City Council Timeline, September 30, 2013

A lengthy gathering (over two and half hours) of Council for the final day of September, as the Mayor and his Council reviewed a number of items and issues of concerns, many of which featured a fair amount of discussion and debate as the evening moved forward.

The September 30th session offered up the  usual items found on the weekly agenda.

However with this Regular Council Session,  Monday evening also provided for a Committee of the Whole session for Council. A public forum which provided for some heated discussion both from civic participants and members of Council.

In addition to the public forums on the night, September 30th featured another "closed session" of Council, an event that seems of late to be a rather common development with each gathering of Council.

The timeline of all of the council the proceedings can be found in red below, tied in with the City Council video and audio feeds archived below.

Further information such as minutes and permanent placement in the  audio and video archives can be found below as they are posted to the city Website.

In Attendance September 30, 2013

Mayor Jack Mussallem-- Present  
Councillor Anna Ashley-- Present 
Councillor Judy Carlick-Pearson-- Present
Councillor Gina Garon-- Present
Councillor Nelson Kinney-- Present
Councillor Joy Thorkelson-- Present 

Councillor Jennifer Rice-- Resigned her position on June 10th.

Video Archive for September 30, 2013 
Audio Archive for September 30, 2013 (not available yet)

(0:00 -- 40:30) The September 30th session of Council started with the Mayor taking the evening to the Committee of the Whole session, included in that was an opportunity for the public to ask questions of Council. One question asked of council came from a delegation of residents from the west side of the city, regarding a development plan for the Westview Park land area of Atlin Avenue.

The Mayor explained the nature of the notice that had been published and received further questions regarding the nature of that land in question and what steps should be taken to provide more information to the public.

The Mayor advised that the process was going to a public meeting on October 22nd, where more information would be provided on the proposed development for that part of town. The delegation then offered up more observations and asked further questions regarding the City's exploration of the land in question.

Councillor Garon asked City Staff what the land in question was currently zoned at, advised that it is now zoned as P1 status, Public institutional.

The delegation wrapped up their presentation with a number of questions regarding the City Planners designation of the land and how in their opinion the issue does not require any public meetings.

The assembled Councillors and Mayor thanked the delegation for their interest and contribution to the discussion. The Council members in particular were thankful that the delegation brought the issue to their attention, advising that they weren't aware of a lot of the issues surrounding the area in question.

Another participant then took to the microphone to discuss the recent UBCM sessions in Vancouver and what the cost to the city of attendance to that week long convention.  Councillor Ashley then expressed her thanks for the question and outlined that in her opinion, attendance to UBCM was an important thing for the City's representatives.

The follow up question on attendance at UBCM provided for a bit of push back from the assembled councillors and Mayor, many of whom took the tone of questioning to task and offered up a broad based reproach at his line of questioning.

Following that universal display from Council, the Mayor returned to the theme of his request for the total expense of the UBCM, the citizen at the desk was asked to submit an FOI request to have his questions answered.

The Mayor, clearly a little agitated, advised for a second time that the citizen file a FOI request to seek out the information he desired, he then brought the public participation session to an end.

(40:30--41:30)  With the Committee of the Whole process complete, Council moved on to the remainder of it's regular agenda for the night. The Mayor  beginning the session by outlining the usual procedural aspect of the adoption of the agenda and past minutes from September 9th, before carrying on with the agenda items for the evening.

(41:30-- 1:17:00) A Presentation from the Museum of Northern British Columbia  outlining their thoughts on the permissive tax exemption status for the strata lot aspect of their property and the impact that it has on their finances at the Museum.  Following the presentation, Councillor Ashley offered up a few observations and questions for the delegation. Included in her thoughts, the suggestion that the Museum could consider raising its entrance fee, which the Museum said might receive a fair amount of push back from would be visitors, with even the current price considered high by some visitors to the Museum.

