Highway 16 issues were on the mind of North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice this week, as she made a number of references and asked questions of the Transportation Minister related to her ongoing push for a shuttle bus service in the region.
Ms Rice, raised those Highway 16 issues over two days of the Legislature week, making use of Question Period to attempt to get more information from the government minister.
On Tuesday, the MLA raised issues related consultations that the Ministry of Highways held along the Highway 16 corridor last summer, seeking out some background information on those discussions.
On Wednesday she returned to that theme, seeking further comment from the Transportation Minister, particularly on the issue of a shuttle bus service for the Highway 16 corridor.
Thursday, Ms. Rice paid tribute to the province's nurse practitioners and highlighted some of the challenges in recruitment for area health authorities.
Our items of review on MLA Rice and her discussion points in the Legislature can be found below:
City of Prince Rupert CFO Corinne Bomben at Council Monday evening
Community organizations and groups that access money from the City of Prince Rupert were included in the review of information as part of Monday's Budget Presentation.
As the City's Financial Officer provided a listing of where the city's grant money will be allocated as part of the financial forecast, should City Council approve the final version of the financial blue print.
The Contributions to Community partners portion of the Report to Council was divided into two sections, with the smaller amounts of the Recommended Grants in aid totalling $102,500 of the Budget forecast.
As for the larger amounts, which are dedicated to the Major Grant recipients. The CFO's report recommends disbursements to total $ 1,274,500, allocated to six community organizations.
The Recommendations and breakdown from the 2015 Budget are as follows:
Prince Rupert Golf Course Equipment for Golf Course - $40,000 Wages and Benefits for Superintendent - $122,000
Prince Rupert Economic Development Commission$50,000
Tourism Prince Rupert Tourism Prince Rupert Hotel Tax Transfer - $220,000 Visitors Information Centre -- $31,500
Museum of Northern British Columbia Kwinitsa Station Grant -- $15,000 Main Museum Grant -- $111,000
Prince Rupert Library Library Grant -- $566,000 Vest Benefit accrual - $9,000
Lester Centre --$110,000
Portions of funding from those total amounts have already been distributed by the City, with the remainder of the grant funding to be allocated once the Final Budget decisions have been made.
You can review the amounts that have already been forwarded from the chart below:
On Wednesday, we provided some background on her Financial presentation to Council with this item on the blog.
Her update for Council is also available for viewing from the City's Video Archive, it starts at the 58 minute mark.
Council will review the report from the CFO and make its final determinations on the Grant allotments for 2015 following the public information engagement sessions of March 9th and 23rd.
Seal Cove Coast Guard Base in Prince Rupert, From Gov't of Canada site
According to a number of press reports today, the Federal Government has advised its Coast Guard Communications staff of plans for three closures for British Columbia Coast guard vessel traffic operations.
With Government set to shut down the Tofino and Vancouver stations by mid May, while a third located in Comox is destined to close in early 2016.
The British Columbia closures are part of a larger reduction in services across Canada.
There was no mention if the staffing requirements of the Prince Rupert station would change with the increased area of coverage.
Unifor local 2182, the union branch that represents workers at the affected Coast Guard centres has launched a petition drive to oppose the Government plans, you can review it here.
Some background on the announcement can be found below
It's not quite the Prince Rupert version of gunboat diplomacy, but it might send a message.
As City Councillor Joy Thorkelson suggests that Mayor Lee Brain make the Prince Rupert Airport Ferry's Alaskan refit part of the city's discussion points when it comes to the stalled Alaska Marine Highway project.
Councillor Thorkelson made the suggestion during Monday's City Council Session after hearing of the Mayor's March travel plans to head to Alaska.
Mayor Brain will be travelling north to take part in a number of meetings related to the Southeast conference get together.
Councillor Niesh took advantage of the observation to remind the audience in Council Chambers and those viewing at home, that it was the previous council that made that decision. Offering up the observation that in this instance, he was on the same side of the discussion as Councillor Thorkelson and would have been against the refit plan had he been on Council at the time.
With the Alaska Marine Highway Terminal project now in a state of limbo, the Councillor suggested that it may make for a useful discussion topic for the Mayor when he attends his meetings next month.
Suggesting that perhaps some reciprocal back scratching (by way of the Ferry terminal project we gather) might be in order from the Alaskans.
You can review Councillor Thorkelson's sailing orders for the Mayor from the City's Video Archive, it takes place near the end of the Council session, at the one hour, twenty eight minute mark.
The iconic grocery store chain, which includes a Prince Rupert location in its roster of stores, has started to celebrate it's 100th birthday making for a fairly impressive longevity record for a industry that seems to reinvent itself every couple of years.
Operated by the Jim Pattison Group and led by Jimmy Pattison, British Columbia's most recognizable business leader, the grocery chain began it's commemoration of the 100 years with an advertising campaign tied into the weekly flyer's that arrived in your mailbox on Wednesday evening.
Further to this week's celebrations, Pattison himself has been making the media rounds highlighting the history of the chain, which at 86 years of age, he almost matches year for year.
Pattison purchased the British Columbia chain of grocery stores 47 years ago and from that point turned it into one of Canada's largest grocery retailers.
Since that purchase, the chain and its affiliated other brands has grown to close to 150 stores and employ over 14,500 employees.
The celebration this week of the opening of the first Overwaitea location is just the start of Overwaitea's plans to share their birthday party.
As Prince Rupert begins to make its plans for the 2015 Cruise Ship season City Council offered up a few thoughts on Monday evening, looking to find a direction that the City may wish to travel when it comes to providing some input on developments.
