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MAYOR’S ANNUAL ADDRESS
Monday, December 4th, 2006
By Mayor Ralph Drew
I want to begin by thanking Belcarra’s Councillors and staff for their continued hard work over the past year. As I proceed through my address, you will see the broad range of issues that demand the attention of Council and staff, and also understand the commitment required by our Councillors given they all have full-time jobs and other demands on their time.
Last year Council was hopeful that work would commence on the Official Community Plan (OCP) amendment process. Accordingly, I recommended re-establishment of the Advisory Planning Committee to provide advice to Council when the amendment process commenced. This project is still pending due to staff focus being diverted by the work associated with pursuing an application for the potable water system infrastructure funding, which I will speak more about below. Regardless, Council has not lost sight of the need to undertake a review of the OCP, and continues to identify this work as a priority albeit a priority second to obtaining infrastructure funding for the potable water system.
In keeping with past practice, my annual address will be a series short status reports on subjects that have occupied Council’s attention during 2006, and that reflect Council’s focus for 2007.
Potable Water Distribution System
Last year Council examined a variety of water source options for which the Province contributed a total of $30,000 in assistance funding. The Dayton & Knight analysis of the various choices affirmed the preferred option as a submarine crossing to the District of North Vancouver (DNV). Council also undertook the Community Opinion Question which received the assent of 69% of the residents who voted on Municipal Election Day. The message was clear; a majority of Belcarra residents want Council to pursue infrastructure funding for a potable water distribution system.
This year Council undertook the Preferred Option Pre-Design Study for the submarine crossing of Indian Arm to DNV, and also initiated development of a comprehensive Water Conservation Plan which will be received from the consultant this month. As before, both projects received provincial assistance funding, again in the amount of $10,000 per study. The very positive findings of the Preferred Option Pre-Design Study were recently presented to the community, and Council has acted on those findings by contracting to have the Environmental Assessment of the submarine crossing alignment completed by early 2007. Each of these studies has necessitated preparation of Request For Proposals (RFPs), assessment of the proposals received, awarding of contracts for the work to be undertaken, and monitoring of the projects to ensure completion in a timely manner. As I have already indicated, this has involved a considerable amount of staff time.
On October 13th, the provincial government announced the launch of the Canada–British Columbia Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund, and it is Council’s intent to make application for infrastructure funding under this program before year-end. Council also intends to make application before year-end to the Vancouver Port Authority (VPA) regarding the water main crossing, and also request membership in the Greater Vancouver Water District (GVWD). Further, since a recent survey of all road rights-of-way is prerequisite to engineering design work for a water distribution system, Council intends to minimize delays in the event that Belcarra’s application for infrastructure funding is successful, by undertaking a survey in 2007 of the remaining portions of road rights-of-way that have not already been surveyed as part of the fire hydrant water main system. All of these steps take time, but they will be pursued as parallel activities to minimize delays.
Fire Hydrant Water Main System
The summer of 2003 went into the BC record books as one of the worst forest fire seasons in the past 100 years. It was a reminder of the vulnerability faced by communities at the interface with forested areas. Although the 2006 fire season was fairly good from the perspective of the forests, we annually should give pause to consider the possibilities. For the past nine years, Council has made fire protection capital expenditures a priority and has spent over $1,150,000 since work commenced on the fire hydrant water main system. The survey and engineering design work on the final section has been completed this year, and it is anticipated that the installation work will occur early next summer to complete the fire hydrant water main system in the Woodhaven portion of our community. It is a large undertaking, but by applying a long-term perspective and planning for a series of projects constructed over a number of years, Council is achieving the overall objective on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Emergency Preparedness
In 2004, Belcarra’s Emergency Preparedness Committee completed the Emergency Disaster Plan, and held an information meeting to introduce the new Emergency Disaster Plan to the community. In 2005, Belcarra received funding for preparation of a Wildland Interface Fire Management Plan which provides policy and decision makers, as well as private citizens, with the necessary tools to enhance existing and future residential developments. Provincial funding was also approved in 2005 for preparation of a Tsunami Response Plan which was completed in the spring of this year. Like the Wildland Interface Fire Management Plan, the Tsunami Response Plan further enhances Belcarra's Emergency Disaster Plan. But preparing plans is only the first step in emergency preparedness, and the Emergency Preparedness Committee intends to hold training exercises based on these plans in the spring of 2007.
The Emergency Preparedness Committee has also been working to equip the cargo container purchased in 2005 with emergency supplies and equipment. This new emergency storage facility, combined with the fuel storage container and emergency generator, solidifies Belcarra’s ability to be more self-reliant in the event of a disaster that isolates the community.
Bedwell Bay Sustainability Plan
The future of wharf development in Bedwell Bay has garnered considerable discussion over the past three years. In 2004 Belcarra Council held an information meeting to present a draft Sustainability Plan for Bedwell Bay as an important step toward engaging both the Vancouver Port Authority (VPA) and the Burrard Environmental Review Committee (BERC) in exploring approaches that could meet the future needs of our community. Council’s objectives in developing a Sustainability Plan are to:
Incorporate the defined expectations of the Belcarra community, BERC and VPA;
Prepare a Best Practices Guide to maintain sustainable coexistence of natural and public values;
Utilize VPA support and technical expertise as outlined in the Burrard Environmental Management Action Plan; and
Create a community-based Stewardship Committee that includes representatives from VPA, BERC, Council, and residents of Belcarra.
Council has continued to work with the VPA and BERC to complete the Sustainability Plan for Bedwell Bay, and Council anticipates being able to hold an information meeting on this important subject early in 2007. We hope for broad interest from the community as all Belcarra residents need to become informed regarding the changing regulatory environment as it applies to the foreshore and riparian areas.
Treaty Negotiations
Treaty negotiations have been an important issue over the past eight years, and began with Council holding a series of public information meetings in 1999 on subjects such as Belcarra’s Inventory of Interests. I reported three years ago that the BC Treaty Process had produced its first Agreement-In-Principle (AIP) within the Lower Mainland at the Tsawwassen Treaty Table. This year I can report that negotiations at the Tsawwassen Treaty Table have been concluded, and the three parties are optimistic that the Final Agreement will be “initialed” in the very near future. This will be a milestone for the Lower Mainland, and one of the likely consequences will be significantly increased activity at the Tsleil-Waututh Treaty Table during the coming year.
Other Initiatives
Although I have high-lighted a number of significant items, but there also have been a number of other initiatives that are below the public’s “radar screen” that warrant mention:
Security Cameras – Video monitoring equipment installed and security cameras have been installed for the municipal hall, public works yard and recycle depot to provide both equipment and buildings with an enhanced level of security;
Electronic Waste Recycling – The capabilities of Belcarra’s recycling depot are being expanded to accept electronic goods such as computers, electronic equipment and small appliances;
Road Use Permit Procedures – The road use application process has been streamlined to more effectively respond to the needs of the community, reduce wait time for application approval, and increase ability to take advantage of weather, construction or other opportunities available to Belcarra’s residents;
Office Reconfiguration – The administrative office space has been reconfigured to provide more efficient and better utilized work space, increased storage, and increased security for Belcarra’s office staff;
Accounting Software – In the pursuit of greater administrative efficiency, Belcarra’s Administrator has implemented a new component of the municipal accounting software for managing property tax assessment and collection.
As is evident from the foregoing, Council and staff have been very busy, and the coming year will be very much the same. As always, I am confident that Council and its committees can meet the challenges and achieve their objectives.
RALPH DREW
MAYOR
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