HomeMy WebLinkAboutSPAC 2011-03-02 minutes.pdf
Social Planning Advisory Committee Regular Minutes Page 1 of 4
District of Maple Ridge
SOCIAL PLANNING ADVISORY COMMITTEE
REGULAR MEETING
The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Social Planning Advisory Committee, held in the Blaney
Room at Maple Ridge Municipal Hall, 11995 Haney Place, Road, Maple Ridge, British Columbia, on
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.
____________________________________________________________________________________
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT
Councillor Cheryl Ashlie Council Liaison
Councillor Linda King Council Liaison
Candace Gordon Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows-Katzie Community Network
Ineke Boekhorst Business Improvement Association
Ken MacDonald Fraser Health Authority (Alternate)
Staff Sgt. Andrew Martin Ridge-Meadows RCMP
Treena Innes Community at Large
Andrea Walker Community at Large
Linda Morgan Community at Large
Eleanor Palis School Trustee (alternate), School District No. 42
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT
Sue Wheeler Director of Community Services
Shawn Matthewson Recreation Coordinator
Tracy Camire Committee Clerk
REGRETS/ABSENTS
Inspector Derren Lench Ridge-Meadows RCMP
Grover Telford Ridge Meadows Seniors Society
Valerie Spurrell Fraser Health Authority
Lyn Taylor-Scott Ridge Meadows Association for Community Living
Mike Huber School Trustee, School District No. 42
Alanna Robson Community at Large
Please note this meeting was chaired by Councillor Ashlie
1. Call to Order and Introductions
The meeting was called to order 7:03 p.m.
2. Agenda Approval
R11-007 Motion was moved and seconded
That the Agenda for March 2, 2011 be adopted.
CARRIED
Social Planning Advisory Committee
Regular Meeting Minutes March 2, 2011
Social Planning Advisory Committee Regular Minutes Page 2 of 4
3. Minutes of February 2, 2011 Meeting
R11-008 Motion was moved and seconded
That the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 2, 2011 be adopted as circulated.
CARRIED
4. Delegations & Presentations
4.1 RCMP – Ridge Meadows Detachment – 2011 Strategic Priorities – Staff Sgt. Martin
Staff Sgt. Andrew Martin reviewed the 2011 Ridge Meadows RCMP Strategic
Priorities which include; Drugs, Youth, Social Issues, Serious Crimes, and Traffic.
Staff Sgt. Martin advised the Committee that the Community Safety Officers pilot
project is now in its third year and that the program hasn’t been annualized as of yet.
R11-009 Motion was moved and seconded
That Staff send a recommendation to Council to write a letter of support recognizing
the importance of the Community Safety Officer program with a recommendation
that this program be annualized.
CARRIED
5. Roundtable
Shawn Matthewson
Shawn noted that Parks and Leisure Services have submitted an application for the Service
Canada Summer Employment grant program. Randy Kamp, MP has provided a letter of
support to accompany the application and if the grant is received will attend a Staff Training
Session.
Councillor King
Councillor King noted that she received Calgary’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness after
attending a workshop in 2008 where representatives from Calgary who are engaged in the
10 year plan presented.
Eleanor Palis
Eleanor noted that there was a power outage at the schools today and also noted that
kindergarten enrolment and the environmental school registration took place last month.
Ms. Palis noted that there are 60 people on the waitlist for the environmental school and all
French Immersion requests were approved.
Linda Morgan
Linda asked for information on the process to approve the new Community Gaming Centre.
The Committee discussed the link between the recession and increase in homelessness
along with the impacts of the Community Gaming Centre.
ACTION ITEM: Staff to provide the Committee with the information on the new
Community Gaming Centre.
Social Planning Advisory Committee
Regular Meeting Minutes March 2, 2011
Social Planning Advisory Committee Regular Minutes Page 3 of 4
Treena Innes
Treena thanked Staff Sgt. Martin for his presentation and noted it provided good clarity. Ms.
Innes shared the “Invest in Maple Ridge” ad that was seen in the “Business in Vancouver”
paper. It was confirmed that this ad campaign was created by the Maple Ridge Economic
Development Department.
Andrea Walker
Andrea noted that she waited in line for Albion Elementary Kindergarten registration
overnight and asked about the pressure for kindergarten places. An update was provided by
Eleanor Palis, School Trustee. Andrea attended the Festival of Light at Haney Place Mall and
shared how wonderful the event was for families.
Ineke Boekhorst
Ineke provided an update on the Business Improvement Association and the events they
have been involved in. Ineke also provided an update on the success of the BIA’s Facade
Improvement Program that is offered as a grant program to businesses in the downtown core
to encourage enhancement of the street appearance of the local businesses.
