The long running debate on how to fix and how to pay for the reopening of the 4th Avenue Walkway and staircase made for a good portion of Monday night's budget conversation by Prince Rupert City Councillors, though the concept of an additional tax of 1.07 per cent tagged onto to the 7.7 percent rate set in the Budget clearly wasn't going to make much traction on the night.
The topic came up at the outset of the near sixty minutes of Budget conversation, flagged as an item of interest by Councillor Nick Adey who had noted of the correspondences and interest that the topic had generated in the civic consultation period.
Monday night we gained some insight into where each of the councillors that participated in the topic during the discussion, viewed the near one year closure of the walkway and how to address the remediation required to reopen it.
Councillor Nick Adey led off on that theme, observing of the public commentary received towards the Budget and walkway issue related to discretionary spending.
"I don't really see anybody rooting for an increase beyond the 7.7 percent and I say that knowing that advocates for the stairway on 4th Avenue, advocates for a renewal of the Lester Centre contract, must be aware that getting what they would want is asking for it to be beyond the 7.7 percent.
And I should say that I think that those initiatives are worth supporting, I would very much like in fact fund a quarter of a million dollars to build a stairway, because I think we are going to one way or another some point in the next year or two, quite likely commit ourselves to doing.
I guess the question is when and how that gets funded."
Towards that funding issue, the Councillor expanded on his theme of moving the initiatives forward, offering some hope of additional provincial funding for the city in 2024.
"With that in mind, I wonder if there could be some thought put into a couple of possibilities, we're into the month of November and if I understand the process correctly, the actual final budget is not approved until May.
So what I would like to suggest is that, in the event that the city's revenue streams are positively impacted by potential future decisions by the provincial government, perhaps as early as their 2024 budget.
That we should consider a commitment towards those particular initiatives as a kind of first call for is this somewhere we can support improvements, particularly the stairway I think. Because I think the community interest is quite high for people in that neighbourhood and I think that it's as I say, I think it's something that we're going end up doing at some point anyway.
So I would like us to feel, that if there is a change in the revenue situation that we would bring these things back as a point of consideration"
Councillor Teri Forster had a question for the CFO related to the city's use of dividends and how those could factor into council's view of the issue.
"I did have a question about ... potential funding for the stairway.
I understand that dividends come as one time payments, so they're not supposed to be things that would be ongoing, they would be a one time thing.
I'm not certain I understand why if we were to go with the stairway it would be taxation versus a dividend unless it's simply just because there's not enough money to pay for it from a dividend.
So I'm just wondering if I can understand that a bit better and I also assume, and this is an assumption, that we've already looked a grants, active living grants, different grants that could pay for some of this stairway and maybe they're pending, maybe they're not?"
Ms. Bomben first reviewed the grant process the city follows to the topic.
"We have been looking for grants, but active transportation is a very hot topic right and there will continue to be active transportation grants availability, so we will be looking again in 2024 for grant opportunity that could help fund the stairs.
As Councillor Adey mentioned, the process is right now we're asking for direction to do the five year plan but we fully expect that we will be back in front of you in the spring, to possibly bring forward an amendment.
And if there's any other revenues and grants for instance that could help go towards the stairs at the point we would certainly be willing to bring that forward"
On the query from the councillor on dividends, Ms. Bomben noted how the 250,000 cost was a big ask of the dividend option.
"As far as the dividend goes, the answer is yes, it wasn't considered ... 250,000 dollars is a big amount, there's already quite a bit that's going to be dividended for 2023, that's a really long and awkward word.
And then of course there's about 4 million dollars worth of dividends that is proposed, the annual revenues on Watson Island through Legacy is 4 million dollars. So it was just one of those items, that it didn't benefit the entire community, instead of one segment to seemed like that we could possibly get some grants for."
Councillor Barry Cunningham observed of the decisions that the city has to make with many groups that have many wants, while the city has limited resources to meet those.
"Well, you know, it's stairs versus the Lester Centre, versus parks, versus Enhancement Grants. You know like I remember Councillor Adey a few of months ago on about parks on the west side of town and things like that.
So you know, we've gotta make tough choices here whether we like it or not. And you know there's groups in each segment that want more money, we don't have the money to give. So you know like it's unfortunate it is what it is.
I know that Staff will be looking actively to find ... the stairs seem to be a priority, but ah the Lester Centre is definitely looking for money and needs it. Parks, we need parks and there's people lobbying for that. So we've got to take it all into stride and try to make the best decision for the town. It's unfortunate, the buck stops here"
Councillor Wade Niesh spoke to the theme of what he called civic 'extras', flagging the Fourth Avenue walkway issue, noting that it was just one of many pathways that the city has closed over the years.
