November 4 Council In Focus

Committee issues arise, Mayoral initiative defeated

The stormy weather of November was reflected inside at the first regular Council meeting of the month, as Council members exchanged heated words on a number of topics throughout the evening.

All Council members were present, with Councillor Jaime Cunliffe attending online.

The evening's agenda passed, and included a number of additional items suggested by both Mayor and councillors.

The gallery topped out at 10 members, with only a single in-person attendee. After Monday night's public hearing into zoning and development bylaws was attended by nearly three dozen residents, tonight's meeting drew no public commentary at either opportunity offered over the course of the meeting.

The meeting began with a break from common protocol when Mayor Ken Berry, at the request of CAO Ross Blackwell, exercised his mayoral authority to return a piece of legislation for reconsideration. He asked Council to readdress the matter of the third reading of the draft Subdivision Servicing bylaw, which had been defeated prior to third reading at the October 21 Council meeting.

Blackwell explained that this new bylaw addresses technical specifications, which are subject to provincial legislation and therefore not negotiable, and that having the bylaw in place is necessary to the operation of the Village. After discussion, Council agreed that the earlier third reading had been defeated based on a misunderstanding. The bylaw was then reintroduced, and given third reading.

Berry then introduced a motion to re-affirm that decisions made by Council should always take precedence over those made by advisory committees, and that this principle be incorporated into the terms of reference of the committees. .

During discussion, it was noted that it is already established practice for resident committees to act only in an advisory capacity. It was also noted that a number of long-scheduled committee meetings have been bumped as a result of the interim scheduling of special council meetings. This is leaving committee members feeling their time and efforts are being devalued. The motion passed.

Staff Reports

• Financial Officer Joe Chirkoff noted that the audit for 2025 has already commenced, and presented chartered accounting firm MNP's 2025 Audit Service Plan for Lions Bay (page 21) for Council's information.

• Blackwell presented a report (page 32) asking for amended staff hours over the Christmas season, amounting to a total of seven paid days off. After discussion, the motion was defeated. A decision was made to cap paid days off over the holiday season at four, with any further time off being covered by staff vacation days.

  
  

Committee Reports

Climate Action Committee (CAC): Minutes from September 4 (page 35) and draft minutes from October 28 (page 43) were submitted.

• Councillor Neville Abbott submitted a report (page) on behalf of the CAC recommending Council take one of two suggested options:

  • asking staff to purchase an electric bylaw vehicle and charging station, and to replace the aging Public Works F150 truck with the gasoline-powered F150 that Bylaw is currently using, or

  • asking staff to purchase an electric Bylaw vehicle and replace the aging public works F150 truck with an electric vehicle (EV) pickup, including the required charging infrastructure.

• Council decided to ask for a staff report with more information before making a decision on these recommendations.

• Abbott also brought forward a report addressing changes in the rules for rockfish and glass sponge protection. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is seeking comment on proposed changes to the boundaries prior to November 14. Council agreed that CAC committee member John Robb will seek out more information, and if required, a special meeting will be called in order to make a decision within this short timeline.

Infrastructure Committee (IC): Minutes from June 10 meeting (page 47) were submitted.

• Abbott submitted a report (page 50) on behalf of the IC with a number of recommendations for future expenditures, including:

  • the pH adjustment of Village water, as recommended in the September 30 IC meeting, and

  • SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) updates, as recommended in the same meeting, and

  • an expenditure of $20,000 required to update the Piteau Report, which will explore the feasibility of drilling water wells in Lions Bay.

• Council decided to defer discussion of these items to the next Committee of the Whole (COW) budget discussion.

Emergency Program Committee (EPC): Draft minutes from October 1 meeting (page 76) were presented.

• Councillor Ron McLaughlin was appointed to stand as the second Council member on the committee.

• Councillor Michael Broughton thanked Emergency Program Coordinator Mary Brown for organizing the October drum workshop, and his sentiments were echoed by the rest of Council.

Mayor's Report

Mayor Ken Berry presented a recommendation to Council (page 79) that staff conduct a 30-day rolling review of minutes and reports in closed meetings, and bring forward any items recommended for release to the public. He based this on practices recommended in a draft report from the BC Ombudsperson, as seen in municipalities including White Rock and Vancouver. After discussion, Council decided that the current practice of releasing information from closed meetings as soon as it is legally possible to do so is valid, and the motion was defeated.

Correspondence

The oversight of correspondence passed from Councillor McLaughlin to Abbott for the final quarter of the year.

Public correspondence (beginning on page 82) opened with a letter from Quentin Randall of GoByBike BC Society, inviting membership in their organization. Abbott said while he supported the concept, he didn't see this as a great fit for our community, but was open to hearing from residents who think otherwise.

Others included:

A letter from MLA Jeremy Valeriote regarding next steps with regard to enhancing public transportation along the Sea to Sky with BC Rail. Abbott expressed his support for this, and suggested the topic required more discussion at a future Council meeting.

A heated exchange broke out when Abbott expressed concern that Berry did not share timely meeting information when Abbott was representing the Village. "I'd like to see the letter that Jeremy sent inviting us to the meeting, that the Mayor has shared with Councillor Broughton but for some reason will not share with the rest of us," Abbott said.

Berry insisted that he was not required to share information included in correspondence directed to the Mayor. "That letter was addressed to the Mayor. Many times you have indicated that you want to read all my correspondence. I've told you outright and I will say this again, that the emails addressed to the Mayor are the Mayor's emails. I'm not going to disclose every item that is sent to me." He said that Abbott's request amounted to micro-managing.

Abbott replied that this was a request regarding only one particular email, and reminded Barry that the Mayor is just one member of the Council. "If the MLA asks us to attend a meeting, that information should be passed on."

The Mayor dismissed his concerns. "You are continuing to waste my time and others' time and I've asked you to focus on the business of the community. You've passed a resolution in the past gagging the Mayor. You need to run for the Mayor's position next time if you'd like to be the Mayor."

Broughton interjected, noting that Valeriote had invited everyone to join an upcoming meeting on the BC Rail question, and said he felt all Council members should join in. There was general agreement on this point.

Resident correspondence began with a letter from Norma Rodgers (page 88) in support of retaining the Infrastructure levy. Rodgers said she watched her neighbour's home burn on Thanksgiving morning, and spoke to the importance of maintaining an infrastructure that allows firefighters to best do their jobs. Abbott said the decision on the levy will be made in the budget discussion.

Other letters included:

• Charlie Bradbury wrote (page 89) in favour of including bird-friendly glass installations in Lions Bay's new Building Bylaw.

• A letter from Penny Nelson (page 91) asked that Council consider bird-friendly lighting in the new bylaw.

• Norma Rodgers wrote (page 92) asking that Council consider bear-proof garbage storage structures within the new Building Bylaw.

  
  

Other Matters

• Minutes from the special meeting on October 17 were adopted unchanged, and those from the regular meeting on October 21 were adopted with a few minor changes.

• On the Action Log list of unfinished items (page 15), it was noted by McLaughlin that the item (297) addressing document storage has been resolved, and can be struck off the list.

• A closed meeting was held both before and after the evening's regular meeting. After the second closed portion adjourned, Mayor Ken Berry reported that Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Ross Blackwell will receive a contractually-obliged cost-of-living increase.

  
  

The next regular council meeting is scheduled for November 18, with the public portion beginning at 7 p.m. COW meetings devoted to further budget discussions are scheduled for November 6 and 13, at 6 p.m.

Correction: The motions to re-affirm that decisions made by Council should always take precedence over those made by advisory committees, and that this principle be incorporated into the terms of reference of the committees did indeed pass, with a vote of four to one.

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