City Council Preview: Monday, March 23, 2020

Following a weekend of Facebook posts from Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain, the stage is set for a most unusual City Council session for tonight, with much anticipation of a shoe to drop when it comes to Civic measures in response to the COVID-19 situation.

Over the course of three days, Mayor Brain hinted towards plans to declare a local State of Emergency, announcing through his social media platform on Sunday that he would bring such a motion to Council tonight.

Whether the Council membership will be in attendance or participating by way of other electronic measures won't be known until the 7PM start, but when it does begin, the meeting may be like no other in recent history for the community.

There is an actual Agenda in place for the night, and the notice of motion of the Local State of Emergency isn't on the current version posted to the City Website.

However with Mr. Brain having already telegraphed the major talking point on the night, it would seem that the prospect of the three items listed for the night will make for quick work before Council addresses the main item for attention.

The Budget Presentation process will most likely make for a reduced portion of the night, and as we outlined on Sunday, the city is now encouraging members of the public to use alternative methods to share their observations.

As part of the revised public engagement process the city has suggested that anyone with items of interest towards the Financial plan for 2020 to direct them in writing to the City's Chief Financial Officer, or to make use of the Rupert Talks community engagement page on the city website.

The other items of note are two Development Variance issues that will make for the remainder of the Agenda listings for the night.

As it is a last meeting of the month, tonight's session was supposed to be a Committee of the Whole session, where normally there would have been a public comment period set aside for the night.

However Council cancelled the Committee of the Whole last week and as part of the City's Statement of Saturday issued a notice towards tonights gathering.

Any person who violates the Provincial Order for social distancing or acting improperly will be expelled from the meeting.

Towards the goal of social distancing, those with an interest in tonight's council session can view the Live Feed from the City website.

Council members will also meet in a Closed Session at 5 PM, citing two items from the Community Charter as the reason to exclude the public.

90.1 (e) the acquisition, disposition or expropriation of land or improvements, if the council considers that disclosure could reasonably be expected to harm the interests of the municipality 

 (k) negotiations and related discussions respecting the proposed provision of a municipal service that are at their preliminary stages and that, in the view of the council, could reasonably be expected to harm the interests of the municipality if they were held in public.

You can review the short notes of the Agenda Package for tonight here.


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REGULAR SESSION OF CITY COUNCIL

Adoption of Agenda and Past minutes -- Mayor Brain will review the agenda for the evening and Council will adopt the minutes of past meetings.

Reports and Recommendations 

Report from the City Planner related to a Development Variance Permit Application for a property on Eighth Avenue East (See page 5 of the Agenda)

Report from the City Planner related to a Development Variance Permit Application for a property on Jamaica Avenue (See page 16 of the Agenda)

The evening will come to an end with any Additional Items as well as Reports, Questions and Inquiries from Members of Council.

Council members can  take advantage of the period to offer up any items or concerns that they have for consideration on the night.

The Live broadcast of the City Council session can be found here, a video archive of past sessions is available here.

Our items of note related to the March 23rd session can be viewed here.

While our archive of all sessions for 2020 for Council is available here.


Cross posted from the North Coast Review.

City Council Preview: Monday February 24, 2020

Presentations will make for much of the course for tonight's Prince Rupert City Council session, with  a number of information sharing themes to be explored on the night.

The first will come as part of the Committee of the Whole process, when School District 52 will make a presentation to Council, with the District noting at its own meeting of earlier this month, of plans to share some notes on the plans for replacement of Prince Rupert Middle School at tonight's Council session.

During the Regular Council Session, the Councillors will receive a string of reports from the City Planner related to a number of property variance permit requests.

Council will also hear two reports from the City's Financial Officer, the first related to the request for a  Loan Authorization Bylaw for the Woodworth Dam Replacement project; the second report a request for a Loan Authorization Bylaw for work on the Solid Waste infrastructure project at the Ridley Island Landfill site.

As well, The City's CFO, Ms. Corinne Bomben will request a delay of any direction to staff from City Council when it comes to the 2020 Budget until after public consultation and the release of the final BC Assessment values.