Candace Gordon
Candace noted that a good portion of the funding for the agencies in our community
supporting individuals and families that are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless
comes from the Federal “Homelessness Partnership Initiative” (HPI) fund. The Federal
government has committed funds to this program for the next three years through to March,
2014 and the local Regional Steering Committee has forwarded recommendations for
funding for the first fiscal year (April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012) of the grant program.
Ken MacDonald
Ken noted that Fraser Health is renewing its Strategic Planning with a focus on quality and
fiscal responsibility. He explained that programs will now be managed regionally. Ken also
noted that services are taxed as need continues to grow, so the challenge is to balance
quality with need, especially when there is a shortage of staffing resources in specialized
roles such as surgical nurses. Mental health and addiction services will be piloting a
substance intervention project at Ridge Meadows and Chilliwack General hospitals targeted
at the general population that do not have mental health issues but are affected by
substances like tobacco, alcohol, stimulants, cocaine, cannabis, etc.”
6. New Business
6.1 Overview of SPAC Chair and Co-Chair Roles
Shawn Matthewson reviewed the Chair and Vice-Chair roles, and noted that generally
the position has been held by a Community-at-Large member. Community-at-large
members have typically been elected chair. The goal is to have the election at a
meeting in the near future, so community members were asked to give some thought
as to whether this is a role that they would like to consider.
6.2 Big Brothers and Big Sisters in the Fraser Valley: News Release on Restructuring
The Committee discussed the organizational restructuring that has taken place
within the Fraser Valley Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization, including the
suspension of services in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
Social Planning Advisory Committee
Regular Meeting Minutes March 2, 2011
Social Planning Advisory Committee Regular Minutes Page 4 of 4
Candace Gordon advised the Committee that she (along with representatives from
the Community Network) met with the Big Brothers and Big Sisters (BBBS) staff to
clarify the Board’s decisions that resulted in the closure of the local office. It was
explained by BBBS staff that the board made the decision due to lack of funding
resulting primarily from the impacts of the gaming funding changes.
Candace Gordon shared that the Community Network had discussed with the BBBS
staff the perception of lack of community consultation regarding the cancellation of
this program. She noted that the network is in process of sending a letter to the
BBBS Board stating the Network’s concern regarding the lack of consultation and
requesting verification on what would be needed to reinstate the local program.
R11-010 Motion was moved and seconded
That council on SPAC’s advice write the provincial government on the negative
impacts on non-profit social services agencies of the recently adopted procedures for
accessing gaming funding.
And that a letter describing the specific social impacts in Maple Ridge be attached
including impacts on sports and arts organizations.
And that the local MLA’s be sent copies of these letters
CARRIED
6.3 Hunger Count 2010 – Overview
Shawn Matthewson provided an overview of the Hunger Count 2010 reviewing
statistic on food bank use, including a comparison of the local numbers to national
averages. She also reviewed the recommendations for reducing hunger noting that
one key recommendation for reducing hunger is to focus on reducing poverty.
6.4 Federal Poverty Reduction Plan: Working in Partnership Towards Reducing Poverty
in Canada – Overview – deferred
Please note that Eleanor Palis left the meeting at 8:44 p.m.
6.5 Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness – Homeless Count 2011
Sue Wheeler advised that the Homeless Count 2011 will take place for one full day
beginning at midnight March 15 and ending midnight March 16, 2011. This count is
commissioned by the Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness and takes
place across the Lower Mainland every three years, with the last count occurring in
2008. The count takes place at local shelters and transition houses during the night
and then a street count is done during the day. This year the count has been
expanded to treatment centres and facilities where people are staying that have no
known home. This community is also including a special team of volunteers that will
focus on counting the local youth that are homeless. A record number of volunteers
have signed up to assist with the count this year.
Ms. Wheeler noted that the count numbers are a snapshot of the situation at a
specific point in time and that it is important to note that the count numbers indicate
the minimum number of homeless in the community.
Social Planning Advisory Committee
Regular Meeting Minutes March 2, 2011
Social Planning Advisory Committee Regular Minutes Page 5 of 4
7. Unfinished Business
7.1 Work Plan update and 2011 Proposed Committee Budget
Sue Wheeler reviewed the 2011 Work Plan and proposed Committee Budget.
R11-011 Motion was moved and seconded
That the District of Maple Ridge Social Planning Advisory Committee 2011 Budget is
approved as presented and that the work plan be reviewed at the next meeting for
further discussion.
CARRIED
7.2 Spirit of Community Awards – New Category Recommendation - deferred
8. Committee Reports
8.1 Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows-Katzie Community Network Update: Candace Gordon
9. CORRESPONDENCE.
9.1 City of Victoria – Secondary Suites Award
10. Next Meeting: Wednesday, April 6, 2011 – 7:00 p.m.
Agenda Deadline: Monday, March 21, 2011
Location: Blaney Room, Maple Ridge Municipal Hall
11. Adjournment - 8:58 p.m.
______________________________________
Chairperson
/tc