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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLSC 2008-02-14 Minutes.pdfDistrict of Maple Ridge and the City of Pitt Meadows MAPLE RIDGE and PITT MEADOWS PARKS & LEISURE SERVICES COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Parks & Leisure Services Commission, held in the Meeting Room at Pitt Meadows Municipal Hall, Harris Road, Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, on Thursday, February 14, 2008 at 7:00 pm. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT Commissioner Don Maclean, Chair Commissioner Gordy Robson Commissioner Cheryl Ashlie Commissioner Kathie Ward Commissioner Deb Walters Commissioner Ernie Daykin Commissioner Debra Eisel Commissioner Craig Speirs Commissioner Dave Rempel COMMISSION MEMBERS AT LARGE PRESENT Commissioner Christine Smith Commissioner Geordie Craig Commissioner Ron Wright ABSENT /REGRETS Commissioner Ian Brown Commissioner Jo Anne ten Brink STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT Mike Murray Kelly Swift David Boag Don Cramb Christine DiGiamberardine Shelley Jorde Tracy Camire GUESTS Karen Georgi City of Pitt Meadows, Mayor District of Maple Ridge, Mayor School District No. 42, Trustee Chair School District No. 42, Trustee City of Pitt Meadows, Councillor District of Maple Ridge, Councillor City of Pitt Meadows, Councillor District of Maple Ridge, Councillor School District No. 42, Trustee Member at Large, Pitt Meadows Member at Large, Maple Ridge Member at Large, Maple Ridge Member at Large, Maple Ridge Member at Large, Maple Ridge GM, Community Development, Parks & Recreation Director of Recreation Director of Parks & Facilities Recreation Manager: Support Services Recreation Coordinator, Neighbourhood Development Recreation Manager, Community Connections Committee Clerk Davie Jones Elementary, PAC There being a quorum present, the Chair called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Parks & Leisure Services Commission Regular Minutes Page 1 of 8 Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Parks & Leisure Services Commission Regular Meeting Minutes February 14, 2008 DRAFT -Subject to approval 1. Adoption of the Agenda R08-13 It was moved and seconded That the Agenda for February 14, 2008 be adopted CARRIED 2. Minutes of the Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Parks & Leisure Services Commission Regular Meeting R08-14 It was moved and seconded That the Minutes of the Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Parks & Leisure Services Commission Regular Meetings of January 10, 2008 be adopted. CARRIED 3. Delegations 3.1 Ms. Karen Georgi, Davie Jones Elementary, PAC re playground equipment Ms. Karen Georgi, Parent from Davie Jones Elementary School advised the Parks and Leisure Commission that Davie Jones Elementary School is currently fundraising for a new school playground and let the Commission know that Davie Jones and Pitt meadows Elementary School each are recipients of a $20,000 grant for play equipment from the Ministry of Education. She indicated they would like to participate in a joint venture with Parks and Leisure Services and the District of Pitt Meadows to take full advantage of the grant. Note: Item 4.1 was dealt with prior to Item 3.2 3.2 Ms. Christine DiGiamberardine and Mr. Don Cramb -South Bonson Community Centre Planning (report attached) Don Cramb updated the Commission on the Sawyer's Landing Waterfront Development project and reviewed; the location of the community centre, drawings of the retail/commercial area and advised the Commission there will also be a wedding chapel built and operated by the Developer. Mr. Cramb also advised that he and Ms. DiGiamberardine has met with many stakeholders and reviewed their recommendations with the Commission. Don Cramb advised the Commission he would like to receive the Parks Commission's ideas on the use and design of the new community centre. Councillor Speirs advised the Commission that a daycare would help make use of the facility during the daytime and help overall with the operating budget. Page 2 of 5 l I Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Parks & Leisure Services Commission Regular Meeting Minutes February 14, 2008 DRAFT -Subject to approval 4. R08-15 Councillor Daykin expressed a concern for a building that has a lot of wood structure and the maintenance of this type of facility as the river and the climate will be a major issue. Commissioner Cheryl Ashlie joined the meeting at 7:21 pm The Commission reviewed the map again along with the surrounding areas that would be accessible for boats. Mayor McLean advised the Commission that Pitt Meadows Council is not supportive of a daycare facility within this building as the facility is limited in size and day care requires a great deal of storage space. The Commission discussed the option of having a caretaker available to work on this site; not necessarily residing on site but a paid caretaker to maintain this facility. Mike Murray advised the Commission that he has spoken to the committee about the possibility of the wedding chapel being used for a daycare facility or some type of "Mom and Tot" program where storage would not be an issue. Mayor McLean advised the Commission that the concept is based on an East Coast theme and would like to see that the architecture works with this design parameter. Christine DiGiamberardine advised the Commission that the next step of this project is to hold a community workshop where everyone in the community can