"You know, I understand that people want to see a pathway on Fourth Avenue, but there's paths that have been closed all over this town over the last fifteen years and this is not just one path, it's not the only path. There's paths all over the place that are closed.
I mean when I used to have dogs, I used to walk many of the paths, there's many paths that have signs that say closed and you know people just go through them still.
(something the Mayor noted was not recommended)
I'm not saying do it, I'm just saying these trails, Fourth Avenue is not the only one now is there options, yes there is. People can walk to the end of Fourth and walk down Service Park, people
can walk down the other street and go down McBride.
Is it ideal maybe not, but there is options"
The Councillor raised one option that could make for some controversy related to the topic, noting of a proposal from 2021 and the days of City Manager Robert Long and current City Manager Rob Buchan's time as the city's contract planner.
"There was some conversations we had in the past, about I'm trying to remember what it was called ... Local Service Agreement I believe it was called ... Local Area Service so you know, that people that are impacted the most by something that can affect them. Then they can actually agree to a tax increase for their area, if they can you know justify to the people in their area that they use that particular item.
And those people in that area can actually pay an additional amount of taxes on their's over a period of twenty years to pay for something. So you know there is that option too, if they feel strongly about that trail getting done right away.
I can't justify having the whole community pay another what was it, one percent to pay for that trial so I had to oppose that at the time. I would love to be able to you know do it, but it's just not there"
Councillor Gurvinder Randhawa did not speak directly to the pathway issue, though his comments towards how the Legacy Fund is used highlighted such areas as capital spending projects.
The Mayor observed, that if they were to use that money for one capital project, they would have to decide which of the existing project proposals would have to be eliminated to re-allocate the money.
The placement of the walkway on City Council's list of priorities for 2024 likely will continue to be the focus of those advocating for the reopening of the transportation links.
An additional resolution was added to the Budget considerations on the night, that from Councillor Adey
That towards how to fund the Fourth Avenue Stairs and for Council to work with staff to explore opportunities for funding, or realize changes in revenue streams.
"A request that staff explore ways in which to either exploit opportunities that arise between now and May in the form of grants or changes in our funding, to move towards hopefully finding a way to get those stairs built" -- Councillor Nick Adey
Councillor Cunningham noted that Staff were already looking for alternative funding options for the walkway project.
The Walkway discussion ebbs and flows through the Budget discussion which you can review through the city's video archive below, the topic is introduced at the 14 minute mark:
The next update on the fate for the Closed 4th Avenue Pathway/Staircase could come with the September 11th Council Session
The path ahead for two pieces of walking infrastructure in the community gained some notice at the Monday City Council session.
The first up for review, was the Walkway/Pathway that connects the Fourth Avenue West area with the downtown core, a popular travel way that has been closed since the start of the year owing to concerns over its state of repair.
In it, Mr. Pucci observed that there was not much to share on the situation just yet, other than staff have spent approximately half of the money budgeted towards the study so far.
That report, which has yet to be delivered to city staff will outline the potential cost ahead. It's a document that should be in hand by the next Council session.
The content of the memorandum gave cause for one question of note at the Council session on Monday, that from Councillor Nick Adey, who observing of the importance of the infrastructure piece for residents of the area asked for a bit more detail towards the report.
"I'm interested in hearing a little bit more about the 4th Avenue pathway, I noted the phrase: 'assessments still being processed' even though it seemed that they had been done. So, I'm not quite sure what that means but I think that those community members that were interest in that subject would appreciate a bit of an update there anyways"
Before turning the topic over to the Operations Director for comment, Mayor Pond offered up an observation towards the report.
"I'll just note for members of the public that may not have an Agenda in front of them, this report indicates that approximately half of the 50,000 dollar budget for assessments has been spent and that's what Councillor Adey is enquiring about"
Operations Director Pucci added some background towards his written report outlining the path ahead.
"Basically, what I'm saying it's still in process, the assessments have been completed on the ground, we have not received the reports yet.
So we expect to receive the reports at the end of this week, or early next week and that will tell us what requirements need to be fullfilled in order to open it back up.
If there's structural issues that need to be tended to, railings, stairs, decking so we'll get that, either at the end of this week or early next week. And then we can formulate whether we have it within the budget or if the file will come back to Council ..."
The Mayor then asked if a report could be ready for the next Council session, which Mr, Pucci confirmed was the plan towards further updates.
Work continues to develop parking above the bluffs at the Cow Bay Lot as well as a staircase
While the 4th West walkway generated some discussion, the plans to develop a new staircase as part of the latest parking initiative for Cow Bay provided for no comments or observations on the night.
