arisen during his time as Mayor. He noted that measuring noise is subjective and hard to prove in court, whereas when you measure speed for safety, a reduction in noise "comes along for the ride".

In response to a comment from Blackwell, Reiche asked if there was a sign prohibiting the use of "Jake Brakes" (engine brakes) in the Village, and it was decided to investigate this possibility further.

After discussion, there was general support for gathering the noise data. Council asked staff to look into the details of the technology and reach out for more information from Port Moody staff before reporting back to Council with their findings.

Other Matters

• Minutes from the COW meetings on November 13, 2025 and January 12, 2026  were swiftly adopted.

• Further discussion of the tree-cutting application for 45 Periwinkle Place was tabled until the next Council meeting.

The COW meeting adjourned at 7 p.m. A Special Meeting of Council followed, and was set to open to the public at 9 p.m.

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