In what has become a fairly common theme this year, Prince Rupert City Council was in and out of the Council chamber in a fairly quick period of time on Monday evening, with the first of two public sessions for November running just under 24 minutes from start to finish.
That despite Monday being a day where the city found itself in the middle of some media spotlights after a report on the findings of lead in some water sampling conducted by Global News and a range of partners.
A review which made for just the latest moment for City Council to address water themes, which the Mayor tackled on his own for three and half of the night's twenty three and a bit minutes.
The remainder of the session provided for a review of a variance request, the approval of two letters of support, the September financial variance report and approval to borrow 450,000 dollars towards a recently purchased city public works vehicle.
Council members also spent a bit of time working on the language of a letter to be forwarded to the Minister of Transportation seeking a 'residents rate' for BC Ferry travellers on the North Coast.
Some background on the work of Council on the evening and the various Regular Agenda elements for the November 4th Council session can be explored here.
Council also hosted a Closed Session earlier in the evening, the details as to why they required the doors to be closed for the 5PM meeting can be found here.
Further information from our overview and 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 Monday, November 4, 2019
Mayor Lee Brain -- Present
Councillor Nick Adey -- Present
Councillor Barry Cunningham -- Present
Councillor Blair Mirau -- Present
Councillor Reid Skelton-Morven -- Present
Councillor Wade Niesh -- Present
Councillor Gurvinder Randhawa-- Present
Video Archive for Monday, November 4, 2019
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Regular Council Session
(0:00 -- 1:30 ) Regular City Council Session for Monday, November 4, 2019 -- Mayor Brain called the Regular Council Session to order, with Council adopting the agenda and past minutes of previous minutes. With the addition of one item a request for a proclamation request from the Ministry of Children and Family Development.
( 1:30 -- 6:00 ) Report from the Chief Financial Officer a presentation to authorize borrowing for the purchase of a Vactor Truck -- CFO Corinne Bomben observed that Council had authorized the purchase of the new vehicle in 2018 and that it had arrived in town in 2019. With Council now required to approve the borrowing of 450,000 dollars for the purchase. Payment is to be made over a five year term.
Councillor Randhawa inquired as to what the status of the old truck was, Ms. Bomben outlined as since the new vehicle arrived earlier this year, she was not sure what the fate of the old one was but advised she would inquire and report back to the councillor
Council the voted to approve the loan authorization.
( 6:00 -- 7:00 ) Report from the Chief Financial Officer providing for the September 2019 Financial Variance Report -- Ms. Bomben noted that Operating and utility revenues and expenses continue to remain on track to this point of the year. Trends are also in line with the previous year.
The Pool Operating expenses are higher than this time last year, something which the CFO attributed to the extended pool closure of last year, compared to the shorter closure of this year, noting that it had been budgeted for.
She also observed that Capital projects are finalizing at this time and costs will be reflected as final invoices are received.
Councillor Mirau had one question related to Transit revenues and now the the cost compared to last year was even, while revenues had shrunk by five to six percent. With Mr. Mirau wondering if that was tied to a reduction in ridership.
Ms. Bomben confirmed that was the reason, noting that there had not been a fare increase for the last few years, and the current numbers are a reflection of a lower cash ridership.
Proclamations and Requests
( 7:00 -- 7:30) Proclamation Request from the Ministry of Child and Family Development, seeking a proclamation of November 2019 as Adoption Awareness Month in the City of Prince Rupert.
Council approved the Proclamation.
( 7:30 -- 8:00) Proclamation Request from the Prince Rupert Racquet Club seeking a letter of support for their application for funding from NDIT.
Council approved the Proclamation.
Notice of Motion
( 8:00 -- 16:30 ) Council discussed a motion from Councillor Barry Cunningham that would see staff draft a letter to be directed to the Ministry of Transportation seeking a reduced rate on BC Ferries for North Coast residents travelling between Prince Rupert and Port Hardy -- Councillor Cunningham recounted many of the same themes as at the October meeting that he first proposed the letter, observing how there is a resident's rate in place on Haida Gwaii and how he would like to see a similar initiative in place for the North Coast.
Councillor Adey inquired as to whether the intention is to make it a round trip, Councillor Cunningham noted he believed that would be the case and that residents would not be held hostage upon any return trip plans.
Councillor Niesh inquired as to whether it would be just for a winter rate or if there would also see a reduced rate at other times of the year.
Mr. Cunningham noted that he would like to see a resident rate and a reduction on the winter rate for travel to the south, observing that when fares were dropped by fifteen percent a few years ago, usage of the ferries increased.
He also provided some background as to how the BC Ferry Commission works and how approaching the Ministry of Transportation would just be a way to get the ball rolling on the initiative.
Councillor Mirau also sought some clarity on what the City would be asking; in effect Mr. Cunningham, would like to see a resident rate which would be the winter rate in the summer, as well as a further reduction in the winter rate itself to attract more passengers to the service.
Councillor Cunningham also noted that he considers the ferry to be an extension of the highway system and how in the winter months in particular, travel east of Prince Rupert can come with extreme conditions and road closures.
