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District of Maple Ridge INAUGURAL COUNCIL MEETING December 1, 2008 The Minutes of the Inaugural Proceedings held on December 1, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber of the Municipal
Hall, 11995 Haney Place, Maple Ridge, British Columbia. Note: These Minutes are also posted on the Municipal Web Site at www.mapleridge.ca 01 OPENING CEREMONIES The Mayor-elect and
the Councillors-elect were escorted into the Council Chamber by Piper Robert Bruce. The meeting opened with Oh Canada led by Vocalist Natasha Zimbaro. A Katzie blessing was given by
Elder William Pierre and Pastor Mike Schroeder conducted opening prayers. 02 INSTALLATION OF COUNCIL Ceri Marlo, Manager of Legislative Services, administered the Oaths of Office to
the following members of Council elected for a three year term commencing December 2, 2008: Mayor Ernie Daykin Councillor Cheryl Ashlie Councillor Judy Dueck Council Al Hogarth Councillor
Linda King Councillor Michael Morden Council Craig Speirs Mayor Daykin accepted the Chain of Office from the Manager of Legislative Services.
Inaugural Council Minutes December 1, 2008 Page 2 of 10 COMMENCEMENT OF THE MEETING PRESENT Elected Officials Appointed Staff Mayor E. Daykin J. Rule, Chief Administrative Officer Councillor
C. Ashlie C. Marlo, Manager of Legislative Services Councillor J. Dueck A. Gaunt, Confidential Secretary Councillor A. Hogarth Councillor L. King Councillor M. Morden Councillor C.
Speirs 03 MAYOR’S INAUGURAL ADDRESS Good Evening, Honored guests, fellow Councillors, family and friends, It is a great privilege and honor to address you this evening as your Mayor
of Maple Ridge. I would like to thank the citizens of Maple Ridge for their confidence in me. A hearty Maple Ridge welcome to Mayor Don MacLean and his Council from Pitt Meadows and
Mayor James Atebe from Mission. I would also like to acknowledge the Katzie and Kwantlen First Nations. Maple Ridge has been incorporated on portions of their traditional territories
and we appreciate them sharing this place that we all love with us. I look forward to working constructively with each one of you. I am proud of my home town and it is an honor to serve
Maple Ridge in this way. This is a place where I have been able grow up, attend school, work, raise a family and watch my grandsons grow. I would not be sitting in this chair tonight
without the unfailing support and confidence of my wife, Judy. Thank you dear. My kids and their spouses have been a constant source of encouragement as well. I am sure that my colleagues
around the table have similar sentiments. We are all blessed by supportive families and friends, without who we would not be here in these seats this evening. So thank you for sharing
your family member with our community for the next three years. The commitment on your part is just as big as
Inaugural Council Minutes December 1, 2008 Page 3 of 10 that of us sitting at this table. Thank you for being here tonight and thank you, in advance, for your understanding and patience.
Before I talk about the next three years, let me first acknowledge the work of previous Councils. Significant projects take time. During this Council’s term we will have the pleasure
of seeing longer term projects completed. We will see the opening of: • the Golden Ears and Pitt River Bridges; • Spirit Square improvements on 224th Street; • the TransLink/BCIT overhaul
and training facilities; • the expanded & improved Fire Hall #1; • the new and significantly improved SPCA building. These projects represent tremendous progress for our community,
and Council members both past and present can all take pride in these accomplishments. To Gordy Robson and Ken Stewart, I thank-you for your dedicated service to our citizens and I
wish you both great success in the adventures that lie before you. I want to share with you tonight my priorities for Council over the next three years and equally importantly, how
we will accomplish these goals. I am very excited by the opportunities before us and very confident in our ability to make these opportunities realities. The trademark of this Council
will be delivering results through relationships. I am going to start by talking about how we will accomplish our priorities, and then turn my attention to what those priorities are.
I believe that understanding the past gives context to the present and helps us as we move to the future, so a bit of context. During my six years on Council I have learned a lot. I
want to share three lessons I have learned that really shape how I will approach my term as Mayor. Lesson Number 1, it is critical to develop and enhance positive working relationships
with senior levels of government and regional agencies. These governments and agencies deliver all manner of services in our community and in order to garner their support for higher
levels of their services we must have strong relationships with them. This Council needs to work with and influence organizations such as:
Inaugural Council Minutes December 1, 2008 Page 4 of 10 • TransLink • Fraser Health • The Ministry of Transportation • BC Housing • Public Works Canada If I was Captain Picard from Star
Trek, I could turn to my #1 and say “Make It So” and it would be so easy. In fact, local governments simply can’t wave our hands and say “make it so.” Your Council, this Council, will
work diligently to build and strengthen our relationships at the political and board levels. Lesson Number 2, it is critical for me to develop and enhance positive working relationships
with my Council. Our system isn’t like the one we have all seen on the sitcom Spin City. I don’t have the power of Barry Bostwick’s character and Mr. Rule certainly doesn’t have the
power of the Michael J. Fox character. We have seven independent and bright minds around this table with no party lines to tow. I will work tirelessly to build strong, trusting and
respectful relationships with all of the members of Council so that, together, we will move Maple Ridge forward. Lesson Number 3, all of these relationships are on-going and long-term
– and because this is so we must value those relationships. The people we do business with today are the same people we are going to do business with tomorrow and next month and next
year. This Council will treat everyone who comes before us and everyone we deal with with respect and integrity. I said to you that the reputation of this Council will be that we will
deliver results through relationships. I’ve spent the first few minutes telling you why I think relationships are so important; now let me share with you some of the results we will
achieve. Over the past few years, our citizens have been very clear about their priorities for their community. Through community surveys and Official Community Plan visioning processes
unmistakable themes emerged. Our citizens want: • Better transportation and transit options; • More jobs to work in their community; • Community safety; • A vibrant clean downtown;
• Our magnificent natural environment to be protected; • More shopping options So how do we make this happen? I will share how we will move forward on these priorities.
