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Home My WebLink About2003-08-18 Adopted Council Workshop Minutes.pdfCorporation of the District of Maple Ridge COUNCIL WORKSHOP August 18, 2003 The Minutes of the Municipal Council Workshop held on Monday, August 18, 2003 at 9:00 am in the Blaney Room of the Municipal Hall, 11995 Haney Place, Maple Ridge, British Columbia for the purpose of transacting regular Municipal business. PRESENT Elected Officials Mayor K. Morse Councillor E. Daykin Councillor J. Dueck Councillor C. Gordon Councillor J. Harris Councillor F. Isaac Appointed Staff P. Gill, Acting Chief Administrative Officer T. Fryer, Municipal Clerk M. Davies, Director Parks & Facilities F. Quinn, General Manager Public Works and Development Services S. Belley, Acting Confidential Secretary Other Staff as Required Inspector Fraser MacRae, RCMP J. Leebum, Director of Communications & Human Resources Cst. C. Glover, RCMP B. McDonald, Director, Licenses, Permits & Bylaws D. Merenick, Bylaws Supervisor Note: These Minutes are also posted on the Municipal Web Site at www.mapleridge.org 1. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA • Item 4.3 -Abernethy Way Connector • Item 5.2 -Katzie First Nations Leadership Dinner 2003 • Item 5 .3 -GVRD Governance MOVED by Councillor Daykin SECONDED by Councillor Isaac That the Council Workshop Agenda for August 18, 2003 be adopted as amended. CARRIED Council Workshop Minutes August 18, 2003 Page 2 ofS 2. 1l1INUTES R/03-W-34 Council Workshop Minutes July 21 , 2003 MOVED by Councillor Dueck SECONDED by Councillor Isaac That the minutes of the Council Workshop Meeting of July 21, 2003 be adopted as circulated. CARRJED 3. DELEGATIONS-NIL 4. UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS 4.1 Update on Homelessness Issue A verbal report was received from Mr. Brock McDonald, Director of Licenses, Permits, & Bylaws and Inspector Fraser MacRae, of the Ridge Meadows RCMP. The Director of Licenses, Permits & Bylaws circulated a report outlining tasks and the number of complaints dealt with by Bylaws staff and the RCMP over the past two months. In terms of homeless issues, 50% of staffs time and an equal amount of policing is spent on various sites dealing with homeless people. Councillor Gordon joined the meeting at 9:07 am. The General Manager of Public Works & Development Services and the Bylaws Supervisor joined the meeting at 9:08 am. The Director of Licenses, Permits & Bylaws made reference to other areas in the community that are dealing with homelessness on a daily basis requiring staff presence. The majority of people living on the streets are seriously drug addicted and are there by choice. Based on the degree of homelessness in this community, it was strongly recommended that the Provincial and Federal Governments be approached on this matter to provide appropriate facilities consisting of rehab services and blended housing to the homeless. With respect to funding options, the Federal Government has allocated $2,500 in SCIPI funding towards projects. The dead.lii1e for submissions is September 12, 2003. In terms of bylaw enforcement, unsafe and insecure homes are either boarded up or demolished. J j 1 I I I • l J Council Workshop Minutes August l8, 2003 Page 3 of5 A number of priorities were mentioned that are happening with the Homelessness Coalition: • SCIPI funding applications • Dealing with youth homelessness • Working on affordable housing and transitional housing projects • Working on service challenges and next steps A two year housing limitation has never been enforced in Maple Ridge, and if the Provincial agencies move to enforce the two year limitation on housing, then more people are going to be on the streets because there will be no where to go. It was recommended that the GVRD Homelessness Strategy be adopted. From a policing perspective, street people with drug problems have to participate in low level crime in order to finance their habits. The best attempt for the police is to manage the situation, not solve it. Inspector MacRae reported that 90% of Cst. Glover's time and effo rts are devoted to this one issue. The Mayor suggested that bylaw enforcement staff, RCMP and the Coalition determine how to effectively communicate the education process to the public on this issue. A complete strategy package needs to be developed. The Mayor complimented the RCMP and bylaw enforcement staff on their efforts despite the limited resources available to them. Inspector MacRae, Cst. Glover, the Director of License, Permits & Bylaws, and the Bylaws Supervisor departed the meeting at 9:57 am. ACTION REQUIRED ► The Municipal Clerk was directed to coordinate a future workshop meeting with the drug and alcohol service providers ► Coalition to be invited to submit their recommendations to Council for support and opportunity to develop strategy for a staff report ► Ms. Wheeler was directed to write a staff report giving an update on what is happening with the Coalition ► Town hall meeting directed at communication and public safety on a variety of issues ► Mayor to publish 11 thank you11 to various agencies ► The Ivlayor requested fin ancial figures on time spent, public information and the cost of doing business ► The Director of Communications was instructed to ensure messaging is consistent ► A strategy is to be in p]ace by February 2004. Council W ork~hop Minutes August 18, 2003 Page 4 of5 4.2 Strategy for Seeking Provincial & Federal Government Assistance Strategies relating to health and social issues were discussed. The Municipal Clerk was directed to gather strategies on financial assistance. ACTION REQUIRED -the Mayor recommended that the matter be deferred to another workshop pending funding announcements at UBCM in September. Following Item 4.2, the Mayor dealt with Item 5.1. 4.3 Abernethy Way Connector -Update The General Manager of Public Works and Development Services distributed a letter dated August 14, 2003 to the Ministry of Transportation outlining the importance of an east/west connector to the North Fraser Perimeter Road, The General Manager of Public Works &Development Services added that the Gateway Program sees the Abernethy Way Connector as part of the solution in te1ms ofregional planning. A commitment letter was received last week from the Province to commence planning for an alternate route. It was clarified that TransLink is committed to access regardless of which Option is chosen. 5. CORRESPONDENCE 5.1 Fraser Valley Regional Library, Budget Pla11ning Letter dated June 27, 2003 from Mary O'Callaghan, Operations Manager, requesting input into the budget planning process. A resolution concerning the library's hours of operation was p~sed at an earlier Council meeting. ACTION REOUIRED -the 1l1unicipal Clerk was directed to ensure a response has been delivered to th.e library. Council Workshop Minutes August 18, 2003 Page 5 of5 6. 5.2 Katzie First NatiQns -Leadership Dinner 2003 Councillor Gordon will be attending the dinner. 5.3 GVRD Governance The Mayor announced that questions asked concerning the RAV Line have gone unanswered. The Mayor suggested that a letter be addressed to TransLink indicating Council's discomfort with the answers to those questions not forthcoming. ACTION REQUIRED ► Letter to be written to TransLink identifying resolution of Council ► Resolution to be presented at August 26th Council The meeting temporarily adjourned at 10:30 am and reconvened at 10:45 am. The Mayor proceeded with Item 4.3. BRIEFING ON OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST/QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL -NIL 7. MATTERS DEEMED EXPEDIENT-NIL 8. ADJOURNMENT-Jl:20 am K.Jv.Iorse, Mayor Certified Correct