With the Museum one  of the "Big Six" of permissive grant exemptions that the City reviews, Councillor Ashley then offered up her concerns over the lack of say on, or connection to the board, other than when they make presentations. Using the Lester Centre as an example, she inquired as to how the Museum was different to that cultural site in the City, one which the City has board representation on. The Museum delegation then reviewed the nature of their current situation and relationship with the City.

The Mayor then returned to the issue at hand, the request for a tax exemption of the strata lot aspect.  He outlined some of the past complaints from others regarding the request by the Museum. Representatives of the Museum made their case to keep the city from taking away their status, outlining the cost cutting that they have done at the Museum and the concerns that they have over those cuts.

Councillor Thorkelson raised some of the recent history of the financial situation of the city and the lack of civic resources to cover all the costs for services and cultural activities that the public seem to want to have in place, the Councillor went on to outline how that is proving to be challenging for the City in the current fiscal climate.

After further questioning and suggestions from Council the Museum delegation brought their presentation to an end. With Council set to discuss and vote on the issue later in the session.

(1:17:00--1:40:00) Presentation from the Heritage Commission regarding Pillsbury House -- Another delegation appeared in front of Council to outline some background on the historical nature of the property and the renovations that have taken place, much of it by way of public and corporate donation. As well they were prepared to answer the Council's concerns regarding the Permissive Tax Exemption on the Heritage Property in question.

Councillor Thorkelson asked for further background on the Heritage Commission and the nature of their work within the community charter. Councillors Garon and Kinney offered up her thanks for their work in the community.

Councillor Ashley then weighed in with some thoughts on how Council should approach these issues of tax exemptions, Councillor Thorkelson then followed up those comments by asking for some clarification on the issue at hand and the time lines required.

The Mayor provided a recap of what process that Council should consider on the exemption status discussion.  He then turned to the City Financial Officer to offer up some background on the situation.

Amid a fair amount of confusion and further discussion on the topic, Council then moved to table the the topic until they had more information on it.

Council accepted that motion and the issue was tabled.

(1:40:30--1:48:30) Council then returned to the topic of the Museum's Property Tax Exemption, Councillors Ashley and Garon then reviewed what impact that granting the exemption to the Museum might have, particularly of concern that other grant holders may also approach for their own exemptions. The Mayor asked for direction from the City Manager on the issue and what requirements might be required.

With that the motion was put forward to consider the Museum of Northern British Columbia at Full exemption, Councillor Thorkelson outlined that she would not support the motion as it currently reads. Offering up her preferences for the motion.

After some discussion on procedure, Council then reviewed Councillor Thorkelson's proposal eventually settling on her template of the discussion approving the tax exemption on the condition of deducting the amount from the community grant by the amount of the tax that they would have paid, which was explained was approximately 6,500 dollars. That amount would not count towards any potential cuts to their grants in the future.

With that Council voted to accept Councillor Thorkelson's amendment and the main motion as amended, with all members of Council, voted in favour of it, with the Mayor opposed to the motion.

Reports and Recommendations

(1:48:30--1:53:00) Report from the Chief Financial Officer -- Ms. Bomben outlined the monthly department report findings from July of 2013.  Highlighting he financial details of the Operating budget and what the departments reported for her report.

Council received the report for Informational purposes.

Councillor Thorkelson followed up the report with some questions regarding the drop in income from 911 from land line users and whether the City should be pursuing 911 revenue from cel phone users. Mr. Long outlined what is currently taking place at the moment regarding that issue. Councillor Ashley recounted some of the developments at UBCM regarding the issue of 911 funding.

(1:53:00--2:17:30) Report from the Deputy Corporate Administrator Regarding the Loan Bylaw Alternate Approval Process -- Council received the Report from the Deputy Corporate Administrator and discussed the issue further. Ms. Bomben outlined the nature of the report and the process ahead to enable the Loan Bylaw to move forward.

Councillor Ashley said she would not support the Alternate Approval Process and suggested that instead the process go to referendum at the time of the By-election of November.  Councillor Garon outlined that she was against Councillor Ashley's motion and would be voting against it.