Inaugural Council Minutes December 1, 2008 Page 5 of 10 TRANSPORTATION and TRA TRANSIT NSIT Transportation and transit options are of critical importance for our quality of life today
and into the future. To achieve many of our goals….to be a complete and sustainable community we need better transportation routes and options. • In terms of roads, the two new bridges
will both open in 2009 and will change travel patterns dramatically. They will make Maple Ridge an even more attractive option for families and businesses to locate. • Council will
review the results of the conceptual design of the extension of Abernethy Way from 232nd Street to 256th Street to serve the 256th employment area. It will be a critical piece of infrastructure
for Maple Ridge. • In terms of public transit Council will be looking to build on what we already have. Council will be pushing TransLink to increase the frequency of service with respect
to both community shuttles and direct service to Coquitlam Centre and Braid Street……..service that minimizes the number of stops along the way. • West Coast Express is a highly valued
service in our community. We will be encouraging TransLink to enhance this service. That could be more trains, longer trains and a West Coast station at Albion….or in Ernie’s world…..all
three options. ECONOMY and JOBS We are reminded daily that we are in the midst of challenging economic times. Maple Ridge has an award winning business planning and budgeting process.
As a result I am confident we are positioned as well as we can be to deal with the economic uncertainty. There are tremendous demands for additional services in a growing municipality
such as ours and, over the years, our business planning process has enabled us to meet many of the demands in an economically responsible way. Staff has advised me that they are confident
in the revenue and expense predictions for 2009 so for that year I will be encouraging Council, during our budget deliberations next week, to stay the course on the financial plan that
is in place. However, I can assure everyone that we will be very closely monitoring how the economy is impacting our business and we will be ready and able to make adjustments as we
go. We do anticipate that the federal and provincial governments will be looking to stimulate the economy by investing in Infrastructure and other projects. The key for us is to be
ready: • Do the planning up front and; • have a range of projects ready to go.
Inaugural Council Minutes December 1, 2008 Page 6 of 10 Senior governments are looking for projects that will immediately employ hundreds of construction workers. Thankfully, there are
many reasons for optimism in Maple Ridge as we see many exciting projects come to realization. • 100 acre business park in the 256th area; • Revenues from gravel extraction on 256th;
• TransLink/BCIT project; • The new Community Gaming centre; • The exciting results for potential business attraction flowing from the High Tech and Sports Tourism strategies being
completed in 2009. COMMUNITY SAFETY This is a priority of every Council I have served on and will continue to be a priority for this Council. I have spoken to our Acting Inspector Alex
Bodden and I strongly believe that the RCMP and the District are on the same page regarding the community’s safety priorities, including: • Increased visibility and profile of the RCMP
in our downtown, foot patrols in the downtown; • The Crime Reduction unit to target the most prolific offenders with a zero tolerance approach; • A dedicated Grow-Op Team; • Attendance
at community consultation meetings; • Working collaboratively with other service providers (such as Bylaws, Outreach . . . ) to deal with common problems; • Making the best use of our
community volunteers, including citizens on patrol and speed watch to improve community safety. I am also a big supporter of the Fire Department Master Plan and will be encouraging
Council to continue with its implementation. During this term we will see the • opening of the expanded Fire Hall #1; • the design for Fire Hall #4 on 240th; • First full-time firefighters
stationed at Hall #3 in the west end. Homelessness is an issue that has been a cause of concern for citizens for many years. While this may be the Province’s responsibility, it is simply
not acceptable to our citizens that we stand by and do nothing while men and women sleep in bushes and patrol neighborhoods looking for anything they can turn into cash. This Council
will continue to actively lobby the provincial government to provide the funding for treatment and transition housing. In addition, we will continue to fund the excellent work our small
Social Planning section does to support our local service providers.
Inaugural Council Minutes December 1, 2008 Page 7 of 10 A VIBRANT AND CLEAN DOWNTOWN Maple Ridge is very fortunate to have a defined downtown. A place that is the heart and soul of the
community. A place where the community lives and works and shops and dines and is entertained. The downtown is an important part of that “small town feel.” The recently completed Town
Centre Area Plan anticipates that the current town centre population will more than double (from 9,000 to > 20,000). Population density is the key to attracting commercial, retail and
transit improvements. We are seeing very exciting mixed commercial/residential development proposals coming to Council, which is testimony to the fact that we are on the right track.