That report for Council also presented on Monday, was accepted without any contribution from the Council membership, other than a suggestion from Mayor Pond that the public may find the report of some interest.
The staircase which was first proposed earlier this summer, appears to be in the pre construction stage with a platform atop the bluff on First East set to take the project down along the Johnny's Machine Shop side of the existing Cow Bay Parking Lot.
So far there does not appear to have been a cost estimate provided towards that project, along with any timeline towards its development. Though judging by the progress on First Ave East that would seem to be soon.
The only note related to the newest variation of the parking options from Monday was an item that advises there is no budget impact at this time.
All of this we imagine may be of some interest for those on 4th West, who may be wondering why the city is looking to build a new staircase to a parking lot, while their connector to the heart of the city remains closed.
The staircase plans are just one element of a wider proposal for parking in the tourist and commercial sector of the Cow Bay Area.
Among some areas for Council members to explore and perhaps share some observations towards.
An already approved plan to create new angled parking on First Avenue East with the stairs to connect the First Avenue East area with Cow Bay, that initiative is anticipated to provide for 7 to 9 spots on the bluff area above Cow Bay.
An area along George Hills Way that could soon be developed to allow for parking
As well the report notes that Staff has developed opportunities for 2 newly defined areas on the 3rd Avenue Extension and George Hills Way.
Monday's report from the Operations Director, did not return to the previous plans outlined in June to reduce parking spaces in the Cow Bay lot itself; or a proposal to develop a larger parking lot further down George Hills Way towards the former Pacific Net and Twine location.
With no one on Council inclined to take an interest in the report for a wider discussion, there were no questions or observations made Monday towards any of the elements under consideration, current or past.
Hopes of a reopening of the Staircase and pathway between Third Ave West and Fourth west were dashed on Thursday by the City's Operations Director
The topic of the connecting stairs between Third Avenue West and Fourth Avenue West once again made for a City Council theme for discussion, with Councillor Cunningham returning to the topic to seek some guidance on the city's plans for the pathway which has been closed for a number of months.
"How long is the stairs and pathway from Fourth West down to Third West going to be closed. Because that's a major thoroughfare for a lot of the people coming from different parts of town that are walking and coming down there to Third Avenue.
And there's a considerable amount of older people living up in that area too that walk downtown all the time and now they have got to go down through Service Park or their actually driving and creating more o a parking problem."
The Director of Operations Richard Pucci did not add much to his narrative from that which he delivered to Council at their April 11th meeting.
Mr. Pucci providing for a short synopsis and seemingly little in the way of hope that the issue would be receiving any immediate attention.
"So at this point we don't have a timeline to open it up, we simply in the budget don't have the funds to be able do the geo technical assessment. I think we are doing some minor tree clearing in there just to saften up the area and secure the slope.
We believe that once a geotechnical assessment is done and they look at the damage that it's going to be a far larger project than anyone really believes, because there is some issues with the pathway.
So I think that it is actually quite a bigger job than a lot of people think it is and we simply don't have the funds to do it right now"
The Mayor observed of some potential grant funding that the city could pursue, with the City Manager noting of the Active Transportation funding that could be available.
"So what might be bike lanes in other communities are probably these thoroughfares that are important connectors in our community, so I know staff is working on it. But fair question and a real concern"-- Mayor Herb Pond
The overview of the pathway situation can be reviewed from the city's video archive at the 23 minute mark.
Prince Rupert City Council has accepted the recommendation from City staff to make use of some funding for the Odd Eidsvik Park in the Atlin Avenue area, the cash to be put towards a study of the condition of the 4th Avenue West pathway.
The Councillors making their decision following a short presentation and discussion period at Monday's Council session.
As we outlined on Monday, the councillors had a report on hand from Operations Director Richard Pucci which provide for the recommendation and other options towards reviewing the current state of the pathway which has been closed for use since the start of the year.
Monday night, Mr. Pucci expanded on the situation related to the Pathway and the current condition that it is in, observing of the need for a further investigation.
"We closed the pathway due to Health and Safety Concerns, the reason why we did this was because of the age of the structure, the build quality, there's a potential for rot in some structural members we believe.
The material and the tree we think that it may have caused some shifting from the linear post on the pedestals and maybe some undermining with the rains.
We're also concerned about code compliance on the entire structure including the stairs now that repairs must be made"
The Operations Director then outlined the various options that Council could consider towards the study
"I've laid out some of the costs there these costs are from proposals that we've received so it's approximately 40,000 dollars. There's a few ways that we can go and fund this.
One is through the paving program, obviously that would mean a reduction in paving.