From there, Councillor Ashley outlined her concerns over the Alternate Approval Process the timeline of it and whether it was fair and an alternative to the referendum process. Among her fears, a lack of resources in the community to spread the word of the process and a concern that local residents may think that they've been tricked by the City's use of the Alternate Approval process.

Councillor Garon addressed the issue of the required renovations to the Airport and the various concerns over infrastructure there, which if not handled quickly offered the prospect of not having airport service as a very real possibility. With that she advised that she would not be endorsing the referendum proposal.

Councillor Thorkelson echoed many of Councillor Ashley's thoughts on the issue, lending her support towards the referendum proposal, as opposed to the Alternate Approval Process. She stressed that she was in favour of the loan agreement with the Airport, but as she had serious concerns over the Alternate Approval Process she would rather support the referendum approach.

Councillor Kinney, had concerns over the need to move forward with the airport renovations and that he was supporting the Alternate Approval Process.

Councillor Ashley stressed that she was not against the loan, but the process the City was using to approve it, suggesting that there was only four days difference between the Alternate Approval Process and a possible referendum on the issue.

Ms. Bomben provided Council with some background on the nature of both the Alternate Approval Process and the timeline with a referendum option.

The Mayor expressed his hesitations over the Referendum process, the question of taking the issue to referendum went to a vote, with the motion failing.

With Councillor Ashley's motion going down to defeat, Council then voted to move forward with the Alternate Approval Process, Councillor Ashley then stressed the need to make sure that more information was delivered to the public regarding the Process and how it works.

With their concerns recorded, Councillors Ashley and Thorkelson cast their votes against the motion.

Following the passing of the motion on the Alternate Approval Process, Councillor Ashley moved a motion that the City have a Public Information session and provide more information regarding the process, with copies made available at both the Airport Library and Civic Centre.

Correspondences for Action

(2:17:30--2:19:00) Proclamation request for a letter of support to designate the North Pacific Cannery Historical site as a UNESCO site. -- Council advised staff to write a letter of support of North Pacific Cannery's request.

The motion was passed

Resolutions from Closed Council Meetings

(2:19:00--2:20:00) Mr. Long advised that there were two resolutions from the Closed meeting.  Ms. Bomben released details on both of those items, the first an announcement that a new Corporate Administrator had been appointed.  The second that Council had approved the transfer of the Doug Kerr name to the Roosevelt Field

Report from the City Manager on Outstanding City Initiatives

(2:20:00-2:25:00)  Mr. Long provided a review of the work of the Public Works and Engineering department over the course of the last few months. Among the list of projects, he advised that the 9th Avenue East repairs had moved into the paving process on that project.

Reports, Questions and Inquires from members of Council

(2:25:00--2:25:30) Councillor Garon inquired as to the timeline for placement of the bench at the hospital.

(2:25:30--2:27:00) The Mayor then called on Mr. Long to outline some background on a recent grant received by the City from the Ministry of Community, Sport and Culture. The money will be put towards a review of the city's water system.

(The final twelve minutes of the Council session can be found on the second segment of the Video Archive for September 30th.)

(0:00:00--00:00:44) Councillor Ashley reviewed her attendance at the Annual Filipino Night in the community.

(00:00:44--00:6:00 ) Councillor Thorkelson then spoke to the need for the City to develop a list of priorities for the City to consider from the last year and develop a Strategic Planning Process. One item she would like to see examined is where the City owns property and where development may be best suited. She also suggested that the rental situation in the city should be something that Council will want to address.

Councillor Ashley added her thoughts to the proposal from Councillor Thorkelson.

(00:6:30--11:51) The Mayor's Report

The Mayor reviewed his schedule over the last two weeks, touching on the various meetings he attended, the arrival of the final cruise ship in the community and he provided a quick recap on the Council's conversations at the UBCM gathering in Vancouver in September.