You can review the Full Agenda Packages for the Regular Council Session from the City Website options below:

Regular City Council Session
Committee of the Whole Session

As part of the Committee of the While Session, members of the public will be able to ask questions or deliver comments to the City Council members.

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COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE SESSION OF CITY COUNCIL

Adoption of Agenda and Past minutes -- Mayor Brain will review the agenda for the evening and Council will adopt the minutes of past meetings.

Petitions and Delegations -- Representatives from School District 52 will make a presentation to City Council.

Question Period from the Public -- Members of the public with Questions or comments for council will have an opportunity to present them to the members of Council.

Reports, Questions and Inquiries from members of Council -- Members of Council have opportunity to raise topics of note if they wish.

Adjournment to reconvene at Regular Council Session


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REGULAR SESSION OF CITY COUNCIL

Adoption of Agenda and Past minutes -- Mayor Brain will review the agenda for the evening and Council will adopt the minutes of past meetings.

Reports and Recommendations 

Report from the City Planner related to a Development Variance Permit Application for a property on Eighth Avenue East (See page 10 of the Agenda)

Report from the City Planner related to a Development Variance Permit Application for a property on 7th Avenue East (See page 22 of the Agenda)

Report from the City Planner related to a Development Variance Permit Application for a property on 5th Avenue West (See Page 30 of the Agenda)

Report from the Chief Financial Officer related to a request to delay any direction to staff on the 2020 Budget until after public consultation and the Final BC Assessment values are released.

Report from the Chief Financial Officer related to a Loan Authorization Bylaw for the Woodworh Dam Replacement Project. (See Page 39 of the Agenda)

Report from the Chief Financial Officer related to a Loan Authorization Bylaw for the Solid Waste Infrastructure project. (See page 46 of the Agenda)

Correspondences for Action 

The evening will come to an end with any Additional Items as well as Reports, Questions and Inquiries from Members of Council.

Council members can  take advantage of the period to offer up any items or concerns that they have for consideration on the night.

The Live broadcast of the City Council session can be found here, a video archive of past sessions is available here.

Our items of note related to the February 24th session can be viewed here.

While our archive of all sessions for 2020 for Council is available here.


Cross posted from the North Coast Review.

City Council Preview: Monday, August 19, 2019

Prince Rupert City Council reaches the midway point of its more leisurely summer pace of once a month meetings from July through September, with tonight's session marking the only public Council meeting for the month of August.

And once again, it's a fairly light agenda on the horizon, one which shouldn't keep the city's Council members indoors from a North Coast late summer's night for very long.

The evening will get underway with the Public Hearing for proposed zoning changes for properties on Biggar Place up for public comment.

Next up will be the Committee of the Whole session and included in the Agenda for that segment of the evening's work is an update from the Lester Centre of the Arts, with Michael Gurney set to chart the course of past events and future plans for the city's Arts and Culture facility.

The Committee of the Whole will also feature the regular opportunity for the public to ask questions or make inquiries of the members of Council.

The Full Committee of the Whole Agenda can be viewed here. 

The Agenda for the Regular Council Session makes for a fairly light document, with the City's Financial Officer to provide for a Financial Variance report for June and the City Planner making note of a request for a Development variance permit for a property on Seventh Avenue East.

Council will consider two correspondences for Action, one from CN Rail on Rail Safety Week, the other from the Metis Nation in Prince Rupert seeking proclamation of Metis Awareness Week.

A resolution from the Closed Council session of July 22nd will be released related to the Library Board of Trustees.

And with the Public Hearing on the Biggar Place property having been held earlier in the evening, Council will then consider third reading for the zoning change request.

The evening wraps up with Council Members offered the opportunity to raise in public forum,  any items of interest or concern that they may have.

Prior to the Regular Council session of Monday evening Council members will also host a Closed Session  planned for 5PM,  the Council membership cites four elements of the Community Charter making for the necessity for the closed session.

(c) labour relations or other employee relations

(e) the acquisition, disposition or expropriation of land or improvements, if council considers that disclosure could reasonably be expected to harm the interests of the municipality.


(f) law enforcement, if the council considers the disclosure could reasonably be expected to harm the conduct of an investigation under or enforcement of an enactment

(k) negotiation and related discussions respecting the proposed provision of a municipal service that are are at their preliminary stages and that, in the view of council, could reasonably be expected to harm the interests of the municipality if they were held in public.