provide input to capture the perspective of the whole community. Decision Items 4.1 Davie Jones Elementary and Pitt Meadows Elementary School Playground Equipment Mayor McLean reviewed the recommendation in regards to the proposed playground at Davie Jones Elementary School. Commissioner Ward and Commissioner Rempel both support the recommendation. Mike Murray advised the Commission that in the past there was a concern that people other than school children would be using the playground during the day; however the School Trustees assured the Commission that the parks and facilities should have open access to everyone with some supervision. Mayor Gordon Robson joined the meeting at 7:11 pm It was moved and seconded That the Parks and Leisure services Commission recommend that Pitt Meadows Council consider bringing forward the $80,000 playground project currently budgeted for the replacement of the Pitt Meadows Elementary School playground from 2009 in the current 5 year capital plan, in order to maximize the use of the $40,000 in grants that Pitt Meadows Elementary and Davie Jones Schools were recently awarded; and Page 3 of 5 Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Parks & Leisure Services Commission Regular Meeting Minutes February 14, 2008 DRAFT -Subject to approval R0S-16 further that Council direct staff to apply $20,000 of that budget to the Davie Jones School playground project, and the remaining $60,000 to the planned Pitt Meadows playground project. CARRIED 4.2 Festival Grant Applications Mayor Robson advised the Commission this year is the 150th Anniversary for BC Day and the organizers for this year's Heritage Day are looking for funds to support this event. A discussion took place on the Family Heritage Day and the funding that has been allotted to this festival. Councillor Walters proposed the following addition to the staff recommendation. That the Commission direct staff to review and revise the Policy for Festival Support from February 12, 2003 to address the issue of ongoing funding to make room for new events. Mike Murray advised the Commission that there will be a second process for allocating funds to region serving events later in the year and that there are a couple of other sources of funding that groups can look at. Mr. Murray also advised that the Festival Fund Committee needed to allocate the funds as best as they could. Councillor Walters advised the Commission on how the funds were allocated to different festival groups; FunZone falls under the Home Show and have a very healthy budget, Bees and Blueberries runs on a private business so the Committee felt it didn't warrant funds, Bard on the Bandstand is a great event that would entice people into an area they might not have ventured into to, entertaining. The Commission discussed the issue of reviewing and revising the requirements around how the funds are allocated. Kathie Ward advised the Commission that she agrees with Councillor Walters and would like to see a slight amendment to the current motion; new events called grass roots events as there are small events that are in their second or third year and need extra help (funding) to become established but are not new events. Councillor Speirs advised the Commission that he would like to see a multiple year funding process where you ramp down the funds each year and all festivals have to report on how successful they are. It was moved and seconded That the festival support allocations for 2008 be approved as noted in the summary developed by the Parks and Leisure Services Commission Festival support sub- committee, attached to the 2008-02-0 report on this subject Page 4 of 5 Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Parks & Leisure Services Commission Regular Meeting Minutes February 14, 2008 DRAFT -Subject to approval R08-17 And that the Commission direct staff to review and revise the Policy for Festival Support from Feb 13, 2003 to address the issue of ongoing funding to make room for grass roots events CARRIED Shelley Jorde advised the Commission that the groups that don't receive the full funding will still be working with Parks and Leisure Services to explore potential funding elsewhere. 4.3 Games for the Physically Disabled Nominating Committee Mike Murray advised that the Commission has received a letter from the BC Games organization and would like feedback in regards to creating a sub-committee to handle the nominating process or having the full Commission take on this task. Mr. Murray also advised that he would like to have this group in place by the end of March. The Commission agreed to have a sub-committee formed consisting of both Mayors, School Board Chair, Anita Perler (previously endorsed Games Chair Nominee) and possibly a couple of Citizen at Large representatives. 