The Odd Eidsvik Park drainage money, this would postpone the project. We have not received funds through our grants yet, so this will likely be a 2024 project.
There's Parks operation money, but this would reduce the overall parks budget so this would mean a reduction in service.
And then the last is that we could budget it in 2024.
So Staff do understand that many of the public use this pathway, there is another one however off Agnew it is a little bit farther down the street.
We know that the absolute minimum cost is between 35 and 40,000 dollars and any major repairs outside of that, will require me to come back to council to figure out how to pay for any structural repairs that need to be completed"
Towards discussion the Councillors seemed to quickly put their focus on the Eidsvik Park budget option.
"I was just going to go with the recommended Odd Eidsvik Park drainage because if it's not going to be in the budget realistically this year then that would probably make the most sense to use that o0tion of the four that were proposed" -- Councillor Wade Niesh
Councillor Adey noted of the recent interest from the public and posed a question on the impact of their decision on the night.
"I do have a contextual question in that we're kind of talking about two different projects for the purposes of solving a pressing problem and I know that we heard loud and clear how immediate the concern is around the Fourth Avenue pathway.
I would just like to pause just long enough to ask if there's any adverse impacts on the Odd Eidsvik Park project if we were to do this with that portion of the budget" -- Councillor Nick Adey
The Operations Director did confirm that there would be some impact on the park work.
"Absolutely there is a cause and effect here.
The effect is that we will not have the matching funds this year to be able to match against any grant that we get towards that Odd Eidsvik Park and the park will definitely not get done this year and will be pushed into next year.
We believe that if we do get a grant, that grant will allow us to do the work next year. So this will just be postponed into next year. We were planning to do the drainage this year in preparation for the park next year.
However, if Council wishes to go down this route, then we'll have to postpone that." -- Operations Director Richard Pucci
Councillor Cunningham noted of past discussions on accessing transportation funding for the Pathway project, Doctor Buchan noted that that city had applied for Transportation grants but could not divert money from its original use and not for capital projects.
Mr. Pucci noted however, that applying for grants takes time and there is no guarantee of success.
Council voted to used the Eidsvik Park monies towards the required study.
The full discussion on the topic can be reviewed through the City['s video archive staring at the 51 minute mark.
One gets the feeling that perhaps Mayor Lee Brain might have some fond memories from delivering newspapers in the community as a youth. Such is his apparent fondness for the local weekly paper, that it has become the City's go to choice to get Council's talking points out when the time comes for sharing information related to ongoing civic efforts.
So intertwined are the weekly and the city, that the Mayor appears to take some pride in delivering exclusives to the paper, seemingly leaving the journalists from the remaining media options of CBC Radio, TV7 and CFNR to digitally stand at the foot of the stairs to City Hall ... all in the hope that the Mayor and Council may toss them a few news worthy crumbs from time to time.
The most recent example of what seems to be the growing theme of exclusives to the paper came this week with news of Pembina pipelines interest in Watson Island. A story which the City seems to have delivered to the Northern View even before Pembina had released their public announcement and well in advance of the city's own information statement.
The original story of Monday afternoon, courtesy of publisher Todd Hamilton, and assisted by Quinn Bender came complete with the "Breaking News" banner atop the Northern View masthead, their "scoop" triumphed through the Northern View twitter feed at 5:35 on Monday evening.
However by the light of Tuesday morning that account had received a bit of a re-write, with Kevin Campbell's byline taking possession of the theme, with the contributions of Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Bender relegated to the "with files from" category.
Mayor Brain even made note of this "exclusive" to the weekly paper on his Facebook page, a social media stream that at times seems to double as a repeater station for all of the Northern View's material.
Now don't get us wrong here, there is absolutely nothing wrong with showcasing someones work as long as you provide the props in the way of attribution, in fact it's a theme we adhere to frequently here on the blog.
Both members of Council are clearly allowed to give a shout out through the new megaphone of social media to whatever stories they find of interest, from whatever source that they may find them.
But where the city's council collective is wading into some choppy waters comes towards the concept of providing for transparency in information on key elements of Civic policy, particularly when as a Council, they decide to favour one particular organization, over others that serve the community.
Clearly both the Mayor and Councillor Mirau find much to enjoy from the reviews of City Hall, perhaps owing to the frequent absence of inconvenient questions when it comes to many areas of civic governance that are found from their fave publication.
However, when it comes to official information, providing an exclusive to only one select organization, or limiting the scope of information to others, doesn't offer much towards the goal of full and open communication.
Then again when it comes to areas of transparency and accountability, this current Council does seem to be the author of some of its own problems of late.
Still those two cancelled public sessions, which are normally broadcast over Channel 10 and online, were dismissed with little explanation other than a short notice posted to the city website.