The conversation started with an inquiry from Councillor Gurvinder Randhawa, who asked the Mayor if there were any developments underway to increase the number of cruise ship visits to the community.
Mayor Lee Brain offered some observations that at this time, the Prince Rupert Port Authority is in the early stages of reconvening its Cruise Ship Task Force Working group, looking to reassess how it is going to look like for this year.
Councillor Mirau outlined his participation in the work of the committee thus far, which is still in the early stages, advising Council that his engagement was related to his work with the Nisga'a Society.
From that advisory Councillor Cunningham outlined his desire to see some for of involvement by the City of Prince Rupert in the planning for that committee, offering up the name of Councillor Randhawa as s potential city candidate for participation in the work of the group.
The Mayor advised that he would investigate the status of the Working group further and advise Council accordingly.
The short discussion on any potential Civic involvement in the Cruise Ship Working group can be reviewed from the City's Video Archive, starting from the one hour twenty eight minute mark.
In past years, the Cruise Ship Task Force has endeavoured to provide a coordinated approach to working with all of the city's tourism groups to seek out a larger footprint in the community from the BC and Alaska Cruise industry.
Further items related to the Cruise Ship industry in the region can be found here.
One of Prince Rupert's more popular attractions is in the process of getting ready for the 2015 season, as the group that watches over the City's Sunken Gardens put out the call for Gardeners for the year ahead.
The Gardens located behind the Prince Rupert Court House provide for an urban oasis, full of colour and a range of plants and shrubs that make the location on of the favourite get away from it all spots in the City.
The Sunken Gardens on a Sunny Prince Rupert afternoon have made for some spectacular backdrops in many a wedding photo, or just snapshots from visitors and residents alike, many of them found on social media venues such as twitter, Facebook or instagram to name a few.
Keeping the highly acclaimed display in good health takes a special touch however and the search is now on for two green thumbs to tend to the Gardens.
The first is a full time position, which starts in May and continues on through until October.
The full time position marks for the main point person to provide for the planting and maintenance of the site, while the Second job opportunity, is for an student assistant, looking to share in the work load.
The student position, which is in place from May through August, is one that requires the applicant qualify for the Federal Student Grant Program,.
Anyone interested in either position can find out more about the two opportunities by contacting Andree Fawcett at andree@citytel.net or by phone at 250-624-3666.
The work of the province's nurse practitioners received a shout out in the British Columbia Legislature on Thursday, as North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice praised their work and highlighted some of the challenges that the province's health system is having in filling vacant positions.
First by offering up a bit of background on the nature of the work:
Nurse practitioners are tightly regulated and must undertake additional training beyond their registered nursing degree. These men and women perform up to 80 percent of the activities of a family physician, including, but not limited to, diagnosis, treatment, ordering lab tests, prescribing medication and admitting patients to hospital, if necessary. Without their presence in the health care system, many more Canadians would be forced to accessing health care through our hospital emergency rooms or simply have to go without.
Ms. Rice then drew the attention of the Legislature to the situation in Prince Rupert, where the current nurse practitioner has been away on maternity leave, with the province not yet having provided for someone to fill in for the position.
Where I live in Prince Rupert, we have one nurse practitioner, who is currently away on maternity leave. We wish Toby all the best as she embarks on the journey of raising her second child. Unfortunately, and commonly in rural B.C., recruiters were unable to temporarily fill her position while she is away. It's common to have these positions unfilled, even though we give lip service to their importance and need for more positions. It's a challenge we face here in British Columbia. With the current direction to increase access to primary care and decrease health cost pressures, nurse practitioners are an invaluable component to the health and well-being of British Columbians.
Ms Rice made her comments as part of the Member's Statements portion of the Thursday morning proceedings of the Legislature.
Nurse practitioners help to take some of the strain off of small to medium communities which may be suffering from doctor's shortages, usually based out of a medical clinic they provide a number of services that reduce the impact on emergency rooms across the province.
Watson Island, it's a topic that as we remember from the past, was once a dominant talking point in the community, but of late a theme that doesn't seem to have provided for much of a public review.
Leaving a void in the flow of information when it comes to updates on the burden of cost that the City has to shoulder from the site, while the ongoing court case related to Watson Island moves forward.
The industrial site was particularly absent in the Budget Overview of Monday evening, as the City's Financial Officer, Corinne Bomben made no mention of such things as monthly burn rates, remediation work costs or other financial items related to the city's most controversial and longest running issue.
Year to Date figures for the end of 2014 still suggest that the financial bottom line for the industrial site is far from solved just yet.
With Revenues from Watson Island as of the end of 2014 noted to be $815,712, while Expenditures for the site to the end of 2014 were listed at $1,813,005.
Which would seem to suggest a shortfall of $997,000 remains for the year just past.
Looking forward, the spreadsheet delivers a notice that on the Revenue side for Watson Island it's anticipated that the site will seemingly provide for 120,000 dollars to the City for 2015, with no other forecast on the financials made for the following four years.
Those 2015 projections however seem considerably diminished from the expectations of the past.
Beyond the kind of work that keeps accountants and lawyers occupied, the issue of progress (if any) on the Watson Island File is something that the new City Council would appear to be keeping to themselves for the moment.
Since Mayor Brain and his council of six took office on December 3rd, Watson Island has not been mentioned once in public session. With no public updates to be found from City Staff as to the cost to the city when it comes to maintenance, or other related issues with the site.
Nor have there been any disclosures or comments from the elected officials, to advise Prince Rupert residents if the long running saga is coming near an end.