The Mayor announced that the City would receive 10 cruise ships in 2014 and asked that Mr. Long seek out a meeting with the Prince Rupert Port Authority and other various stakeholders in the industry to enhance next years cruise ship visits.

He touched on the coming 100th anniversary of the railroad in Prince Rupert and asked if City Council wished to facilitate some form of commemoration of the railway in the community.

He outlined the results of a recent economic development collaboration meeting in Terrace.

And with that final bit of discussion the Council session was brought to an end.

You can access the City Council Review page for September 30th here, where a number of items regarding the council session, including media coverage of it can be found.

As always, consult with the official minutes from the City, when posted to the website for further review.


Minutes Regular Council Session from September 30, 2013 

With approaching storm, BC Ferries delays Northern Expedition sailing until Friday

With adverse weather anticipated for the Haida Gwaii and North Coast regions this afternoon and evening, BC Ferries has issued a Service Notice for the Prince Rupert to Haida Gwaii route, suspending the departure of the Northern Expedition from Thursday afternoon to Friday morning at the earliest.

As we outlined on the blog earlier today, a weather system that is approaching Haida Gwaii and the North Coast is expected to bring wind and rain to the region, the most intense of which will arrive in the afternoon and evening hours.

The BC Ferries Advisory, revising the schedule of operations was released at 10:45 on Thursday.

Further updates on the schedule can be found on the BC Ferries website and through their twitter feed.

Environmental group offers up LNG review tonight in Prince Rupert

The Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition has been of taking its message on LNG development to the Northwest and Thursday night at Northwest Community College, North Coast residents can learn more about the concerns the coalition has over proposed development.

LNG: What Does it Mean for Me?  is the title the tour has taken on, with Damien Gillis a journalist and documentary film maker providing the overview for the night, outlining what he believes could be in the future for the North Coast when it comes to development of the LNG industry in the region.

His particular focus for the night will be that of community, environment and economy. Those interested in more background on his presentation can explore this link to the Skeena Watershed Coalition website, which outlines many of the talking points on the theme of LNG development in the Skeena Watershed.

Of interest to residents of the North Coast will be his observations of the proposed terminal development sites of Lelu and Ridley Islands.  Locations, as part of the Skeena Estuary, that the Skeena Watershed Coalition does not believe are the best locations for industrial development. 

That is a theme that Prince Rupert City Councillor  and UFAWU representative Joy Thorkelson had explored previously at City Council sessions .   

It's of note that along with the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition, UFAWU is a co-sponsor of tonight's presentation at NWCC.

The information session gets underway a 7 PM in the multi-media room at the college, it marks the final stop on the tour of the Northwest that Mr. Gillis has been on, previous stops included Smithers, Moricetown,Terrace and Old Hazelton.

It might get a little wet and windy over the next few days...

Keep the umbrellas and rain gear nearby, another pacific front is making its way towards the north coast. The weather system set to arrive in the afternoon will bring wind through the day today and rain, a fair amount of it, for the next few days.

Fall weather is clearly on the way, as The Weather Network website outlines that North Coast could see some 190 mm of precipitation between Thursday to Monday.

Thursday's forecast, which heralds the start of the system's arrival has the wind picking up through the day, with southeasterly winds gusting to 90 km/h tonight, diminishing in the overnight period.

The wet forecast continues on into the next week, with periods of rain anticipated for Tuesday and into Wednesday.

You can review the full forecast from Environment Canada here, for those that prefer their weather from The Weather Network, their forecast can be found here.

Updates:

Environment Canada issued a Wind Warning for Haida Gwaii and the North Coast at 10:49 on Thursday morning. Increasing the anticipated wind gusts to near 110 km/h

BC Ferries issued a Service Notice for Thursday, advising that the afternoon sailing of the Northern Expedition was to be postponed until at least 6 AM Friday morning at the earliest.

Enbridge Marketing 2.0 reboot

The bid to secure approval for a bitumen pipeline from Alberta to Kitimat has hit the refresh button, as Enbridge is set to introduce a new marketing strategy to outline its case for the Northern Gateway Project.

