HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil this Week 2014-05-05.pdfIneke Boekhorst, Executive Director,
made a presentation to Council up-
dating them on the activity of the
Downtown Maple Ridge Business
Improvement Association (DMRBIA)
and some of the work that they will
be doing in the upcoming year.
Ms. Boekhorst started her presenta-
tion by showing a slide of the local
community leaders that sit on the
DMRBIA Board of Directors and re-
minding Council that the Annual
General Meeting will be held in
Council Chambers on Monday, May
12 starting at 6:00 pm. The new
Board will be elected as part of that
meeting.
Ms. Boekhorst also reported that the
DMRBIA had hired a new Marketing
and Promotion Coordinator, Daxter
Fernets, and that he will continue
the foundational work that has been
done to market Maple Ridge’s
downtown as a unique, family friend-
ly destination that offers a wide vari-
ety of goods and services close to
home.
The presentation included the re-
sults of a survey that was conducted
by the DMRBIA to identify the target
demographics for the local busi-
nesses and a look at the types of
goods and services that our resi-
dents are looking for. The survey
reflects the many roles the DMRBIA
plays, from the marketing of the
downtown to local shoppers to work-
ing with the land and building own-
ers to attract new tenants and en-
sure that there is proactive work in
making the area a safe and walka-
ble place for people to spend time.
Last year there were a number of
special marketing initiatives that
Cont’d...
Downtown Maple Ridge Business Improvement Association
Council This Week
Maple Ridge
11995 Haney Place
Maple Ridge, BC
V2X 6A9 Canada
Tel: 604-463-5221
Fax: 604-467-7329
Website
Enquiries Email
May 5, 2014 Inside This Issue:
Downtown Maple
Ridge Business
Improvement
Association
Joint Leisure
Services Model
Review
Document
Management
Implementation
Update
Amendments to
the 2014-2018
Financial Plan
Downtown Maple Ridge Business Improvement Association ...cont’d
caught the attention of the community. The Zombie Walk, held just prior to Halloween, involved 500
citizens and two dozen local businesses.
This kind of fun community event helps to create a strong connection with local consumers. Another
incredible program was the ‘Win Your Dream’ contest held over the Christmas season in 2013.
There were 8,000 entries; the event engaged the largest number of entrants and businesses in the
DMRBIA history.
One of the most successful programs that the DMRBIA manages is the façade improvement pro-
gram that is a partnership with the District. Ms. Boekhorst reports that by the end of 2014 there will
be a total of 60 businesses that will have taken advantage of the program with the $50,000 in
matching funds having generated over $1 million in renovations and upgrades. There will be 10 pro-
jects completed in 2014.
Ms. Boekhorst noted that since the inception of the DMRBIA in 2007 the organization has worked
collaboratively with District staff, the police and numerous community partners to deal with the chal-
lenges that any urban centre faces, and that the results are quite evident. Things like graffiti and im-
provements to lighting have been undertaken, and initiatives like the Friday morning volunteer gar-
bage patrols involving members of the DMRBIA, downtown merchants and District staff volunteers
help ensure that there are eyes everywhere in the community to make certain that the shared goals
of the vibrant downtown are being met.
Ms. Boekhorst also spoke about the issue relating to parking and noted that there are a variety of
parking options in the downtown, from the short term one -hour zones on and around 224 Street, to
longer term options that radiate out from 224 Street. The move of the Gaming Centre to their new
location has alleviated many of the parking issues that folks were experiencing.
She finished her presentation by taking questions from Council. One of the questions centred on a
great program called the ‘Junior BIA’ whereby young people, the next generation of entrepreneurs,
are completing their educational requirement for volunteer hours by investing their time in working
with the DMRBIA to help promote the area and work on community events and marketing pro-
grams. It is this kind of interaction that has resulted in Maple Ridge’s downtown growing stronger
and stronger.
Council thanked Ms. Boekhorst for her presentation.
Council This Week Page 2
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Brian Johnson, Facilitator, Professional Environmental Recreation Consultants Ltd (PERC) took
Council through a series of questions designed to get their feedback on what they were looking for
from the Joint Leisure Services Model review that is underway with Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and
School District No. 42.
Mr. Johnson noted that the current agreement, which has been in place for 20 years, has this type
of review incorporated into it as a regular part of the collaboration, and that the upcoming work will,
once again, evaluate the model to determine that it is bringing value for the partners and for citi-
zens.
Mr. Johnson asked Council the following questions;
1. What is your current level of understanding of the current model and agreement?
2. What types of benefits do you hope it delivers?
3. What are concerns or comments that you have with the current model and do you hear any
complaints about it?
4. Is there anything else that you would like to have answered or reviewed?
Council provided extensive feedback centred on their desire to look at the model both in terms of
the broad service delivery model, and what it would look like if services were delivered by each
partner separately. Council was looking for the financial aspects of the model, but also wanted an
exploration of the social benefits of the model, and a look at how other levels of government, who
are not funding partners, may be achieving benefits within their mandate (e.g. does the better
health of citizens cut health care costs).
Council wanted to look at the service delivery model, specifically, the consistency across the divi-
sion in terms of rental rates and program delivery, and to look at areas that might be better provided
by the public sector or areas that we are currently contracting out that could be more efficient in -
house.
Mr. Johnson was very grateful for the high level of engagement by Council in their answers and
suggestions and thanked them for their very thoughtful comments. The work will come back before
Council a number of times before the final report is drafted.
Joint Leisure Services Model Review
Document Management Implementation Update
Ceri Marlo, Manager of Legislative Services and Emergency Program, provided Council with some
background on the Document Management System work and reminded everyone about the very
important role that we have to maintain and preserve important records. She also spoke about the
implementation of the Laser Fiche Document Management System and how it will improve docu-
ment preservation and retrieval, the search for records and interoperability between departments
whose work overlaps on large projects and will create better public access. In addition, the system
will reduce, to some extent, the ‘paper’ flow into a digital environment.
John Bastaja, Director of Corporate Support, provided Council with an update on the implementa-
tion program that has been undertaken and will result in the full deployment in 24 months. All of
this work will be done while regular day-to-day operations continue. He noted that there are three
departments that are part of the ‘pilot’ for the project, and that later this year, based on this initial
work other departments will be added month-by-month until the full roll-out is complete.
Council thanked Ms. Marlo and Mr. Bastaja for their updates.
Amendments to the 2014-2018 Financial Plan Amending Bylaw
Statement 2 and the 2014 Property Tax Rates Bylaw Schedule A
Trevor Thompson, Manager of Financial Planning, provided a brief verbal overview of the report
detailing some adjustments to the Financial Plan and Tax Rates Bylaw that will come before
Council on May 13, 2014 as part of their regular meeting.
Council received the report as information.
Please Note!
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.
This version of Council This Week has been modified to a more accessible version that better
meets the needs of our citizens with visual impairments.
Council This Week Page 4