With the August 18th session the only one of the month, attendance was full, though with two councillors participating by telephone to share their thoughts on the light agenda of items.
The full record of the night however will be rather incomplete, as the City's Video archive system joined the proceedings in progress.
Owing to technical difficulties, the first ten minutes of the session would appear to be forever lost to the ages, with the video system picking up the progress of civic governance some ten minutes into the only session for the month of August.
Missing from the video review (and the timeline) will be the discussions on the status of major capital projects from the City's Engineering Department, as that portion of the August 18th session was not available on the archive page.
We pick up the deliberations with the end of the discussion on Capital works projects in the city, they then reviewed a planned policy change to the City's purchasing regimen.
A review of planned changes to bylaws regarding Lot 444 also made for a spirited discussion, as Council made note of some ambiguity in the proposed language to the revisions.
Property development items in the community were reviewed and the Mayor provided his regular report to Council, included in that review were his thoughts on a recent article in the Weekly Newspaper on the topic of Watson Island, his review of which brought the session to an end.
Prior to the Monday night public session, Council continued on with what is a rather common theme of the last year, with Council once again sitting in a closed session earlier in the evening.
The background of the evening can found on the Regular Council Agenda of the night.
The timeline of the Regular public council proceedings can be found in red below, tied in with the City Council video feed archived below.
Further information such as minutes and permanent placement in the video archive can be found below as they are posted to the city Website.
In Attendance August 18, 2014
Mayor Jack Mussallem-- Present
Councillor Anna Ashley-- Present (by telephone)
Councillor Judy Carlick-Pearson-- Present
Councillor Barry Cunningham-- Present
Councillor Gina Garon-- Present
Councillor Nelson Kinney-- Present
Councillor Joy Thorkelson-- Present (by telephone)
Video Archive for August 18, 2014
(0:00-- 2:05 ) Presentation from City Engineering Coordinator on Capital works projects-- Mr. Richard Pucci provided a review and update on a number o Engineering and Capital works projects ongoing in the city (Note... video archive missed this portion of the night's session, which accounted for the first ten minutes of the night's work)
( 2:05-- 8:30) A Presentation from the City's Financial Officer, regarding the City's Purchasing Policy -- Mrs. Bomben provided an overview of the status of the current Purchasing Policy and the plan ahead to update the policy.
Councillor Ashley asked for clarification on the chain of information when it comes to purchasing procedures.
Councillor Thorkelson outlined her concern over how the policy update was presented to council, preferring to have had a version of the old policy to compare with the one being recommended. Suggesting that she would be more comfortable in having it held off to the next meeting so as to provide for a proper comparison.
Mrs. Bomben then provided a snapshot of some of the changes that the new policy would provide for upon adoption. Ms. Bomben offered to hold off on the adoption until the next meeting if desired.
Councillor Thorkelson suggested that she would be more comfortable in having it held off to the next meeting so as to provide for a proper comparison. Councillor Cunningham offered up some of his observations on the the quotation aspects of the proposed policy.
Council voted to hold off on reviewing the new policy until the next session, after having opportunity to review a comparison between the current policy and the one proposed.
( 8:30-- 9:00 ) A Proclamation Request of Council from the United Way -- Council was asked to declare September 2014 as United Way Month in the City of Prince Rupert.
The motion was adopted.
Bylaws and Development Permits
( 9:00 -- 24:30 ) A Report from the City Planner on the Quality of Life Official Community Plan amendment Bylaw and Zoning Amendment Bylaw-- The Mayor outlined the two recommendations under consideration and the work required of Council on the requests.
City Planner Zeno Krekic provide some background on the report and the nature of the request to Council. And how they plan to include a new industrial aspect of the are of Lot 444 (details can be found on page 25 of the Agenda for August 18), the proposal is to add a new section for the industrial portion of Lot 444. (the change to the wording of the bylaw can be found on page 28 of the Agenda for August 18)
The motion in front of Council was to rescind the previous bylaws in place and to replace them with this amended version of the bylaws.
Councillor Thorkelson outlined some of her concerns over the proposal in front of Council, particularly with the definition of permitted uses, pointing out the wording of bulk commodities storage.
She would be more comfortable if the land usage was more defined as for LNG development.
She also had concerns over the Community of Life plan and the prospect of any other kind of facility or industrial use being allowed into that area, should the LNG projects not go ahead.
Councillor Cunningham also outlined some of his concerns over the boundary concerns regarding any setback of the industrial area and its relation to the water. He also called attention to the quality of the maps that the LNG proponent for Lot 444 had prepared and asked if the City could access those versions, Council asked Mr. Long to make note of the request and contact the proponent.
Councillor Garon also had questions of Mr. Krekic on the nature of the city's mapping abilities at the moment.
Councillor Thorkelson then suggested that Council not rush the process and recommended that they send this report back to staff, asking that they tighten up the language regarding LNG and nothing else. As well, she recommended that staff seek out consultancy with the proponents to review their maps in order to draw the boundary between parkland and LNG zoning, providing for a large swath of land between the water supply and the area designated for LNG development.