Included in that ongoing silence, is a lack of any kind of indication as to the status of the once highly trumpeted plan of an LNG terminal for the location.
The proposal from the proponent of WILNG (Watson Island LNG) never really offered up much of a public presence even as it was being rolled out, or for that matter, in the period of months that followed the original announcement.
Considering the importance that the Watson Island issue has had over the years, the unresolved items of note surrounding the industrial land requires some kind of an update from the Mayor and City Council.
Particularly as we head into a Budget deliberation period, where any future surprises from the industrial site could change the dynamic of any Civic financial blue print.
While they weren't frequent, and for the most part not particularly full of many details, the previous Mayor and council of 2011-2014 did from time to time at least, make an attempt to provide some background on developments from Watson Island.
Whether it was by way of a report from the Financial Officer, or the route used most often, which featured some short personal observations from then Mayor Jack Mussallem, residents of the city at least received for the record, a few glimpses of the state of Watson Island.
Such was the dominant theme of Watson Island on the last Council, that as he was leaving office, Mayor Mussallem offered up one final comment on the industrial site, a review that framed much of his final term of office.
Now, close to three months later, for the most part it seems that the "hell hole" of Watson Island, has seemingly become the "place of which we shall not name".
Still out there just off the Port Edward bypass road, ticking away, perhaps ready to spring another surprise on a community that most likely thinks it has seen it all when it comes to developments from the industrial site.
To refresh all our memories, some of the major developments from the Watson Island files of 2014 and before can be found on our archive page.
Our archive of 2015, which so far consists of but one item (and you're reading it at the moment), can be reviewed here.
Councillor Niesh at Monday's council session on ANBT traffic congestion at Civic Centre complex
While the All Native Basketball Tournament is a welcome addition to the Prince Rupert calendar, the volume of people arriving in the city and congregating at the Civic Centre has provided for one spin off issue for local residents.
At Monday's Council session, Councillor Wade Niesh relayed a story of an elderly lady who discovered that part of her normal bus ride to the Pool would suddenly involve n unanticipated a walk, taking her from the Spero's Market bus stop to the Earl Mah Aquatic Centre.
A situation reportedly required as the city's transit buses could not travel their usual route into the Civic Centre complex.
As Mr. Niesh outlined to Council, the nature of the traffic and gathering of spectators to the Civic Centre was resulting in a lengthy amount of time for the buses to transit the parking lot and entrance to the complex, An ongoing problem that in the end, seemingly led to the decision to not make the effort.
As the Councillor correctly pointed out, that area should be accessible at all times to buses and emergency vehicles.
As well, he observed that as the event takes place in February, weather conditions could have been very bad, and the idea of an eighty year old woman having to make the trek from the store to the pool isn't acceptable.
Councillor Niesh suggested Council should address by way of a letter to the ANBT committee, seeking a way to solve the issue for next year's tournament. He offered up the recommendation that tournament organizers provide for some form of traffic control during their event.
You can review his commentary from the City's Video archive, Councillor Niesh outlines the situation at the 1 hour twenty four minute mark.
There are still a few weeks before the first of the Northwest cruise ships start to travel up and down the coast of British Columbia and into Alaska.
But with April on the horizon, the British Columbia Cruise Industry is starting to spread the word when it comes to what can be found in B. C.'s ports.
A new information campaign was launched this week, a project which highlights the growing co-operation among four of the province's key ports when it comes to the Cruise industry, with Prince Rupert sharing in some of the focus with Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo.
The advertising campaign was launched under the banner of Cruise BC -- All Aboard and makes use of social media to deliver interested travellers to the new information presentation.
Using the twitter feed of @AllAboardCruiseBC visitors are taken to an info graphic (see here) where visitors scroll down the page as it takes them up and down the British Columbia coast, with Prince Rupert's segment branded with Prince Rupert - More ashore.
The short info burst about the North Coast outlines the opportunities in the region for visitors with 8 tour companies offering excursions and 11 different tours available to experience.
It also highlighted the impact that the 1,700 shore excursion passengers of 2014 provided to the community, with over $185,000 in sales for local tour provider.
The much larger overall cruise picture in British Columbia attracted 1.3 million cruise passengers to the province in 2014, providing a total economic benefit to the province of $1.79 billion.
For the 2015 tourism season, Prince Rupert's tourism industry and local merchants and operators no doubt would like to see some of that huge volume of cruise visitors begin to migrate towards the North Coast.
Hopeful, that more of the cruise options that travel the coast will soon make more stops in Prince Rupert, delivering a larger reward for those that have chosen to specialize in Cruise related opportunities in the region.
The local industry will be watching and using the #AllABoardBC twitter feed as it provides a summer long delivery of information, offering up interesting suggestions for side trips and possible unexplored local shops and services in the community.
And as it is part of the growing use of social media, that location on twitter will also provide instant feedback for local officials in the tourism industry. Providing them with a snapshot of some of the thoughts from visitors to British Columbia's ports of call for the Cruise season.
You can learn more about the Cruise BC initiative for 2015 from their website.
North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice continued to seek answers from Transportation Minister Todd Stone on Wednesday, following up her efforts of Tuesday, with two more questions related to Transportation issues on Highway 16.
In a pair of short exchanges during Wednesday's Question Period Ms. Rice returned to the theme of issues related to Highway 16 and the need for a shuttle bus along the Northern BC route.
Her first exchange with the Minister involved a review of the current status of Greyhound bus service along Highway 16, as well as observations on the list of unsolved cases of missing and murdered women in this one area of the province, with her first question originally directed to the Premier.