An approach that from many accounts, doesn't actually mention the word Enbridge in the same sentence that may feature the words, Northern, Gateway or Project.

The new ad campaign for Enbridge, will reportedly feature the Energy corporation's Vice President Janet Holder, introducing the theme that  the "Northern Gateway" is more than just the energy company.

The approach it would seem is one designed to include more of the "stakeholders" of Northern British Columbia into the fold and we imagine, seek to solidify, or gain support to move the project forward.

Ms. Holder appeared with Michael Smyth on CKNW's the Bill Good Show this morning, Smyth previewed one of the ads playing an audio segment featuring the Executive VP, following up that with some discussion and background on the upcoming advertising campaign (CKNW Audio Vault Wednesday, October 2, 8:51 to 8:55 AM).

Some reviews of the new campaign can be found below.

CKPG-- New media blitz moves focus off of Enbridge (video)
CKPG-- Enbridge pipes out New Ad Campaign

And while the ad campaign has not gone into a full rotation yet, the Coastal First Nations (benefitting it appears from some leaked information) were quick to offer up their own video review of the Enbridge plans, releasing a You Tube presentation that provided their response to the new marketing plan of the energy company.

Art Sterrrit, the executive director of the Coastal First Nations outlined how the organization came to learn of the new Enbridge campaign, as well as how they decided what their response to that new approach would be.
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While the dueling ad campaigns prepare to begin their runs, there was a new development on the Northern Gateway front this week,  with word that the Provincial Government had issued 11 permits to conduct preliminary work along the proposed pipeline right of way.

And while the road thus far has clearly been a rough one for Enbridge, company officials still seem to be keeping to their timetable and are bullish on their prospects.

In a Canadian Press story from today, Enbridge officials expressed the thought that while they expect challenges from opponents, they anticipate the pipeline to be running by 2018.

It may not be quite as smooth a process as they might like however, with opponents to the plan still ready to raise their concerns and take other action to halt the pipeline project.

Last week, the NDP issued a cautionary note that it believed that the BC Liberals were about to reverse their field when it comes to the pipeline question, while a BC Aboriginal Group was seeking a meeting with the UN regarding the proposed Gateway project.

This flurry of advertising plans, announcements and talking points all suggest that after a short hiatus, the discussion and debate of the Northern Gateway proposals may once again be ready to heat up.

Rupertites in sports away from the North Coast

An archive to keep track of some of the athletes from the North coast who have moved away to play University or Major Junior level sports.


2013-14 Season

Basketball

UNBC Timberwolves (CIS)

Team website
UNBC Athletics news items 2013-14


April 9-- Van Koughnett, Barton named top T-wolves
April 8-- Van Koughnett Repeats as UNBC Top Female Athlete

April 8-- UNBC Athletes to be honoured at Athletic Banquet (video)
April 9-- UNBC Athletics and Coaches recognize Excellence
April 9-- Van Koughnett, Barton Nab UNBC Athletic Awards


February 20-- Basketball Season wraps for UNBC Timberwolves  NCR
February 3-- Road woes continue for UNBC Timberwolves  NCR
January 28-- UNBC Timberwolves have weekend struggles at UBC  NCR
January 21-- UNBC Women's Timberwolves topped by UVic Vikings NCR
January 13-- UNBC Timberwolves drop Saturday night match up with Lethbridge in weekend play  NCR
January 11-- UNBC Timberwolves back in action for the New Year  NCR
November 29-- UNBC Timberwolves head to the Okanagan for weekend play  NCR
November 23-- Former Rupertite Sarah Robinson and UNBC Women's Basketball look to gain .500 mark tonight  NCR



Hockey

University of Western Michigan  (NCAA)