A growing theme as well of late, seems to find much of this Council's work being conducted outside of the public council sessions, or at least those that council finds the time to attend.
The use of Closed Council meetings is currently keeping a pretty strong pace with the Open ones, and the Public sessions for the most part don't last very long anyways, with Council having kept the majority of this years public gatherings to under forty two minutes.
That is providing for a situation where it seems that more and more information is now delivered to the public with the preamble from the Corporate Administrator stating that "Council is releasing information from a closed session ..."
Other major Council initiatives seem to get announced first through the Mayor's Facebook page, with few of those items ever becoming part of a lager discussion at the public sessions and with little contribution to the themes from the remainder of the elected council members.
Shifting the flow of information to a social media stream, or choosing which organization will get the exclusive details to a major issue doesn't do much to indicate to the public that there is any real dedication towards full and open communication.
A helpful rule of thumb for Council members to consider for the future perhaps, might be one that notes, that transparent and accountable government is not likely to best served through the delivery of "exclusives".
In what is a rather competitive news business, no one should expect the paper to turn down a City Council exclusive, or that they should be the ones to suggest the obvious to Council members, that the city really should share their news scoops in an equal fashion with all of the city's media.
However, the fact that city council members seem quite content to send their "political spin" off to the Fraser Street press room first and to do so in an exclusive fashion, should perhaps provide a pause for a moment for the folks taking down the details. Offering the opportunity to consider how the public may view the work of the paper when it comes to the idea of being an independent voice.
By evolving into what has become in effect the information stream for the City of Public Relations, er, we mean City of Prince Rupert, the lines seem to becoming somewhat blurred between journalism and the waving of pom poms for every civic pronouncement.
If the Northern View had a crossword puzzle, this would be the point where the clue would say: a ten letter word, that best describes the spreading of doctrine, or publicizing a particular political cause or point of view.
Bonus hint for those playing at home, the word starts with a P
Monday's Council one hour and seven minute session was for the most part focused entirely on the 2024 Budget, with a final snapshot on the public engagement from the Chief Financial Officer serving as the introduction for some extensive commentary from the Council membership towards the decisions that they had to make towards the document for this year.
The 57 minute preamble from the Committee of the Whole session provided for the call for direction to staff to move forward with the Five Year Plan and complete Council's Budget work, which they adopted in the Regular Council Session.
As for the Regular session, there were few items of note for discussion from the Agenda for Council who made quick work of the items listed, leaving for five minutes of discussion on a range of themes at the end of the session.
Further information from our overview and placement in the video archives can be found below; with the permanent record of the Council minutes added as they are posted to the city website.
Approval of Agenda -- Mayor Point reviewed the Agenda of the November 27 session and gained approval of Council towards it.
The first element of the Committee session was a call for Public Comment towards the 2024 Draft Budget, with Mayor Pond expressing some surprise that there were no members of the public in the gallery to take advantage of the comment opportunity.
The mayor provided for a few minutes of grace for any late arriving members to attend the session, however none arrived by the three minute mark he allowed for.
Mr. Pond provided a timeline of the Budget process which started on November 6th and observed on the public session at Coast Mountain College which he highlighted as well attended and providing for some good feedback.
The Mayor then called on Chief Financial Officer Corinne Bomben for a synopsis of some of the feedback the city received during the month long budget process, all of the documentation is included in the Agenda package for the Committee meeting.
From that short overview, Ms. Bomben then asked Council to direct staff to prepare the Five Year Financial Plan Bylaw using amendments presented in Attachment 3 of information attached to the Agenda.
The Mayor then introduced the recommendation to direct staff moving forward.
He then asked the CFO to provide a bit of an overview as to where Prince Rupert is compared to other communities, she outlined how Prince Rupert was about middle of the pack, noting of the higher rates found in some Okanagan as well as the proposed tax hike in Terrace of 9%
She also observed how Prince Rupert offers some services that other communities don't have to fund.
The Mayor then opened the Committee of the Whole session as the forum for Council conversation on the Budget, offering a chance for Council members to share their thoughts on the process that had moved forward over the month.
To open the conversation, Councillor Forster asked for some background on the level of service for Fire Rescue services between Terrace and Prince Rupert, with the Mayor and Councillor Cunningham providing some details on the differing nature of the two services. With the main focus that of how Terrace a hybrid of professional and volunteer members, while Prince Rupert's is a completely professional service.
Councillor Cunningham returned to a theme from a previous meeting related to the level of service the Prince Rupert Fire Department may provide to industrial users, the CFO outlined how the City's Fire Chief would not allow the city's fire service to attend any situation that they are not trained for.