Clearly this minister doesn't know the details of this file. We've lost Greyhound bus service in the last 15 years. We've gone from 22 trips between Prince Rupert and Prince George down to 15. The train service is practically obsolete now that the Port of Prince Rupert has expanded. My question is for the Premier. Boy, she wouldn't believe what her ministers have been up to while she's been away. I want to remind the Premier that B.C. has the most unsolved cases of missing and murdered women in this country. More women have disappeared in British Columbia than any other province. It's wrong to suggest we should wait for more women to go missing before we take action. Again, to the Premier, will she commit today to bring in the bus service urged by the Missing Women Commission, yes or no?
The Transportation Minister took that question for the Premier, returning to the theme of government consultation with communities along the highway and pointed to some web based initiatives that the provincial government has taken to address the transportation issues.
That reply provided for a second opportunity for the North Coast MLA to weigh in on the topic. Her second question, was one that focused on the nature of the website that his Ministry is trumpeting as a partial solution to the Transportation issues of Highway 16.
With Ms. Rice asking Minister Stone if Luxury Limousines, as highlighted on the website, are really a sensible recommendation for residents of the mostly rural area of the province.
The Missing Women Commission urged this government to bring in safe, affordable transportation for northern communities so that women wouldn't be forced to hitchhike to buy groceries or go to appointments. Instead, this government put together a website, or the web portal the minister just spoke of, that you'd never find unless you knew where to look.
If you did find it, you know what's on there? A link to limousine companies. Does the minister really think that a website listing limousines is going to be of any use to the young women hitching on Highway 16?
In response to those observations, the Transportation Minister returned to some of his previous thoughts on the distance to be covered between Prince Rupert and Prince George and his impression that a shuttle bus is not a practical solution to the issue.
What's, I think, really important here is identifying practical solutions — solutions that, when implemented, will actually make a difference. That is why on the question of a shuttle bus type of service, I think it's important to acknowledge — and we certainly heard this in many of the discussions that were had when we were up there last summer — that the distance from Prince Rupert to Prince George is 718 kilometres. That's an eight-hour drive in good driving conditions. Putting a shuttle bus on that length of highway with that amount of hours of driving was not identified as a practical solution by the people who live up there. -- Transportation Minister Todd Stone on the issue of a Shuttle Bus along Highway 16.
For Northwest teams in AAA High School basketball, this is the week that all of their hard work of the year prepared them for. With three days of fast paced action ahead on the court in the Northwest Zones hosted by the Charles Hays Rainmakers.
The Zones as always, is the highly anticipated tournament on the local schedule, an event which by Saturday will send the winner off to Langley and the Big Show of the Provincials in mid March, while marking the end of the basketball season for the others.
The tournament bring two challengers into the Charles Hays Gym this week, with both Smithers Secondary and Caledonia out of Terrace looking to dethrone the Rainmakers from their title.
And perhaps should they succeed, sending a message to the media of the Lower mainland that basketball is played across the full length of the Highway 16 corridor.
That quest to knock off the champs, may be one of the focus points that head coach Mel Bishop will want to review with his team heading into the three day elimination tournament.
Reminding his squad that the visitors are here and to get to Langley they will be ready to challenge the Rainmakers.
This year the path to Provincials runs through Prince Rupert and the opportunity is there for the home side to secure their berth for Langley with some strong games on their home court, in front of a very passionate fan base.
The Northwest tournament gets underway this evening as Caledonia takes on the Rainmakers with a tournament opener set to tip off at 7:30.
The long time Northwest rival is a team that always brings out the best in the Charles Hays teams, so Zones will no doubt be off to a high tempo start right out of the gate.
The full schedule for the Northwest Senior Boys AAA Zones is as follows:
Thursday ---Rainmakers 84 vs Caledonia 35
Friday --Caledonia 43 vs Smithers 50 Friday --Rainmakers 67 vs Smithers 43
Zone Finals
Saturday -- Rainmakers 84 vs Smithers 71
All Games take place in the CHSS Gymnasium.
Rainmakers Advance to AAA Provincial Finals in Langley. Tournament takes place March 11-14 at the Langley Events Centre View Tournament website here
Some of the pre tournament media items can be found below, we will add to them as the three day tournament moves forward.
One of the more interesting reviews from Monday's Budget Presentation from the City's Financial Officer was the quick snapshot of the cost of operating the City's Airport Ferry.
A financial challenge for the community that for 2015 will require a subsidy for operations of $925,000, a burden of financing that is for the most part carried by the taxpayers of the city, a topic that the City's Financial Officer explored further as part of her review of Monday night.
"As described in a recent report produced on the capacity of the ferry service, our airport is described as one of the most challenging to access in the industrialized world. We are also likely one of the few municipalities in BC that have to fund their own transportation to an airport, most are accessible by road and light rail. Although many of our neighbours and visitors benefit from the proximity of our airport, they only pay on a user basis, our municipality pays not only a user fee, but also subsidizes the operation through taxation. 2015 predicts a subsidization of 925,000 dollars. " -- City Financial Officer Corinne Bomben on the nature of the Airport Ferry Subsidization.
The topic of funding access to the airport is one that Council has discussed frequently in the past.
The last Council of 2011-2014 had been looking for ways to engage the region in sharing some of that cost, however that was a proposed shift in the burden that didn't seem to find much traction in those years.
You can review some of the recurring themes and past Council observations below:
Ms. Bomben's observations on the Airport Ferry can be reviewed from the Video Archive of Monday's Budget Presentation, the topic appears at the very beginning of her presentation at the 58 minute mark of the council session.