The District has made and continues to make significant investments in the downtown. Here’s what the District has done or is doing: • The Park and Civic buildings; • Support for the
Business Improvement Area; • Proactive enforcement of Bylaw infractions; • Enhanced litter collection; • Spirit Square streetscape improvements on 224th; • Development incentives for
four-plus storey construction. The District is certainly doing its part to support the downtown. The reality is we cannot revitalize this area alone. We need private land owners who
control the vast majority of the land downtown to develop or improve their lands. Early in my mandate, I will be asking for Council’s support to explore “best practices” that encourage
property owners to develop or redevelop their lands. Partial tax relief on property assessments is one of the options I would like to learn more about. THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT The District
has placed a much stronger emphasis on sustainability – economic, environmental and social sustainability. Lots of what I have already talked about contributes to the sustainability
of the environment – densification, improved transit, less commuting. As many of you know, for over 30 years, my dad worked daily with the farmers in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. Farming
was an integral part of our childhood and I am very much looking forward to the recommendations made by the Agricultural Committee on the future of farming in Maple Ridge. Our green
space and our rivers are highly valued by our citizens. Maple Ridge is, and will continue to be, a leader in the care and nurturing of our corner of the planet entrusted to us. SHOPPING
HOPPING The most frequent comment I heard during the election was a desire for more shopping options. I heard it on the campaign trail, I hear it at my own dinner table, I hear it from
my residents at the Tower, and it’s gotten to the point where I now even hear it in my sleep. I firmly support enabling a broader range of shopping options for our citizens and I am
committed to exploring any options that will bring more and different retailers to town. As many of you know, I spent almost 25 years selling building supplies down
Inaugural Council Minutes December 1, 2008 Page 8 of 10 on River Road so I have some insight into retailing and if opening new stores was that easy everyone would be doing it. There
are many factors that come into play, demographics, income levels, population or a decision to be made by a head office half a continent away …before a retailer comes to Maple Ridge.
Council is committed to continuing to revitalize and energize our downtown. Retail shopping options are key to a vibrant downtown. To that end, I will continue the dialogue with the
owners of Haney Place Mall and other property owners to see what the District can do to encourage them to improve or redevelop their holdings. The location I hear about most for shopping
is the Albion Flats and a desire for big box retail down there. I’m not opposed to big box coming to Maple Ridge, I just want to ensure that wherever it goes it fits the nature and
character of Maple Ridge. In my opinion an island of tilt up boxes surrounded by a sea of uninterrupted asphalt is not consistent with Maple Ridge’s character. I want to keep an open
mind as to what the best use of that land might be. It could be used for a business park, for niche commercial or retail, for expanded recreational use including a stadium, for agriculture,
for residential or for any combination of these. The Agricultural Plan is well under way and I will push for it to be completed by summer time. The Agricultural Plan and the Parks Master
Plan are important inputs required for the Albion Neighborhood Plan. Once the Albion Area Plan is complete we will know what, if any, opportunities there will be for shopping in that
location. In closing: I believe in Maple Ridge. I believe that her success depends on the people who live here. That everyone has something to contribute. That everyone will be respected
and valued. I want my grandsons to be as proud of Maple Ridge as my granddad was, my father is and I am. I want my grandsons to be able to: • play in the great outdoors • go to school
here • make a good living here • feel that they and their families are safe here • buy a nice 100% cotton shirt here • I believe that together we can turn our possibilities into realities
and we will get these results through strong relationships.
Inaugural Council Minutes December 1, 2008 Page 9 of 10 04 APPOINTMENT OF ACTING MAYOR R/08-462 Acting Mayor Appointment It was moved and seconded That the appointment appointments to
the position of Acting Mayor as attached to the agenda for the December 1, 2008 Inaugural Council Meeting be approved. CARRIED 05 MAYOR’S APPOINTMENT OF COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES AND
LIAISONS TO BOARDS AND COMMITTEES R/08-463 Committee Appointments It was moved and seconded That the appointments to Government Agencies, Advisory and/or Legislated Committees, Special
Committees, Community Groups and Organizations and Standing Committees as attached to the agenda for the December 1, 2008 Inaugural Council Meeting be approved. CARRIED 06 2009 MEETING
SCHEDULE R/08-464 Committee Appointments It was moved and seconded That the 2009 Council Meeting Schedule as attached to the agenda for the December 1, 2008 Inaugural Council Meeting
be approved. CARRIED
Inaugural Council Minutes December 1, 2008 Page 10 of 10 07 SIGNING AUTHORITY RESOLUTION R/08-465 Signing Authority It was moved and seconded That the Si Signing Authority for Accounts
at TD Canada Trust as gning attached to the agenda for the December 1, 2008 Inaugural Council Meeting be approved. CARRIED 08 ADJOURNMENT – 7:38 p.m. _______________________________
E. Daykin, Mayor Certified Correct ___________________________________ C. Marlo, Corporate Officer