The Mayor noted of some unusual circumstances for the meeting on the night, with Ms. Bomben serving as the Acting City Manager, noting that Mr. Buchan was on a well deserved vacation. He also noted that Councillor Skelton-Morven was participating from Vancouver as he was taking care of a family member in hospital there.
He also noted that Councillor Niesh had just arrived back in the city just in time to attend the council session.
Mr. Pond also observed that when it comes to city's plans for fire service to Industrial areas, the City Manager upon his return would be coming back with a bylaw to the topic.
Returning to the budget discussion, Councillor Nick Adey spoke to differences between Prince Rupert taxation and other communities and the challenges it provides province wide.
To the budget in front of the city and its call for 7.7 tax increase, Adey flagged a few items of note from public commentary those of Community Grants and the Lester Centre contract in particular and the ongoing public discussion on the closed 4th Avenue Walkway. The latter a topic that also generated some questions from Councillor Terri Forster.
He also asked for some clarification on the nature of the Prince Rupert Library, their contract with workers and the city's financial contribution to the service.
At the end of the discussion Mr. Adey asked for a reconsideration of two initiatives, the walkway and Lester Centre, should additional funding and a change in the revenue situation be realized in 2024. That request would be approved by the Council membership.
Among the other Council members, many of their themes were familiar ones culled from the last few years of Budget Discussions.
Councillor Cunningham observed of the nature of the tough choices that Council has to make and how the city doesn't have the money at the moment to address all of those groups that have requests, observing how staff is always seeking other sources of funding for those.
Councillor Niesh recounted his early days on council and how he was often against any tax increases, noting how the city was well above the average and how the previous councils had for the most part held off on any sizeable tax increases over the previous eight years. Noting of the current focus for Council on infrastructure issues he observed of the need for the tax increases of the last two budget periods of earlier this year and now for 2024.
Councillor Randhawa as he has often stated in past budget cycles since taking office, expressed his opposition to a tax increase and repeated his request of previous years to draw more from the Legacy Fund to help reduce the tax hit on the public.
His quest, as it has in the past, did not find much traction from his fellow Council members, with the CFO explaining the impact that would have on future taxation for residents, Ms Bomben also noted how the Legacy Fund had helped to cushion the jagged spikes on capital operations and how that has helped to reduce the need for even higher taxation.
Mayor Pond observed that for the most part the City has been drawing the max from Legacy Fund for both the 2023 and 2024 budget planning and towards any changes in the tax rate would require some changes to that capital spending program.
Councillor Cunningham observed that to reduce the tax increase council might have to consider such things as closing the Pool or library for a day a week. He then called on an analogy he has used in previous years towards Mr Randhawa's request, observing how if you put up taxi fares you have to pass it on to the customer, the same goes for the city of Prince Rupert, noting of the recent contract with city workers which he noted had modest increases.
Councillor Skelton-Morven noted of the current civic challenges the City faces and the balance of growth and need for repairs at the same time.
He subsequently asked the CFO for a glimpse of what the tax increase would look like without the Legacy assistance. Ms. Bomben observed the tax request would be over 10 percent, she also noted that's excluding the utility fees.
Councillor Niesh brought the discussion to a close, noting how if residents have concerns about high levels of taxation they should address those to the higher levels of government.
Towards the local situation the councillor observed how it costs monty to run things, observing how if at an additional ten dollars a day, if residents don't believe that they are getting their money's worth, then that would be an argument he would take on.
Council then moved the requisition for Direction towards preparation of the Five Year Plan to the Regular Council Session to follow. All members voted in favour with the exception of Councillor Randhawa.
Following that, Council moved forward on two additional resolutions, the first related towards how to fund the Fourth Avenue Stairs work with staff to explore opportunities for funding, or realize changes in revenue streams; with the second resolution related to the Lester Centre request and the need to set up some discussions towards their objectives.
Mayor Pond also noted that there was also some work to be done towards Community Enhancement Grant elements.
As a closing thought the Mayor noted that the process so far is to approve spending by 7.7 percent, with the city still to hear more on the revenue side.
Ms. Bomben, followed up on that theme, noting that staff wasn't asking for the taxation of 7.7 percent at this time, as that taxation request won't be known until next year.
Mr. Pond observed that should the city's revenue situation change favourably in the year ahead, that it could be possible to fund the initiatives noted slightly differently.
With a full budget conversation complete, the Questions and Inquiries portion of the session came to a close.
The members then Adjourned to the Regular Council Session
Approval of Agenda -- The Mayor reviewed the Agenda of the November 27 session and received approval of Council towards it.