The mention of the Airport Ferry and its cost to the City as part of the Budget preview of Monday, probably could be seen an indication that the topic is about to be reintroduced into the regional debate.
With Council perhaps preparing to taking the issue up in the future with the surrounding communities that make use of the Digby Island airport.
You can review more on items related to Air Transportation on the North Coast from our archive page.
The final Provincial rankings before the Northwest Basketball Zones were released on Wednesday, and for the second week in a row the Charles Hay Rainmakers hold down the number four spot in British Columbia.
And while it adds to the lustre for the Charles Hays program this year, for this week they mean absolutely nothing for the most part. As the Rainmakers face a win and advance situation this weekend, with as Challengers from Smithers and Terrace set to arrive for the Northwest AAA Zones.
The tournament tips off Thursday evening as Caledonia takes to the court, looking to derail the Rainmakers return to the Provincial championship in Langley in Mid March.
Game time tomorrow evening is 7:30 at the Charles Hays Gymnasium.
Check back with the blog tomorrow for our Preview of the weekend ahead and anchor page for results to follow through to Saturday's finals.
There is a bubbling controversy in Victoria this week regarding consultation sessions that the Ministry of Transportation took part in this past summer, conversations related to Transportation issues along British Columbia's Highway 16.
Tuesday in the Legislature, North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice following up on an original question to Minister Todd Stone from the NDP's Maurine Karagianis, raised the issue of some missing documentation with the Government.
With Ms. Rice looking to trace the travels of Ministry representatives this past summer along Highway 16 and seeking an account of their conversations with residents of communities along the way.
The MLA perhaps looking for an itinerary, rough draft notes, or maybe even just marks on a road map signifying stops in a number of communities.
Something that at least will offer up a some solid facts and a record for review, as to the nature of the consultations that took place during the summer visits.
As Ms. Rice relayed in the Legislature, the heart of the controversy involves impressions that Minister Stone has suggested which have local community members indicating that recommendations related to safe, affordable public transportation were not practical.
Those observations, which go against some feedback from the region that the North Coast MLA has received, has led Ms. Rice to seek out further confirmation, by way of a Freedom of Information request regarding those consultations.
During Tuesday's Question Period, the North Coast MLA brought her ongoing interest in that request to the Legislature, pressing the Minister for answers on why the Freedom of Information inquiry has not yet been addressed.
The Minister for his part deflected the nature of the Freedom of Information inquiries, advising that those requests are handled by professionals in the Civil Service, following that up with a list of some of the Provincial government's efforts on the file.
An answer that didn't particularly reassure Ms. Rice that the request is being handled properly.
You can review the full account of the exchange between the North Coast MLA and the Transportation Minister from the Legislature Hansard Record here, it takes place at just before the 1050 marker on the right hand column.
Ms. Rice also provided some further background to her thoughts following the Question Period on Tuesday, seeking a quick response from the Government on the issue.
“The people of Northern British Columbia deserve to know why the B.C. Liberal government is hiding the results of any consultations that were had,” ...“We don’t know how many of these meetings actually took place, and whether the minister is misrepresenting what people said. Northwest communities have heard enough excuses, it’s time for action to bring safe transportation options along the Highway of Tears.”
A helpful list no doubt, but something that isn't quite the same as the Transportation options that have been outlined from the Oppal Report and what MLA Rice wants to see in place across the region.
As of Wednesday evening, the office of the North Coast MLA had not advised as to whether her Freedom of Information inquiry has found any success.
Monday's city Council session provided an overview of anticipated revenues coming to the city for 2015 and one item that no doubt caught the eye of Council members was the observation from the City's Financial Officer, that CityWest will deliver another 400,000 dollars in 2015.
The issue of CityWest dividends has been a lively topic at City Council sessions in recent years, as the City owned telecommunication company reduced its financial return to its only owner.
Considering that Prince Rupert once counted its dividend returns in the millions and not the hundreds of thousands of dollars. It will be interesting to see if Council members suggest that the CityWest Board members perhaps should sharpen their pencils and offer up a larger amount of return on investment by the time the final budget deliberations are concluded.
Current RCMP detachment in Prince Rupert. The RCMP is now in the position to have a new building constructed
During her Budget Presentation to Council on Monday evening, the City's Financial Officer advised Council that the City had taken receipt of a letter from the RCMP.
A correspondence which provided for a final notice from the police force, advising that the local detachment is now overdue for a replacement building.
With the delivery of that notice, the RCMP is now in the position to move forward on their own, should they desire, in order to construct a new detachment of their own design and submit the bill to the City.
However, before that stage is reached, it would seem that further discussions with the City are on the horizon, as Ms. Bomben offered up the suggestion that engagement with the public on that issue is once again about to commence.
"We were aware that this letter would come day and in fact the City began the process of consultation with the community in 2012. The process stalled but now we are in the position where we either take the next step and have some control over what is built, or the RCMP will build it for us and send the City the bill . Staff intend to engage the community with respect to this notification and begin necessary planning" -- City Financial Officer Corinne Bomben providing notice of receipt of a Final letter from the RCMP regarding a replacement building for the local detachment.
The replacement issue once was a long running discussion topic, if not a bit of a soap opera for past City Councils, though in recent years it has hardly been mentioned if even in passing.
The last council of 2011--2014 having kicked it down the road for the most part during its three year term, or as Ms. Bomben more politely put it, the process stalled.
Since mid 2013 the topic of the proposed replacement building seems to have been left in a state of limbo, owing mainly to the city's financial situation of the time.
