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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil this Week 2014-01-06.pdf Inside this Issue…  Real Time Intelligence Centre  City Designation  Noxious Weeds  Whonnock Lake Update  Website Update  Please Note! Council This Week Before starting his presentation, Superintendent Dave Fleugel made a formal introduction of Inspector Dan Splinter, the new Operations Officer for the Ridge Meadows RCMP Detachment. Inspector Splinter took a moment to introduce himself to Mayor and Council and expressed his enthusiasm for his new role in our community. He noted that he is looking forward to working with members at the detachment to ensure that policing in our community continues to be delivered with the highest professionalism, compassion and empathy. Inspector Splinter talked to Council about how calling the police to deal with a situation was often the biggest event in a citizen’s life, and that when uniformed members do their work with a ‘personal touch’ RCMP Real Time Intelligence Centre it has a huge impact on that person in a time of stress. His passion for policing and the community was evident to everyone at the meeting. After the introduction, Superintendent Fleugel gave a presentation regarding a plan that has emerged to create a Real Time Intelligence Centre (RTIC) in BC. One of the recommendations from Justice Wally Oppal, Commissioner of Inquiry, was better sharing of information across jurisdictional and organizational borders. Superintendent Fleugel noted that the level of cooperation between municipal forces and the RCMP has already made great strides, and that the RTIC concept is a continuation of work to further enhance law enforcement capabilities by better sharing of relevant data. He outlined that the concept is to have a central location, modeled after the RTICs in New York City and a similar concept in Calgary, Alberta. With the individuals from each of the organizations under one roof, and able to share information across jurisdictions, the police will be better able to deal with ongoing threats to public safety. He noted that all municipal police forces were behind this concept which is at the preliminary stages where the budget and business case is being developed. Superintendent Fleugel noted that this presentation to Council reflects the community’s leadership role in supporting innovation in policing. He wanted C ouncil to hear about this project at the earliest opportunity and will report back as the project moves through the approval process and the funding formulas are determined. Council thanked Superintendent Fleugel for his presentation and welcomed Inspector Splinter to the community. January 6, 2014 District of Maple Ridge 11995 Haney Place Maple Ridge, BCV2X 6A9 Canada Tel: 604-463-5221 Fax: 604-467-7329 www.mapleridge.ca enquiries@mapleridge.ca Caption describing picture or graphic. Council This Week January 6, 2014 City Designation Sandy Blue, Manager Strategic Economic Initiatives, made a brief verbal summary of her report regarding the change of designation of Maple Ridge from a Municipal District to a City. Ms. Blue noted that this item is follow up to an item that Council asked to be included in the 2014 Business Plan and would set the process whereby the request for the change of designation would be made to the Lieutenant Governor in Council. Ms. Blue noted that Maple Ridge exceeds the population threshold for such a change (5000) and in our international and national marketing of the community the term ‘City’ is more widely known whereas the association with ‘Municipality’ is ‘small town.’ Maple Ridge has been recognized as one of Canada’s top five investment cities in Canada. The term ‘District’ is often confused with the ‘School District’ and the formal change to a ‘City’ designation would formalize citizens’ references to ‘City Hall’ and ‘City Manager’ that are already a part of the everyday vernacular of the community. There are two ways that the process can move forward. The first is by using the process that is similar to a local government election, and would use the same process of printing ballots, setting up polling stations, advertising the voting day and having the results tabulated and provided to the public. The estimated cost for this kind of vote is $75,000. The second method is called the ‘alternative approval process.’ This involves advertising the intent to request the change from a Municipal District to the City designation to the public and allowing time for citizens to provide feedback that they do not wish to make the change. The assent of the electors is obtained if the number of responses is less than 10% of the electors. The costs associated with this process are estimated at $1,500 for the advertising as required by the Municipal Act. If the province agrees to the change in designation, the costs associated with the roll out are minimal. District fleet vehicles are already neutral of the ‘City/Municipality’ branding. There will be some minor costs associated with updating some building and directional signage within the District. The only other impact is the update of Maple Ridge’s stationery; however that would be phased in over time as to not create an extraordinary expense. The matter was moved forward to the January 14, 2014 Council meeting. Noxious Weeds Geoff Mallory, Manger Parks and Open