Public Comments regarding Agenda items -- No members of the public were in the gallery to come forward to speak to any items to be addressed on the Agenda for the evening.
Council then moved on to the Consent Agenda, with Mayor Pond noting of the Memorandum related to the Accessibility Committee as something for the community to give a read towards, noting of the good work being done by that group.
( 57:30 --58:00 ) Consent Agenda
Council review of Regular minutes from November 14, 2023 Session Council review of minutes from Special Regular Meeting of November 14, 2023
Report from the Chief Financial Officer Re: September 2023 Financial Variance Report (see pages 8-13 of Agenda)
Correspondences
Memorandum from Manager of Communications, Engagement and Social Development and Chair of Prince Rupert and Area Accessibility Committee. Re: Update on Accessibility Committee (see pages 14 - 15 of Agenda)
Council had no questions to ask towards the Consent Agreement and accepted and filed it.
Reports
Staff Reports
( 58:00 -- 59:00 ) Report from Chief Financial Officer -- Council received a report related to the Authorization to Borrow for Heavy Equipment Purchases, with Council asked to approve the authorization to borrow $1,617,235.27 from the Municipal Finance Authority, the money to be used for the purchase of a Gravel Truck, a Garbage Truck, a Dozer and a an Excavator.
Towards discussion Councillor Wade Niesh noted that the items were all previously approved by Council members through previous budgets which were now to be purchased. The Mayor noting that they were commitments that now were being paid. (see page 16 of Agenda)
( 59:00 -- 1:00:00 ) Report from Planning: Development Variance Permit #23-23 -- Council moved forward on a report with recommendation to to provide Final Approval for the Permit for a property on Overlook Street. The only question to the topic from Councillor Adey asking if any comment had been received by the City, he was advised that none had been received. (see pages 17 - 23 of Agenda)
( 1:00:00 --1:00:30 ) Report from Planning: Development Variance Permit #23-25 -- Council moved forward on a report with recommendation to proceed to Statutory Notification for a property on Alfred Street. (see pages 24 - 29 of Agenda)
( 1:00:30 --1:01:00 ) Report from Director of Corporate and Legislative Services -- Re: Resolution from the Committee of the Whole -- Having discussed the Budget and Five year plan previously in the Committee of the Whole, Council directed Staff to prepare the Five Year Financial Plan Bylaw using the recommendations presented in Attachment 3 of the 2024 Budget Direction Report to Council. Only Councillor Gurvinder Randhawa voted against the motion. (see pages 30 - 43 of Agenda)
Bylaws
( 1:01:00 -- 1:01:30 ) City of Prince Rupert Five year Financial Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 3525, 2023 -- Council provided First, Second and Third readings to the the five Year Financial Plan Amendment Bylaw. All but Councillor Randhawa voted in favour of the motion
( 1:01:30 -- 1:02:00 ) City of Prince Rupert Five year Financial Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 3525, 2023 -- Mayor Pond then brought forward the two recommendations from the Budget Discussion, one towards the Lester Centre and the 4th Avenue walkway, both of which were adopted by unanimous vote
Business Arising
( 1:02:00 --1:07:09 ) Council Round Table and Public Question Period --
Councillor Forster led off the discussion period first noting of some recent activity at the Rose's location on Third Avenue West, she asked for an update on the plans towards the demolition of that structure.
In reply, Corporate Administrator Rosa Miller advised that the City's Public Work's Department had attended to the remains of the building to turn off the utility services to the structure. Adding that the work order was sitting on her desk and calls to contractors have gone out, with a potential timeline of the next couple of weeks. She offered up some hopes that the demolition could be Christmas present. She also noted that the city is trying to line it up so the equipment that the City is bringing to town could also be used on the Angus Apartments facility.
The second item for discussion from the Councillor was related to the start of the 16 days of acton against domestic violence, with Ms. Forster noting of some recent incidents of domestic violence including the one year anniversary of the murder of Patti Forman.
She outlined some of the resources that are available to residents of the region towards seeking help can reach out to access those services.
Councillor Reid Skelton-Morven provided an update on the medical situation facing his cousin in hospital in Vancouver and offered his thanks to his council colleagues for stepping up and pulling up the slack as the Councillor was away tending to family.
Mayor Pond noted the positive nature to this point of the situation that Mr. Morven's relative has seen as he continues with his treatment in Vancouver.
Mr. Pond then provided a short review of his recent travel, noting of his attendance at the Order of BC induction ceremony for Metlakatla Chief Harold Leighton and reflected on some of the other recipients of the provincial honour from that gathering.
He also noted of the opportunity the visit provided to keep in touch with provincial officials related to some of the issues facing Prince Rupert.