Councillor Ashley agreed with Councillor Cunningham on his concerns over the boundary question and also agreed with the need to tighten up the language of the proposed revisions.
Council then returned the proposal to city staff to address the issues raised during the discussion.
( 24:30-- 27:00 ) Application for a development variance permit for a property on 545 6th Avenue East -- Mr. Krekic provided the outline of the application and the prospect of a new development on one of the city's currently vacant lots.
With no objections issued by council members.
The motion was adopted and the motion was adopted.
( 27:00--29:00) Application for a development variance permit for a property on 199 8th Avenue West -- Mr. Krekic provided the outline of the application and the features that the proposed change would provide for the house and neighbourhood.
With no objections issued by council members.
The motion was adopted and the motion was adopted.
Councillor Ashley asked that the city seek out a meeting with CN to address waterfront concerns.
Councillor Kinney wished good luck to local seniors departing for the Seniors Games.
Councillor Cunningham returned to his concerns over the need for a drop off zone in front of the Second Avenue Doctor's offices. The City Manager was asked to review the situation
( 31:00-- 37:00 ) The Mayor's Report
The Mayor and two members of the RCMP provided a greeting to a recent cruise ship making a port call in the City.
The Mayor, Councillors Cunningham, Kinney and Garon met with representatives of the Provincial Independent Investigative Office, receiving a brief history of their work.
He took part in a BBQ lunch with MLA Rice and MP Nathan Cullen at Mariner's Park.
He and Councillor Kinney attended the Northwest Regional Hospital meeting where regional health concerns were explored.
The Mayor provided a greeting on behalf of City Council at the 2014 Kidney Walk.
He met with the Selina Robinson the NDP critic for Community Sport and Culture and discussed a number of issues including local housing concerns, BC ferries issues and items related to local transportation and infrastructure.
He also suggested that the City Council provide a letter of concern to the Provincial Parks Branch regarding maintenance issues related to the Diana Lake recreation area.
The Prince Rupert Airport Authority advised of an increase to travellers through the local airport with a 7.06 per cent increase in the last year.
He outlined the city's thanks to a number of local groups for their work in the community, among those saluted by the Mayor, the Rotary Club, the Rupert Square Tenants Association, Ridley Terminals. As well as to CUPE and the Recreation advisory committee for their work to improve access to the city's recreation facilities.
The Mayor then called attention to a recent article in the weekly newspaper regarding issues related to the Watson Island development. He outlined the goals of Council regarding the development of the Watson Island site and then addressed issues related to the article. Advising that Prince Rupert City Council has never received a written submission, an offer to purchase, or a request to commence any activities on Watson Island by Jason Youn Kim of Global Resources and Energy Enterprises.
The Mayor asked for Mr. Kim to provide written proof in court, if believes that Watco has partners including CN Rail, Samsung and Hyundai.
You can access the City Council Review page for August 18th here, where a number of items regarding the council session, including links to media coverage of it can be found.
As always, consult with the official minutes from the City, when posted to the website for further review.
Minutes Regular Council Session from August 18, 2014 (not available as of yet)
The Mayor and two members of the RCMP provided a greeting to a recent cruise ship making a port call in the City.
The Mayor, Councillors Cunningham, Kinney and Garon met with representatives of the Provincial Independent Investigative Office, receiving a brief history of their work.
He took part in a BBQ lunch with MLA Rice and MP Nathan Cullen at Mariner's Park.
He and Councillor Kinney attended the Northwest Regional Hospital meeting where regional health concerns were explored.
The Mayor provided a greeting on behalf of City Council at the 2014 Kidney Walk.
He met with the Selina Robinson the NDP critic for Community Sport and Culture and discussed a number of issues including local housing concerns, BC ferries issues and items related to local transportation and infrastructure.
He also suggested that the City Council provide a letter of concern to the Provincial Parks Branch regarding maintenance issues related to the Diana Lake recreation area.
The Prince Rupert Airport Authority advised of an increase to travellers through the local airport with a 7.06 per cent increase in the last year.
He outlined the city's thanks to a number of local groups for their work in the community, among those saluted by the Mayor, the Rotary Club, the Rupert Square Tenants Association, Ridley Terminals. As well as to CUPE and the Recreation advisory committee for their work to improve access to the city's recreation facilities.
The Mayor then called attention to a recent article in the weekly newspaper regarding issues related to the Watson Island development. He outlined the goals of Council regarding the development of the Watson Island site and then addressed issues related to the article. Advising that Prince Rupert City Council has never received a written submission, an offer to purchase, or a request to commence any activities on Watson Island by Jason Youn Kim of Global Resources and Energy Enterprises.
The Mayor asked for Mr. Kim to provide written proof in court, if believes that Watco has partners including CN Rail, Samsung and Hyundai.
You can access the City Council Review page for August 18th here, where a number of items regarding the council session, including links to media coverage of it can be found.
As always, consult with the official minutes from the City, when posted to the website for further review.
Minutes Regular Council Session from August 18, 2014 (not available as of yet)
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