4.4 Proposed Parks Bylaw Amendment to restrict smoking within 10 meters of sports fields, playground and water play areas. The Commission discussed the different wording of the signs. It was moved and seconded That a recommendation be forwarded to Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Councils that they amend their Parks Bylaws to prohibit the use of tobacco within 10 meters of any sport field, athletic surface, children's playground or water play park located in a municipal park. CARRIED 5. Discussion Items 5.1 Appeal Process Mike Murray advised the Commission that he received a suggestion that the Parks & Leisure Commission ought to have a sub-committee established to meet with groups who wish to appeal a decision prior to coming before the Commission for a final resolution. David Boag has met with the sport field users and they would welcome the opportunity to discuss their issue with 2 or 3 Commission members, however, they would like the opportunity to report back to the full Commission as well so they don 't lose the opportunity to answer questions. Cheryl Ashlie advised the Commission that she would like to see these groups meet with a sub-committee prior to coming before the Commission so that just the issue of the recommendation comes before the Commission with all exploratory questions already has Page 5 of 5 Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Parks & Leisure Services Commission Regular Meeting Minutes February 14, 2008 DRAFT -Subject to approval taken place; discussion coming before the Commission is formulated on what has previously been discussed. Mayor Maclean suggested that the three chairs be the sub-committee and come back to the Commission with any recommendations. Mike Murray advised the Commission that for future reference he will have staff create a policy that can be brought back to the Commission at the next meeting. 5.2 Proposal from Sherwood Tree Line Adventures Mike Murray advised the Commission that Tony Merkin would like to make a presentation to the Parks & Leisure Commission and Mr. Murray would like to get the Commission's feedback to see if there is an interest in this type of development. The Commission agreed that they would like Mr. Merkin to make a presentation on the activity area that is proposed for Maple Ridge as this would be a great opportunity to increase job opportunities and physical activity within our community. The Commission discussed at length the issue around the use of the twin rinks arena for the local ball hockey teams along with the lack of funding options these sports have faced. Kelly Swift advised the Commission that she has been dealing with the ball hockey groups and it's currently in the investigation mode right now. Mike Murray advised the Commission that the critical issue is if we have a safety issue; we have to do something about this and it may mean a reduction in the available activity space this summer. Mr. Murray also advised that there may be a few outdoor spaces that can be used for the ball hockey organization. Deb Walters advised the Commission that she received an email in regards to the ball hockey issue and within an hour of sending this on to Kelly Swift and Mike both were working on the issue; Mr. Walters is confident that staff is working on this issue. 6. Information Items 6.1 Letter of appreciation 6.2 E-mail letter and Annual Report from Mrs. Maria Raynolds, President, CEED Centre 6.3 Parks Commission Input into Blue Mountain Sustainability Workbook 6.4 Letter of thanks re participation in Blue Mountain Sustainability Plan Workshop R08-18 It was moved and seconded That the above information items be received. CARRIED 7. Commission Liaison Reports 8. Staff Liaison Reports Page 6 of 5 ) Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Parks & Leisure Services Commission Regular Meeting Minutes February 14, 2008 DRAFT -Subject to approval Mike Murray advised the Commission that Shelley Jorde is working with both Heritage groups to negotiate their new three year agreements and both will be brought back to the Commission for review March. Mr. Murray also advised that there was a workshop in regards to Blue Mountain with a lot of great feedback from different groups and also advised that a grant for $15, 000 to do some trail mapping has been approved. David Boag circulated a photo of some vandalism that has occurred at Maple Ridge Park. The Commission also discussed the issues around after school games and the affect these have on after hours games. Mr. Boag also advised that due to the demand on the field during the day, Samuel Robertson Technical School (SRT) has requested additional access to Albion Park and have offered to pay for new goal posts. Mr. Boag is worried that this natural turf field is poorly drained and can't stand up to this kind of School and Community use over the winter. The Commission discussed the issue around what time the lights turn off at SRT and the affect this would have on neighbors. Mike Murray advised the Commission that when the field was first built there was a discussion with neighbors in the community about the time the lights go off and the Commission and Maple Ridge Council of the day committed to a 9:30 p.m. shut down. Mr. Murray expressed a concern about going back on this commitment and also advised that the Commission would have to look to see if there is a legally binding covenant. Mayor Robson advised the Commission that the police are not receiving vandalism complaints and stressed the importance that if there is any kind of vandalism that takes place to please call in each incident so that the hot spots are notified. 9. Question Period 10. Motion to adjourn R08-19 It was moved and seconded That the regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Commission be adjourned. CARRIED 11. Motion to Move into Closed Session R08-20 It was moved and seconded That the Parks and Leisure Services Commission move into a Closed Meeting pursuant to 242 (g) litigation or possible litigation affecting the municipality. CARRIED Page 7 of 5 Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Parks & Leisure Services Commission Regular Meeting Minutes February 14, 2008 DRAFT -Subject to approval The Regular Meeting adjourned at 8:51 p.m. Page 8 of 5