A theme that continued on through last year, as a review of our archive from 2014 would seem to suggest that the topic never once came up for review in any open session of council last year.
With the RCMP taking measures to provide its thoughts to the City on their building concerns, the discussion now appears destined to come out of hibernation.
The City's Financial Officer provided the first glimpse for the public towards the financial blue print for 2015 for the City of Prince Rupert, as Ms. Corinne Bomben delivered a thirty minute Budget presentation to City Council. on Monday evening.
Offering background on the considerations required to form a budget and providing her department's recommendations to help address an anticipated 200,000 dollar budget shortfall, with a recommendation of a 1.9 percent increase in the mill rate for 2015 to cover off that issue.
She also highlighted some of the financial challenges that the Airport Ferry continues to provide to the City, with the residents of Prince Rupert carrying a larger share of the burden than those who don't live in the city. Those service challenges will require a subsidy of $925,000 for ferry operations in 2015.
Ms. Bomben then turned her attention to some of the revenue challenges that the City faces related to Caps on Port lands in the region, providing some observations on how that impacts on the City's financial picture, as well as a review of some of the provincial moves that affect the City's financial overview.
In addition to the concerns the City has when it comes to Port related lands and provincial issues, the City's CFO provided a review of the break down on taxation resources available to the city from all sectors of the community. Reviewing for Council the different rates in place ranging from residential to commercial and industrial interests.
Included in that review was a look at the impact from taxation that is felt by rate payers in those three areas.
The presentation also provided opportunity for Ms. Bomben to highlight some of the potential sources of revenue that the City has access to. As well as to make frequent mentions of the City controlled Legacy Corporation and how it could deliver returns to the community, with Ms. Bomben delivering the popular refrain of late that the community is on the brink of a boom.
Her documentation to council offers a brief outline as to how the Legacy Corporation plans to allocate its financial resources over the next few years.
As for the other City controlled corporation, Ms. Bomben advised that CityWest will deliver a dividend of $400,000 this year, the same amount that they provided to the city in 2014.
Her presentation also offered up a look at some of the expenses that the City is required to address, including a breakdown on some of the largest requirements from the City's Financial accounts.
On that theme she identified a number of areas where the majority of the budget is allocated towards, with the following five areas making up 71 per cent of the budget allocations through taxation:
Police 25% Fire 16% Recreation 13% Roads 10% Grants 7%
Among some of the expenses the City faces for 2015:
The Operations Budget will include $310,000 in Capital Purchases The Airport Ferry will require a subsidy of $925,000 in 2015 Community Grants will mirror much of the same amounts at those of 2014 Upcoming Salary requirements and benefit rate increases as part of contract provisions will provide an additional cost of $400,000 in 2015. Increased energy costs of $35,000 will also contribute to the City's expenses. Staffing succession planning and increase in needs will provide for an increase of $100,000 The Anticipated Budget shortfall will be $220,000 in 2015 Towards that shortfall, the Finance Department is recommending a mill rate increase of 1.9 percent for 2015, making for an average increase of 37 dollars per taxpayer for this year.
Ms. Bomben also suggested that Council give consideration to development of a Reserve Policy to replenish reserves and replace infrastructure concerns. That part of her presentation provided the benefits to the community that such a fund would provide.
The recommended rate to fund any establishment of a Reserve Fund would be set at 2 percent mill rate to be put in place perpetually, listed as a separate line item on the tax bill.
That however is a proposal that will perhaps be addressed later this year, with Ms. Bomben at the moment, expressing no intention to begin the process of assembling that 2 per cent from taxes, if approved by Council, until sometime in the future.
As well as the Financial budget overview, Ms. Bomben also advised Council that the City had received a final letter of notice from the RCMP regarding the need for a replacement building for the local detachment.
Should the City not move forward on the long delayed proposal of replacement, the RCMP is now in the position to build their own building of their own design and bill the city for the construction. Council will soon engage with the public on the need for the new building and the proposal to move ahead.
The presentation to Council is really just the first draft of her proposals, some of the suggestions may be revised depending on the instructions of Council.
Before that takes place however, the public will have the opportunity provide their review of her first draft.
There will be two public consultation periods regarding these proposals, the first scheduled for March 9th at the Lester Centre as part of that evening's Regular Council session, the second engagement session will take place at City Hall as part of the Regular Council session for March 23rd.
Council will delay any direction to staff regarding the Budget Proposals until after those public engagement sessions take place.
Councillor Thorkelson reads out the Terms of Reference for the City's Two Housing committees
Monday night's City Council session provided the first major step forward in addressing a frequent topic of discussion at City Hall of late, as Councillor Joy Thorkelson delivered her Report outlining the Terms of Reference for Two City of Prince Rupert Committees on Housing.
Instead, Council turned to Councillor Thorkelson for more background, when she outlined her vision for how the City should address the city's housing issues
Monday Councillor Thorkelson was back with her report, offering up a quick review of the topic and how Council got to this point. Explaining further what her vision forward is for the two committees and how they may start to provide some momentum on the long running issue.
Council members discussed her Report and the expectations from it, with Councillor Cunningham in particular expressing a desire to move quickly on the theme in order to address some of the outstanding concerns of Council.
And while Housing may have been a key item of interest for Mayor Brain during the 2014 election campaign, the lead it seems at this time is being taken by Councillors Thorkelson and Cunningham.
Both have taken on the duties of leading the two Committees, dividing the work further among the remaining members of City Councillors.
Following those discussions, Council set in motion their nominations for the two Committees, one to deal with issues of Prioritization and the other to work in areas of of Identification.