Spaces, provided Council with a brief presentation outlining the implementation of the Noxious Weed Strategy in the District. Mr. Mallory provided Council with background information leading to the development of the strategy and how the program will take an integrated approach to the management of noxiou s weeds, prioritize resources to best deal with the problem, have a public education component and how the team will monitor the program and adapt the strategy based on the results that are obtained in the field. He reported that there has already been a great deal of work done in developing the inventory of noxious weeds based on reports from citizens, staff observations from Parks, Operations and Environment staff and some work done by BCIT students who have been doing inventory and mapping work on District trails. The focus of the strategy will be Hogweed and Japanese Knotweed. Mr. Mallory noted that a regional approach to the issue of noxious weeds is beginning to develop and that there is a great deal of information sharing happening between local government and other agencies that are tasked with dealing with the matter. The best practices relate to the most effective control methods and ensuring that private land owners have access to the most current information regarding infestations on their property, and implement solutions that will not harm neighbouring plants. He noted that a contract has been awarded for a contractor to assist with the implementation of the strategy and that the program will be in place in the spring to deal with the re-emergence of these weeds. Council thanked Mr. Mallory for his presentation. January 6, 2014 Whonnock Lake Capital Update John Bastaja, Director of Corporate Support, provided Council with a verbal update on the District‘s new website. The new site was launched on December 27, 2013 as part of the project timeline that will see a full launch in February of 2014. Citizens were invited to take a test drive of the site on December 28, 2013 and provide feedback to the District using the ‘enquiries@mapleridge.ca’ email address. One of the key features of the new site is the Google Search engine that powers the site search, and in order for that search to achieve its full potential, the site needed to go live. The holiday season was chosen due to the lower volumes of web traffic. In the upcoming weeks there will be focus groups conducted to further refine the site. In addition, there is a mobile application that is under development which will work seamlessly with the site. There will be a more detailed presentation for Council at an upcoming Workshop meeting, and the full launch campaign will introduce some of the new features of the District website to the public. Mr. Bastaja encouraged Council and citizens to continue their test drives and to share their feedback with us. Our web team has been dealing with comments and suggestions as they come in. Council thanked Mr. Bastaja for his presentation. Website Update Council This Week is an informal summary of the reports and discussion of Council’s work at Workshop. This document will provide links to all reports and presentations that were provided to Council as part of their deliberations. The comments are not the official minutes of the meeting. These notes are intended to capture the essence of the discussion so that citizens can keep in touch with the work of Council in this public meeting. In most cases, the final reading of bylaws and other important legislation is moved to the Council meeting agenda on Tuesday nights which is broadcast by Shaw Cable. This ensures that important matters are debated and voted on in the widest possible public manner. Please Note! Comment Card: fluidsurveys.com/s/DMRHowDidWeDo/ Email: customerservice@mapleridge.ca Page 2 Terms of Use Privacy Statement Subscribe Inside this Issue…  Real Time Intelligence Centre  City Designation  Noxious Weeds  Whonnock Lake Update  Website Update  Please Note! Our service commitment: fair, friendly, helpful. Bruce McLeod, Manager Parks Planning and Development, provided Council with a brief presentation outlining the work that will be happening at Whonnock Lake Park. He noted that the upgrades to the park had been held back for a number of years to see if there was an opportunity to get grant funding to enhance the facilities for the Ridge Canoe and Kayaking Club (RCKC). With the RCKC plan not proceeding at this time, there are a number of enhancements required at the park. These include a realignment of the internal park roadway, improvements to the picnic sites south of the beach area, better delineation for the boat launch, relocation of the RCKC, construction of a new dock at the east side of the beach, additions to the parking area east of the Whonnock Hall and improvements to the concession and washroom areas. Mr. McLeod talked about the need to make some grade improvements to the site due to ponding water and some ideas to enhance the public spaces and picnic areas for all users. His presentation included some concept photos for amenities. The total cost for all phases of the work is $1.6 million and will be phased over the next few years. Council thanked Mr. McLeod for his presentation. District of Maple Ridge 11995 Haney Place Maple Ridge, BCV2X 6A9 Canada Tel: 604-463-5221 Fax: 604-467-7329 www.mapleridge.ca enquiries@mapleridge.ca Council This Week January 6, 2014