The Closed session for this evening, marks the thirteenth Closed Session that has been scheduled/advertised so far in 2019.

You can review the Full Agenda Packages for the Regular Council Session from the City's Website here.


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PUBLIC HEARING

Introduction of the Public Hearing process related to a properties located on Biggar Place, adjacent to Five Corners.


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COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

Adoption of Agenda and Past minutes -- Mayor Brain will call the meeting to order and then will review the COW agenda for the evening and Council will adopt the minutes of past meetings.

Petitions and Delegations

Presentation from Mr. Michael Gurney, General Manager of the Lester Centre of the Arts, with an update on recent events and future plans of the Centre.

Question Period from the Public

The Public can speak to any issue they wish.

Reports, Questions and Inquiries from members of City Council

Adjournment to reconvene to the regular Council Meeting

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REGULAR SESSION OF CITY COUNCIL

Adoption of Agenda and Past minutes -- Mayor Brain will review the agenda for the evening and Council will adopt the minutes of past meetings.

Petitions and Delegations

Unfinished Business

Reports and Recommendations

Report from the City Planner, related to an application for Development Variance Permit for a property on 7th Avenue East. (see pages 9-19 of the Agenda)

Report from the Chief Financial Officer   -- Council will hear a report from Ms. Corinne Bomben that outlines the details of the June 2019 Financial Variance Report (see page 20 of the Agenda)

Correspondences for Action 

Council has two correspondences to review on the evening.

The First, a request from CN Rail's Corporate Services seeking the proclamation of Rail Safety Week for September 23-29. (see Page 25)

The Second letter, is also a request, this one from the Metis Nation BC, with the Prince Rupert and District office of the society seeking a proclamation  for Metis Awareness Week from November 11 to 16 this year. (See Page 27)

Resolutions from Closed Meetings

Council will release information from a previously held closed meeting,  with Council members set to announce the reappointment of Mr. Cary Dalton to the Prince Rupert Library Board for a two year term

Bylaws

Report from the City Planner: Re: Biggar Place

Council will hear a report from the City Planner related to a proposed rezoning for a portion of property located on Biggar Place, near the Five Corners area of the city. ( See Page 29 of the Agenda)

The evening will come to an end with any Additional Items as well as Reports, Questions and Inquiries from Members of Council.

Council members can also take advantage of the period to offer up any items or concerns that they have for consideration on the night.

The Live broadcast of the City Council session can be found here, a video archive of past sessions is available here.

Our items of note related to the August 19th session can be found here.

While our archive of all sessions for 2019 for Council is available here.


Cross posted from the North Coast Review.

City Council Preview: Monday, June 10, 2019

Fresh from a weekend of celebrations from the annual Seafest, Prince Rupert City Council will host their first of two Regular Council sessions for June, the last of the twice a month gatherings until October, with Council adopting a more relaxed timeline of one meeting a month for July, August and September.

For the most part, Monday is presentation night, with a number of reports ahead for the Council members to take in.

Among the documents for review, the Statement of Financial Income Reports which feature the salary listings of council members, city staff and unionized employees, as well as the vendor and supplier payments for the year that ended on December 31, 2018.

Council will also get a look and hear more about this years City of Prince Rupert Annual report for 2018.

Two reports on the current status of some cannabis retail applications will also be received, as well as a request for a letter of support from the City from the  Gitga'at  Development  Corporation as they look to access some funding from the Northern Development Initiative Trust for renovations to their downtown community space on Third Avenue West.

Council will also hear a request for a rezoning of a property on Biggar Avenue, with Marogna enterprises looking to move it from residential to commercial status.

The evening will come to an end with the Inquiries from members of Council portion of the night which may offer the opportunity for Council members to share some comments with residents on any issues of concern or interest from the membership.

Also participating in this evening's council session will be Kathleen Palm and Evelyn Basso who return once again to share some thoughts on the status of CBC broadcasting in the community and to seek the help of the City Council in their efforts to influence the national broadcaster when it comes to its decisions for the Northwest.

Council will also meet in a closed session this evening at 5 PM. Council has cited one section of the Community Charter for the closed door session:

90.1 b -- personal information about an identifiable individual who is being considered for a municipal award or honour, or who has offered to provide a gift to the municipality on condition of anonymity.

You can review the Full Agenda Packages for the Regular Council Session from the City's website here.


REGULAR SESSION OF CITY COUNCIL

Adoption of Agenda and Past minutes -- Mayor Brain will review the agenda for the evening and Council will adopt the minutes of past meetings.

Petitions and Delegations

Mrs. Kathleen Palm and Mrs. Evelyn Basso to speak on CBC Radio in the Northwest -- With the CBC's licence renewal ahead in 2010, the two presenters plan to discuss the influence that Prince Rupert City Council can have with the national radio broadcaster and what contributions that residents of the city may want to make to the national conversation on the CBC.  (See page 10 of the Agenda)

Unfinished Business

Reports and Recommendations

Report from the Manager of Community Development on the restatement of referral to the cannabis retail store proposed for Park Avenue   -- Mr. Hans Seidemann will outline the details of his report for council, providing an update on the status for the High Culture proposal at Five Corners. (See page 11 of the Agenda)

Report from the Manager of Community Development on the recommendation for a Cannabis Retail store at 100 2nd Avenue West --  Mr. Hans Seidemann will outline the details of his report for council, providing an update on the status for the BC Cannabis  proposal at 2nd Avenue West and McBride (See page 25 of the Agenda)

Report from the Chief Financial Officer -- April 2019 Financial Variance Report --  Ms. Corinne Bomben will make note of the from the province of 8.12 million dollars in funding to the city's reserves, with the funding coming from the province's Northern BC Capital grant. ( See page 28 of the Agenda)

Report from the Chief Financial Officer -- 2018 Statement of Financial Information -- The City's CFO will also deliver her statements on council remuneration, staff remuneration over 75.000 dollars and the listings of payments to vendors and suppliers over 25,000 dollars or more in the year just ended.  (See page  33 of the Agenda)

Report from the City Manager -- Council will receive an Overview of this years 2018 City of Prince Rupert Annual report (see page 76 of the Agenda)

Correspondences for Action 

Gitga'at Development Corporation -- seeking letter of support for NDIT grant application  -- Council will review a request for the letter of support from Norma Stumborg, a Grant writer working with the Giga'at Development Corporation. The Gitga'at are looking access NDIT funding towards renovations of their Community building located at 2rd Avenue and 6th Street (Page 140 of the Agenda)

Resolutions from Closed Meetings

Council will release information related to appointments to the Prince Rupert Airport Board -- From their closed meeting of the 27th of May, City Council has selected the following to serve on the Board.

Cody Smith, Emerald Murphy and Antonio Vera will all serve a two year term on the Board.

Bylaws

Revision  of bylaw towards the Quality of Life Official Community Plan for a property at 1051 Chamberlin Avenue (Neptune Inn property) --  Council will be asked to give Third Reading and adopt the revision bylaw ( See page 142 of the Agenda)

Report from the City City Planner -- Official Community Plan for a portion of property on Biggar Place --   Mr.. Krekic will outline the details of an application from Marogna Enterprises  to  have a segment of Biggar Place (near Five Corners) rezoned from residential to commercial ( See page 144 of the Agenda)

The evening will come to an end with any Additional Items as well as Reports, Questions and Inquiries from Members of Council.

Council members can also take advantage of the period to offer up any items or concerns that they have for consideration on the night.

The Live broadcast of the City Council session can be found here, a video archive of past sessions is available here.

Our items of note related to the June 10th session  can be found here.

While our archive of all sessions for 2019 for Council is available here.


Cross posted from the North Coast Review.

City Council Preview: Monday, March 26, 2018

Prince Rupert City Council comes together tonight 
with a busy Agenda for their final meeting for March

With the passing of Councillor Nelson Kinney over the weekend, the mood most likely will be somewhat subdued at Prince Rupert City Council this evening, as the city's Council members look to tackle a fairly extensive agenda of items that include a range of different themes.

Tonight's Council session will feature four presentations in total, spread out over both the Regular Council Session and Committee of the Whole process.

In the COW, Council will hear details of the community approach to  Child Youth Mental Health and Substance Use from Joyce Charlton, who will outline the work of a Local Action Team in the community.

As well, the Committee of the Whole session will offer the final look at the city's budget plans for 2018, with the City's Chief Financial Officer Corinne Bomben  set to review the financial blue print, followed by Council opening up the opportunity for final comments from the public on  this years budget process.

In the Regular Council Session, Council members will also hear two reports, one from members of Ecotrust Canada who will update Council on the organizations plans for a North Coast Innovation Lab.

Council will also receive a report from the Director of Recreation and Community Services, who will review the Imagine Grant program hosted by Northern Health and how the City may be able to access funding for replacement of items at the Civic Centre Arean.

Another element that has been added to this evening's council session is a Public Hearing related to a zoning request for a property on 11th Avenue East.

The City's Planning Department will outline the various elements of the proposal for a supportive housing residence, followed by questions from the public, should they wish to weigh in on the topic.

Council will then decide the fate of the proposed use for the residence later in the Regular Council session.

The City's note related to the Public Hearing can be reviewed here.

Council Members will also meet in a Closed Session at 5 PM, with Council choosing to close the doors for the following criteria: personal information about an identifiable individual who holds or is being considered for a position as an officer, employee or agent of the municipality or another position appointed by the municipality; and negotiations and related discussions respecting the proposed provision of a municipal service that are at their preliminary stages and that, in the view of the council, could reasonably be expected to harm the interests of the municipality if they were held in public.

The range of Agendas for the Regular Council session, Committee of the Whole and Public Hearing for March 26th can be accessed here.

PUBLIC HEARING

Council will review the Zoning Amendment Bylaw to all a Special Care Residential Zone at 333 - 11th Avenue East 

The City Planners Report will be reviewed, which includes 6 written comments from residents of the City related to the proposed development.

The Public will then be asked to provide any comments if they wish.

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COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

Adoption of Agenda and Past minutes -- Mayor Brain will review the agenda for the evening and Council will adopt the minutes of past meetings.

Petitions and Delegations

Joyce Charlton - Re: Child Youth Mental Health and Substance use and the work of the Local Action Team.

Corrine Bomben -- Chief Financial Officer -- Final Public consultation session for the 2018 Budge process, allowing for questions and comment from the public.

As it is the Committee of the Whole, those in attendance will then be asked to deliver any Questions or concerns that they may have for the regular business of council.

Reports, Questions and Inquiries from Members of Council

Adjournment and return to Regular Council Meeting

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REGULAR SESSION OF CITY COUNCIL

Adoption of Agenda and Past minutes -- Mayor Brain will review the agenda for the evening and Council will adopt the minutes of past meetings.

Petitions and Delegations  
Devlin Fernandes and Nathan Randall, representing Ecotrust Canada, with an update on the North Coast Innovation Lab and Northern Development Initiative Trust Grant Application

Any Notes on Unfinished Business will follow that presentation.

Reports and Recommendations -- Report from the Director of Recreation and Community Services, regarding Northern Health's Imagine Grant Application, seeking the support of City Council towards an application for funding towards skating supplies for the Arena and the City's drop in skating program,. (see page 8 of the Agenda)

Correspondences for Action follows

Resolutions from Closed Meetings makes for the next element should Council have anything to disclose.

Bylaws 

Zoning Amendment Bylaw to allow a special care residential zone at 333 - 11th Avenue East -- With Council having hosted a Public Hearing on the topic earlier in the night, members will then review the application and provide for approval or denial of the final reading and Adoption of the Zoning amendment (See Page 9 of the Agenda Package)

Report from the City Planner -- A review of the updated City of Prince Rupert Development Procedure Bylaw (See page 13 of the Agenda Package)

Correspondences for Action

The evening will come to an end with Reports, Questions and Inquiries from Members of Council.

Council members can also take advantage of the period to offer up any items or concerns that they have for consideration on the night.

The Live broadcast of the City Council session can be found here, a video archive of past sessions is available here.

Our items of note related to the March 26th session can be found here.

While our archive of all sessions for 2018 for Council is available here.


Cross posted from the North Coast Review

City Council Preview for Monday, May 11, 2015

Tonight's first Council meeting for the month of May should be considerably less controversial than the April 27th version and a fair bit shorter as well, with the agenda showing few items to take up Council's time as they gather this evening at 7 PM.

Among the items that have been identified for notice for the Monday session a request for a proclamation of support from the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

As well, Council will also release the names of the members of the community appointed to the Recreation Commission for 2015.

Beyond those items, Council has little in the way of work indicated in such areas as Reports, Bylaws or petitions and delegations for tonight's session.

The full review of the evening ahead can be found from the Agenda Package for May 11.

And while the public session is fairly light in material, Council will also sit in a closed session this evening starting at 5 PM offering up a subject that perhaps might provide for more in depth review from our elected officials.

The session that is closed to the public will consider: negotiations and related discussion respecting the proposed provision of municipal services that are at their preliminary stages and that, in the view of the council, could reasonably be expected to harm the interests of the municipality if they were held in public

Below we'll highlight the different elements of this evenings work from the Regular session Agenda, for further background on each item, the page number from the Agenda is listed in red.

The session starts off with the regular adoption of agendas and minutes.

Petitions and Delegations

Any Unfinished Business is then up next on the Agenda.

Followed by Reports and Recommendations

Requests follow next.

Resolutions from previous Closed Meetings of Council.

With one Correspondence for Action listed: A proclamation Request from the Heart and Strok Foundation of BC and Yukon ( See page 11 of the Agenda package)

Resolutions from previous Closed Meetings of Council.

One Resolution is included in the Agenda, with the City to Release the names of those members appointed to the Recreation Commission Board: They include, Sheri Pringle, Dawn Quast, Anna Ashley, Joy Sundin, Joyce Charleton and Marc Page.  Their appointments take effect immediately and will expire on March 31, 2018.  Karen Cruz and Alexei Stephens have been appointed as Alternate Directors for the same term.

Bylaws mark the next item of the Agenda on the night.

The evening then wraps up with Additional Items from Council members, as well as Reports, Questions and inquiries from Members of Council.

The Live broadcast of the City Council session can be found here, a video archive of past sessions is available here.

Our Archive of the May 11th session can be found here.

While our archive of all sessions of 2015  for council  is available here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

Final Approval on fee increases and review of Community Enhancement Grants on Council Agenda tonight

Prince Rupert City Council heads back into its second special session of the week tonight, as the City government looks to wrap up a bit of work before the Holiday season gets into full swing.

A review of the full agenda for tonight's meeting can be found here.

As part of their work tonight Council will look to give final approval to a pair of Fee Increases proposed to Council on Monday evening, as we outlined on the blog earlier this morning, Council moved forward the plan to increase Recreation Fees for Recreation programs and facility use for 2015.

As well, Council will have the opportunity to put in place new Landfill fees for Non residents for the year ahead.

A third motion from Monday, which would have seen Council approve an increase to the Airport Ferry crossing fees was tabled for further study.

Beyond the Fee Increase motions to be voted on, Council will also hear a number of updates from a range of organizations which make use of Community Enhancement Grants.

Scheduled to speak this evening include:

Mr. Paul Venditelli from the Prince Rupert and Port Edward Economic Development Corporation
Ms. Crystal Lorette, the General Manager of the Lester Centre for the Arts
Mr. Joe Zelwietro the Chief Librarian of the Prince Rupert Library
Mr. Scott Farwell, the Chairman of Tourism Prince Rupert
Ms. Susan Marsden, the Curator of the Museum of Northern B. C.

Following those presentations, Council will then review a report from Staff on the topic of the 2015 Community Enhancement Grant process.

You can review the listings of the Grant requests that Council will consider from the agenda from pages 3-5.

Council will also consider a report from the City's Chief Financial Officer on the theme of Service Provider Agreements for both the Special Events Society and the Lester Centre of the Arts.

A property on 7th Avenue West that has been damaged by fire will be under review as well tonight, with a recommendation from the Building Inspector that the house be declared a nuisance and ordered destroyed.

Those interested in following the developments of the night can watch Council sessions through the City's Video stream starting at 5 PM tonight.

For more items related to City Council developments see our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review