And while the Mayor will sit on both, what his duties with the two committees will be wasn't the focus of Monday nights division of work.
Leading the Prioritization Committee with be Councillor Joy Thorkelson, joining her will be Councillor Nelson Kinney and Councillor Blair Mirau.
The Terms of Reference for the Prioritization Committee include:
Identify the extent of: Critical Housing needs, Urgent or Looming Housing needs, Necessary, but not, urgent Housing Needs and review Future Housing Desires.
As well, the Committee will be tasked to collect a list of suggestions from the community on how some of these needs may be met.
Councillor Cunningham will take charge of the Identification Committee, with Councillors Niesh and Randhawa working with him to review the issues related to identifying housing capacity and availability in the community.
The Terms of Reference for the Identification Committee include:
Engage with the City Planning department, Social Services, Salvation Army and the public to identify rental units, temporary units and multiple family housing units.
Engage with CMHC, B. C. Housing and M'akola housing to determine present, immediate future and medium term housing needs and supply.
Meet with local realtors, apartment owners and others to determine present rental availabilities and predicted growth in the private sector.
Both Committees will have the power to add on additional members to their groups as they see fit.
The two committees are expected to provide their first overview sometime in April.
You can review the full Report to Council from the Agenda from Monday evening (pages 11-13), with the discussion related to the committee structure found below from the City's Video Archivestarting at the 38 minute mark.
The second and final council meeting of February was on the calendar for this past Monday, with Prince Rupert Council taking care of a number of items in the lead up to Budget time for the City.
An opportunity for the public to ask questions led off Monday night's Council efforts, as City Council hosted the Committee of the Whole session for the month.
In addition to the public comment opportunity, there were a pair of presentations provided to council from members of the public, one from the Success by Six organization in the community, the other a request for a review of zoning bylaws in the 1st Avenue West area of town.
When Council returned to its regular Agenda for the night Council members considered a number of items on the evening, including a request for support for the Fishermen's Hall Society and the creation of Two Housing committees to review the housing situation in the community.
As well Council reviewed a motion to move the March 9th Council session to the Lester Society to allow for public comment on the City's Budget recommendations.
On that theme, Monday evening's Council session provided a glimpse at the Financial blue print for the year ahead as the City's Financial Officer Corinne Bomben delivered her first presentation on the Budget Preparations for the year ahead.
Her review was a late addition to the evening's work load the initial indication of it came by way of this Report posted to the City's website prior to the Council session.
Prior to the Regular Council session for Tuesday night, Council held a Special Closed Session at 5 PM.
Further information from our overview and permanent placement in the video archive can be found below, with the permanent record of the minutes added as they are posted to the city Website.
In Attendance February 23, 2015
Mayor Lee Brain -- Present
Councillor Barry Cunningham-- Present
Councillor Councillor Blair Mirau --Present
Councillor Wade Niesh-- Present
Councillor Nelson Kinney--Present
Councillor Gurvinder Randhawa-- Present
Councillor Joy Thorkelson-- Present
Video Archive for February 23, 2015
( 0:00- 3:00 ) The Mayor started off the evening, by suspending the Regular Council session and reviewing the process ahead for the Committee of the Whole meeting .
That segment of the evening featured two presentations and an opportunity for the Public to ask questions of Council.
( 3:00 -- 5:30 ) A Presentation from Kate Toye Regional Coordinator for Success / Six -- Ms. Toye provided an overview of upcoming initiatives from the organization as well as an invitation for the City to participate in the organizations steering council. She also asked that the City revisit its proclamation that Prince Rupert is a Child Friendly Community, bringing it back for display at a large public event in July. As well, she advised council of an upcoming City's fit for Children Summit in Vernon and offered that information for Council's consideration.
( 5:30 -- 17:00 ) A Presentation from David Reeve a resident on 1st Avenue West --He asked Council to consider the option of rezoning the neighbourhood he lives in, so as to allow for development of basement suites and bed and breakfast options in the area. Council members asked a number of questions of Mr. Reeve regarding his presentation, suggesting that he first consider collecting a petition on the request before any further progress would be taken on the request. ( 17:00 --32:30 ) Questions from the Public -- A pair of residents took to the microphone during the session, offering a number of statements on a range of topics. The first participant focused his comments on parking concerns. While the second participant commented on housing issues as well as a collection of observations related to personal issues he is seeking assistance on. Return to the Regular Council Session for February 23, 2015 ( 32:30 -- 34:00 ) Adoption of the Agenda, Late additions and past minutes of previous minutes.
Reports and Recommendations
( 34:00 -- 34:30 ) Report from the Corporate Administrator recommending a change of location for the upcoming Council Meeting of March 9th. -- The Recommendation being to shift the venue to the Lester Centre to allow for public comment on the 2015 Budget Report Presentation.
The motion was adopted
( 34:30 -- 36:00 ) Report from the Economic Development Officer outlining a request for Council support for the Fisherman's Hall -- Mr. Venditelli outlined the nature of the request for a letter of support from the City. The request is designed to support the Fishermen's Hall Society, as they move forward for a grant request with Northern Development for a grant of up to 30,000 dollars for their Raise the Roof proposal.
Councillor Thorkelson excused herself from the discussion related to this topic.
The motion was adopted.
( 36:00 -- 57:00 ) Report from Councillor Joy Thorkelson on the Terms of Reference for the creation of Two Committees on Housing -- Councillor Thorkelson provided a quick review of her proposal, with Council then dividing the committee work load.
Council members discussed some of the make up of the Committees and the expectations from it, then moved forward to create the process to move the initiative forward.
Mayor Brain will be involved in both Committees
With Councillor Thorkelson leading the Prioritization Committee, assisting her will be Councillors Kinney and Mirau
While Councillor Cunningham will be in charge of the Identification Committee, assisting him will be Councillor Niesh and Randhawa
Both Committees will have the power to add members as they see fit as the committee process moves ahead. It's anticipated that they will provide their first review of their work in April.
( 57:00 -- 1:24:00 ) Report from the City's Chief Financial Officer, providing an overview of the 2015 Budget Preparations -- Ms. Corinne Bomben outlined the progress of the Budget plan for the year ahead, providing background on the various elements required towards the delivery of this years Budget.
Among the items of note outlined during the Presentation:
She reviewed some of the financial challenges that the City faces, particularly related to the ability to tax major industrial sources such as Port related industries in the community.
As part of that portion of her presentation, she provided a break down of taxation resources to the city from all sectors of the local community, from residential to commercial to industrial. Included in that review, was a comprehensive breakdown of the impact to the taxpayer related to the taxation requirements for civic services.
In addition to the challenges, she made mention of the sources of revenue that the City makes use of, as well as the potential of the Legacy Corporation to provide financial benefit to the community should Major projects associated with it move forward.
Ms. Bomben also advised that CityWest has advised that it expects to be able to forward a dividend of $400,000 to the City in 2015, the same amount as they forwarded in 2014.
Among some of the expenses the City faces
The Operations Budget will include $310,000 in Capital Purchases The Airport Ferry will require a subsidy of $925,000 in 2015 Community Grants will mirror much of the same amounts at those of 2014 Upcoming Salary requirements and benefit rate increases as part of contract provisions will provide an additional cost of $400,000 in 2015. Increased energy costs of $35,000 will also contribute to the City's expenses. Staffing succession planning and increase in needs will provide for an increase of $100,000 The Anticipated Budget shortfall for 2015 will be $220,000 Towards that shortfall the Finance Department is recommending a mill rate increase of 1.9 percent an average making for an increase of 37 dollars per taxpayer for this year.
She also suggested that Council give consideration to development of a Reserve Policy to replenish reserves and replace infrastructure concerns. That part of her presentation provided the benefits to the community that such a fund would provide. The recommended rate to fund any establishment of a Reserve Fund would be set at a 2 percent mill rate to be put in place perpetually, listed as a separate line item on the tax bill.
Ms. Bomben also advised Council that the City had received a final letter of notice from the RCMP regarding the need for a replacement building for the local detachment. Should the City not move forward on the long delayed proposal of replacement, the RCMP is now in the position to build their own building of their own design and bill the city for the construction. Council will soon engage with the public on the need for the new building and the proposal to move ahead.
There will be two public consultation periods regarding the overall Budget proposals for 2015 before Council will decide on the path it wishes to take. The first scheduled for March 9th at the Lester Centre as part of that evening's Regular Council session, the second engagement session will take place at City Hall as part of the Regular Council session for March 23rd.
Council will delay any direction to staff regarding the Budget Proposals until after those public engagement sessions take place.
( 1:24:00 -- 1:35:00 ) Reports, Questions, or Inquiries from Council
Councillor Niesh outlined a concern he had received regarding access to the Civic Centre and Earl Mah Aquatic Centre during the All Native Tournament, with the City's Transit service not delivering passengers to the Civic Centre owing to traffic concerns. With the bus letting its passengers off at Spero's Market. Councillor Niesh recommended that Council approach the organizers of the Committee to address the issue for future years.
Councillor Cunningham had some comments on the state of Fraser Street and the need for some immediate action to provide for a temporary fix before the larger project of repairs takes place.
Councillor Randhawa asked that the City seek out some information regarding initiatives to bring back the Cruise Industry to the community. The Mayor provided some background on the nature of the Ports intentions towards that theme.
The Mayor also advised that he will be travelling to Alaska in the next few weeks to discuss issues related to tourism and the Alaska Marine Terminal project.
Councillor Thorkelson took advantage of that observation to offer up the suggestion that the Mayor remind Alaska officials that the City of Prince Rupert recently voted to send the Airport Ferry to Ketchikan for repairs. As part of her review of that period, she added that she was against that decision, Councillor Niesh observed that the decision was made by the previous Council and that he was in agreement with Councillor Thorkelson in being against that decision of the time.
Councillor Cunningham asked if anyone from the City was sitting on the Cruise Ship committee, Councillor Mirau advised that he was invited to the first planning session as a member of the Nisga'a Society. Councillor Cunningham suggested that a member of City Council should be invited to sit on the Committee, recommending that it might be of interest to Councillor Randhawa.
The Mayor provided a short review of his recent trip to Victoria, advising of a meeting with Minister Coralee Oakes as he and Mayor MacDonald of Port Edward outlined some of the challenges that the two communities are facing with the prospect of LNG development on the horizon.
He also observed as to the Chinese and Vietnamese New Year's celebrations in the city over the weekend.
The Mayor also provided some background on a recent fundraising event for the Okala foundation that provides medical assistance for an African village. He also outlined that there is a proposal being floated in the community, with a presentation that may be made to Council, that the City of Prince Rupert and surrounding communities twin with the community in Cameroon where Prince Rupert's fundraising has been directed.
He also made mention of the Chamber of Commerce Awards Ceremony coming up at the end of the month.
The Mayor also advised that a report has been compiled on the issue of the Rushbrook Parking concerns raised last week, with Council to receive that report for review in the days ahead.
With that, the Mayor brought the Council session to an end.