Councillor Randhawa also inquired if this was for medical or general travel, Mr. Cunningham noted that it was to be in place for General Travel, observing how there is a process in place for medical related travel.
Councillor Adey followed up by asking what kind of process that the Councillor was looking towards moving the initiative further, in reply to that inquiry, staff advised that they had an understanding as to what was being requested by way of the proposed letter.
Council then voted in favour of the motion of: To write a letter to the Minister of Transportation asking for a resident rate for North Coast residents in the summer; and a further reduction of the winter rate during winter months.
( 16:30 -- 23:00 ) Reports and Comments from Council members
Mayor Brain led off the commentary period speaking to the reports in the national media on Monday related to the city's water, offering a reminder to the community on the facts of the city's water supply.
He reinforced for Council that the city does not have lead pipes and is not delivering lead to peoples homes, observing how the city has a naturally lower ph water system. He observed that if you have lead pipes in your home and if your home was built before 1990 when the plumbing code was updated, you are potentially at risk for having lead pipes and some leeching that may happen in your own home or commercial plumbing system.
The Mayor also commented on the theme of some of the report that compared Prince Rupert to Flint Michigan, which he described as absolutely a misrepresentation of the issue, noting how the Flint incident was tragic and a very acute health crisis. Observing that Flint, Michigan had nothing but lead pipes in the water system itself and how the residents had no choice but to have lead delivered to their homes.
Mr Brain outlined how in Prince Rupert the community does not have lead pipes as part of the city's water system and how those are two fundamentally different issues, adding that comparing Prince Rupert to Flint was an unfair juxtaposition.
He also took up the theme of the data that the report featured and noted that the media took the first flush data which is taken after the water sits in a lengthy period of time. He noted that does not represent what homeowners are exposed to once they run their taps and run it cold, outlining that after that step is taken the lead levels go well below the Canada Health guidelines, something he said the media data proved as well.
The mayor called the approach taken by the media in the reports as a misrepresentation and something akin to comparing apples to oranges, something which he stated was not a fair representation.
Mr. Brain then turned towards the city's plan moving forward on the water system, noting that the plans are now fully funded and the city is moving underway to replace the dam and to build a new water treatment facility. One which he said will ultimately correct the ph and help with the corrosion issues which he suggested would solve a majority of the leeching issues in the community to most likely a 99.9 percent effective rate.
To conclude his notes on the theme of water, he reminded residents that if they don't know what is in their home plumbing system that they should be ensure that they flush their pipes until the water is cold and directed residents to an item on the city's website at princerupert.ca/drinking water which features more material and videos to explain further.
He also reinforced that the city is hoping that over the next couple of years that they have updated the city's water supply but until then, if residents don't know, they should continue to flush their own supply.
The Mayor added that the City is doing everything it can to get the water treatment up and running.
None of the other members of Council chose to weigh in on the theme of the water reports or ask questions of the Mayor related to the items of Monday from the media and investigative journalists.
As for comments on other themes, Councillor, Councillor Cunningham had a pair of items for council on the night. His first was related to the city's road infrastructure, asking if anyone on staff had an idea as to plans to address road issues on 8th Avenue East, 7th Avenue East and on 11th Avenue East.
Corinne Bomben, the City's CFO advised that the some preliminary work is planned for Eighth with the remainder to take place next year. As for the larger paving project on Seventh, it is to take place next week, weather permitting. She also observed that she believes that the work required at 11th Avenue East would be taken care of shortly.
Mr. Cunningham's second inquiry was a follow up on comments from Councillor Adey at last month's Council session. With Councillor Cunningham looking for some direction as to how the city is using their Committee of the Whole Sessions and how he would like to see a schedule of those that will be making presentations to Council provided so the Council members know who will be coming to City Hall to speak.
He made particular note of the need for more regular contributions from the members of the local RCMP detachment and the Fire Hall, observing how he doesn't know why council does not make for regular appearance for those types of presentations.
He noted that nobody is hiding anything and that if the members of the detachment or fire department attend it would help a lot of people in the community and could quash a lot of rumours.
The City's CFO advised that staff had been in contact with the RCMP and that a member would be attending in November to speak to Council.
The Mayor followed up with some thoughts on the theme of Council invitations, noting how they do have a schedule developed and have actually seen all of the groups coming forward this year, noting that the Arts Council, Lester Centre and Library and most of the groups that Mr. Cunningham had requested have come, observing how the RCMP was on the list and just hadn't come up yet.
Mr. Brain further observed how they were pacing it through the year so everyone would have an opportunity to have the floor, he also offered to show the schedule that had been developed internally and offered to show Mr. Cunningham who was on the list.
With no other concerns of note on other topics, the Mayor brought the evening to a close.
You can access the City Council Review for November 4 here, where a number of items regarding the council session, including links to local media coverage, can also 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.
Official Minutes of the Regular Council Session from November 4, 2019 (not available yet)
In addition to the city's official minutes, the City's Video archive provides a helpful record of the events from each public council session.
Council members next meet on Monday, November 25, 2019.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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