Adjournment -- The Mayor the brought the session to a close.
From that page a number of items regarding the Council Session can be found.
As always, our Council Timeline is only a reflection of our observations from the Council session of the night. Be sure to consult with the official minutes from the City, when posted to their website for further review.
Council next meets in a Regular Council Session on Monday, December 11th.
If residents of the Fourth Avenue West area or others heading to and from Third Ave West are going to see a return to service for the walkway and staircase that connects them with the downtown core, the city seemingly would like to tackle the cost of repair by way of an additional 1.07 percent tax increase above last night's recommendation from staff of a 7.7 percent tax hike for 2024.
The proposed funding for the work was noted in the Budget documentation as part of discretionary project taxation up for review of the Council membership.
The taxation option was introduced by CFO Bomben on Monday night
"Although not included in the Budget presently, should Council direct it, funds in the amount of 250,000 dollars would be necessary to make the required improvements to reopen the staircase between Fourth Avenue West and Third Avenue West. The cost is proposed to be funded through taxes and would result in an additional increase"
The singling out of the long closed, but much discussed active transportation conduit in the community made for just one item of many on Budget night Monday.
The topic generating a bit of discussion first from Councillor Nick Adey who did have a few thoughts towards it, tying the walkway project to a previous initiative on the west side of town, that of the Odd Eidsvik Park plans..
"I appreciate that this project is of great interest to the community members that brought the concern forward. I also appreciate that it may be something that we choose to pursue this year, or choose not to.
The point I would like to make about it, is that in 2023 in the 2023 Budget, we allocated 50,000 dollars from reserve or surplus, to the Odd Eidsvik Park improvement being pursued by a neighbourhood advocacy group.
And I think it was to be an in-kind contribution, that project was delayed due to other funding challenges and we decided earlier this year; because it was sitting idle at that point, to shift that amount in order to investigate the cost of the Fourth Avenue pathway.
I think it's fair to say that both these initiatives are the product of pretty broad neighbourhood consensus, in both those neighbourhoods.
So I note that in the 2024 Budget, the Odd Eidsvik Park funding has not been rolled over and the City Manager referred to some of the difficult decisions that have to be made in terms of trimming this as much as we can and I appreciate that.
So I think it's understandable, however, I think and this is by way of comment, I think we need to maintain an awareness that there is a link historically now between these two projects.
I don't feel that we should rob Peter to pay Paul without paying Peter back, although I'm not sure it's going to survive the test of this particular round of budgets.
I do think that we need to make the decisions we make about the Fourth Avenue pathway with the Odd Eidsvik Park commitment that was made earlier in mind, so I would like them not to get lost
Ms. Bomben noted that the city was still working towards grant funding for the park.
"Staff is live to the park, up at Eidsvik Park, we are still pursing grants, it's just presently we don't have any information on any grants that are available.
This is the budget that is being proposed right now, but we do anticipate that we will be coming forward, probably in the spring with any types of amendments which we hope will include the Eidsvik Park"
Councillor Barry Cunningham picked up on the theme of grant access and where the city could potentially pursue funding for the pathway project.
"I know staff is quite diligent when it comes to applying for grants and that, but with the Third/Fourth Avenue Stairs - Pathway, because it involves an aspect of transportation and people aren't having a direct access from that area of town to downtown they are probably driving.
I don't know if there is you know, like I say I know you're quite diligent applying for grants and everything ... I brought it up earlier a possible grant or something to alleviate any traffic ... car traffic that people are using.
I don't if it's a different angle that you can look at or not, but it's just something that possibly we can get some funding through a transportation grant"
Mayor Pond observed towards that suggestion, that he was sure that the "Team was on it"
For her reply, Ms. Bomben noted "that we like other people's money, not the city's money or the taxpayers money, but we're always looking for other grants"
Considering some of the public feedback of the Spring on the status of the walkway, it's likely to be a topic of some note for those that may wish to comment on the Budget presentation of Monday.
Those consultations come at Coast Mountain College tomorrow night at 7PM, Back at City Hall on November 15th prior to the City Council session that night.
Residents can also comment to the topic or other Budget issues by email at finance@princerupert.ca or by phone at 250-627-0914.
Whether Council sharpens the pencils towards other areas of the Budget to accumulate the 250,000 dollars seemingly required for the work; adds on the 250,000 dollars to the 7.7 percent total, or chooses to defer the project for another year ... it could all make for an interesting part of the consultation process ahead, as well as the council decision making to come before December.
The discussion on the walkway proposal can be reviewed from the video presentation starting at the 37 minute mark.
Some of the history of the Walkway discussion this year between Council and residents can be reviewed below:
