February Council in Focus

A brief recap of Council meetings, as viewed from the gallery

Event: Lions Bay Council Meeting

Time: Public meeting: 7 p.m.

Agenda: HERE

Video: Not Yet Posted

Present at the council table were Mayor Ken Berry and Councillors Neville Abbott, and Michael Broughton. Councillor Jaime Cunliffe and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Ross Blackwell joined the group online. Marcus Reuter, having resigned his position of councillor earlier in the day, was absent.

It was a busy evening, with six residents sitting in the gallery, and 21 attending online.

The public portion of the meeting was not preceded this week by a closed session, and began at 7 p.m. The agenda was adopted with minor changes.

Public Participation

Long-time resident Rose Dudley addressed council about her concerns over expenditures of this administration. While she cited the cost of the most recent audit running nearly $100,000 more than those in the past, legal fees which have almost tripled and cost overruns on Beach Park, she focused most of her attention on increases in staff compensation. She noted specific salaries of past staff, and cited figures from the current budget that bring their replacements a minimum of a third more, and in the case of one staff member, nearly double what their predecessor was making. Dudley noted the irony of Mayor Berry's complaints to council at a meeting in April, 2022 prior to his election over his concern over high staff salaries, and his election promise of a staff freeze, when these costs have skyrocketed under his leadership.

Bird Friendly Committee member Charlie Bradbury spoke in favour of village-wide poll later this year to select a Village bird; the subject of a resolution later in the meeting.

Resident Morgan Gatto presented Council with an analysis of budgeting information regarding the Lions Bay Beach Park (LBBP) project, noting that a closer look at the numbers shows the costs to be much higher than in the original grant. He said Council needs to rethink the numbers. Berry suggested that Gatto should pass his information on to the CAO and staff, who are now in charge of numbers.

Long-time resident Deirdre Bain, said she was disappointed with the news of Reuter's resignation from Council, and said she felt members of Council not only let him down but actively worked against him. She reminded the group of how she has attended virtually every council meeting for 13 years, 11 of which her husband Fred Bain served as councillor. Her presentation was cut off first by Chief Administrative Officer Ross Blackwell, who said while listing concerns is allowed, casting aspersions is not, and then by Mayor Ken Berry who claimed she had gone overtime.

Approval of Past Meeting Minutes

Minutes from regular meeting on January 21 were adopted with minor amendments, along with minutes from special meetings on January 7 and February 4.

Staff Reports

Director of Operations Karl Buhr presented a policy for the dedication of public benches (page 20), motivated by requests from residents. He clarified the distinction between policy and bylaw, noting that a policy can be more easily changed if needed. He asked to move forward with dedications of the benches for residents who have made their requests. After discussion, the policy was approved.

Financial Officer Joe Chirkoff brought the 2025 Budget (page 23) forward for second reading. Subsequent discussion included the change in the tree budget, and the inclusion of revenue and capital expenditure for the not-yet-approved Village-wide water metering project. Discussion also addressed the advantages of financing the debt incurred with big projects like the CUBB water main replacement, because the Village earns more with the interest on investments than is paid out when borrowing over the long term. It was decided to table the second reading to the next Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting.

Chief Administrative Officer Ross Blackwell noted that outstanding issues on the Action Items Log (page 67) are better addressed at COW meetings, but asked if any of the 11 items on the current list need to be addressed. Abbott asked if staff had yet looked into whether the Village of Lions Bay can apply for grants and funding as a rural community (item 321). Blackwell said the request will be made, but is still outstanding.

Committees

Trees, Views and Landscapes Committee

Council approved a tree-cutting application (page 68) for a resident on Oceanview Road, subject to a number of specifications, and valid for one year.

Curley Stewart Memorial Trust Fund Committee

Council approved the formation of the 2025 Committee, reappointing existing members Jennifer Hetherington, Nicole Strahl, Hugo van Hoogstraten, and Kit McLean to the Curly Stewart Memorial Trust and increasing the award to $1,500 per recipient. Noting that appointments usually take place in closed meetings, it was agreed that as this situation is time sensitive, and that the entire slate is being re-appointed, the decision could be made. It was noted that the funds are amassed using the successful Christmas tree fundraiser, and therefore is not funded by taxpayers. Council also agreed to increase the amount awarded to each student from $500 to $1,500.

Mayor and Council

Abbott brought forward a resolution for Council to consider accepting the outcome of a community vote for an official bird and declare the chosen bird to be

the avian symbol for the Village of Lions Bay. After some tweaking of the wording, Council supported this resolution.

Emergency Reports

November and December Sea to Sky RCMP Report (page 106):

This reporting period resulted in 53 calls for service, 35 of which took place on the Sea to Sky Highway within the boundaries of the Village. Of these, 12 were moving violations, two cases of unspecified assistance and one criminal negligence. There were five collisions with no fatalities and two well-being checks. The Coroner's Act was invoked once, as was the Emergency and Disaster Act. There was one car stolen that was valued at over $5,000 and nine instances of debris, broken-down vehicles or pedestrians removed from the highway.

The remaining 18 calls for service within the village included a single assault, three cases of fraud, a single report of mischief, and two false alarms. One suspicious person or vehicle was investigated, as was one threat and two breaches of the peace. Two stranded people were assisted along with an additional unspecified person, and the Mental Health Act was invoked once. Two traffic incidents were overseen, and a single person's well-being was checked.

Resolutions

Blackwell presented a verbal report asking Council to allocate funding for attendance at this year's Lower Mainland Local Governance Association (LMLGA) and Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) conferences in Whistler and Victoria respectively this year. It was agreed costs to attend would be roughly $1,000 per day for each attendee. As the timeline is shorter, it was agreed to send at least two members of Council to the LMLGA this year, with a decision to be made about attendance at the UBCM to be made at the next COW meeting. Councillor Jaime Cunliffe offered to attend the LMGLA, which she has on behalf of Council in the past.

Correspondence

Councillor Michael Broughton is tasked with responding to correspondence this quarter. , Letters to Council, began on page 86 with a letter from Jan Simpson, president of CUPW regarding their Industrial Inquiry Commission Reviewing Canada Post. Former Port Alberni councillor Chris Alemany, from the Society of Open Social Servers of BC (page 94) wrote of an alternative to Twitter/X called SocialBC.ca

Mike Hurley (page 97) wrote about a Metro 2050 Annual Performance Monitoring Report. The City of Surrey sent the November Fire Rescue Dispatch Report  (page 99), which noted seven call-outs, with along with 11 usages of apparatus and 41 members attending. Phil Perras wrote about the concerning need for Emergency Services Reform. CN Rail sent Council a CN Rail Safety certificate (page 112). Broughton's request that this certificate be posted in village office was approved.

Resident emails began on page 114 with resident Penny Nelson's concerns about LBBP Proposed Design. Former councillor Norm Barmeier wrote in support of the LBBP project (page 143), and wrote a second letter asking council to consider increasing the number of garbage and recycling trucks on weekly pickups (page 144).

Council agreed with Abbott's request that the LBBP letters be forwarded to Nick Bray Architects, along with Morgan Gatto's assessment of the LBBP budget.

Broughton added two letters which did not appear in the agenda. The first was a request for collaboration from the Squamish Nation on their climate legacy strategy, in which they plan to address the climate emergency through actions rooted in reconciliation and accountability. It was agreed that Broughton can invite a representative to speak to the Climate Action committee.

The second letter from resident Trudi Luethy expressed concern that some attendees can't hear events such as the Remembrance Ceremony due to poor sound quality. Broughton suggested that Buhr is willing to meet with concerned long-term residents to discuss maximizing sound quality for future events.

Public Questions and Comments

Deirdre Bain returned to the podium to ask why the public isn't invited to the LBBP project meeting set for Wednesday evening, but not noted in the public meeting calendar. Blackwell said it is a workshop for Council to meet with the design team to address outstanding issues, but that technically there is nothing stopping the public from attending.

Council adjourned just short of the two-hour mark. The next meeting of council is a Committee of the Whole, scheduled for March 4.

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