Team website

March 24-- Season ends for Slubowski and the WMU Broncos  NCR
March 18-- Slubowski records the win as WMU Broncos advance to NCHC Championships  NCR
March 11-- WMU Broncos head for playoffs in Duluth  NCR
March 4-- Slubowski turns aside 31 shots in losing cause for WMU Broncos NCR
February 25-- Slubowski continues to split the goal duties at WMU, picks up the win from Saturday night  NCR
February 3-- Slubowski splits duties for WMU in weekend series  NCR
January 21-- Frank Slubowski started the weekend, but Lafner collected the wins for WMU Broncos  NCR
January 13-- Slubowski splits duties as WMU Broncos sweep in NCAA weekend action  NCR
December 31-- Western Michigan Broncos win Great Lakes Invitational Tournament  NCR
December 18-- Slubowski shares the duties in Broncos Minnesota trip NCR
December 11-- Rough weekend for WMU Broncos, sets the stage for weekend in Minnesota NCR
December 2-- Slubowski Named NCHC Goaltender of the Week
December 2-- Slubowski turns aside 56 of 57 shots in weekend Tourney at Notre Dame  NCR
November 29-- A chance for the hometown fans to follow Frank Slubowski  NCR
November 26-- Slubowski splits the weekend load for Western Michigan Broncos  NCR
November 18-- Slubowski and Broncos split weekend with tough test in Denver NCR
November 4-- Frank Slubowski recognized for weekend NCAA efforts NCR
October 20-- Frank Slubowski named to All-Tournament Team in Alaska Gold Rush Tournament  NCR
October 14-- Frank Slubowski in weekend showdown with famed Notre Dame hockey program NCR
October 9-- Prince Rupert's Slubowski plays 40 minutes in Bronco's victory
October 2-- Prince Rupert's Devin Oakes called up to Blazers' roster
September 25-- Former PRMHA players ready for new season ahead NCR

Merritt Centennials  (BCJHL)

Team website

March 7-- Oakes and Merritt Centennials need quick turnaround in BCJHL playoffs  NCR
October 14-- PRMHA Alumnus Oakes joins Merritt Centennials of BCHL  NCR
October 2-- Prince Rupert's Devin Oakes called up to Blazers' roster
September 25-- Former PRMHA players ready for new season ahead NCR

Campbell River Storm (VIJHL)

Team website

November 6-- Horcoff traded to the Storm


Articles from 2012-13 can be found as part of our PRMHA and Junior Hockey notes archive

Terrace Airport sets passenger record level in August

They're trumpeting the latest statistics at the Terrace airport, as passenger levels reached the highest ever monthly total in the month of August.

The August passenger load through Terrace was 18,026, which will be the new benchmark for the airport until they reach a higher level of passenger use, something that may not be too far down the road.

Stats released on Monday showcase the growing volume of passengers making Terrace their destination and departure point of choice, with total passenger numbers to date of 109,760 for 2013.

A fair amount of that increased volume is being attributed to developments and projects in the region, in particular the industrial work taking place in the Kitimat area of late.

With the August numbers in, Terrace airport officials are looking forward to the September results, which they believe will show increases as well.

As part of this Terrace Standard story, it was noted that the Terrace airport benefited in September from some technical issues in Prince Rupert.  As the instrument landing system at YPR  had been out of order temporarily in September, resulting in Rupert bound flights to be re-directed to Terrace during the foggy days of the month.

As for traffic through the Prince Rupert airport,  Mayor Jack Mussallem updated City Council on September 9th as to the most recent Prince Rupert airport levels.

And while he did not break the numbers down for the month of August, he did advise that the numbers at YPR showed that there has been a 4.43 per cent increase in passenger levels for the first half of 2013.  (see City Council video archive at 1:10:50 to 1:11:10)

Still, the numbers in Terrace are significantly higher than Prince Rupert at the moment, and those numbers in Terrace are destined to grow larger as the fall approaches.

One key addition to the Terrace airport flight board will be when WestJet begins it's  twice a day Terrace to Vancouver service in November.

The announcement earlier this year that WestJet would serve the Terrace airport was a major catch for the city and one that will no doubt keep their monthly numbers climbing steadily in the year ahead.