City of Fort St. John Regular Council 3:00 pm Council Chambers November 12, 2013 Page 1. Call to Order: 2. Notice of New Business: Mayor's List Councillors' Additions City Manager's Additions 3. Adoption of Agenda by Consensus: 4. Recommendations from November 12, 2013 Committee of the Whole Meeting 5. Adoption of Minutes: October 28, 2013 Regular Council Meeting Minutes 4-27 October 28, 2013 Public Meeting 28-32 6. Business Arising Out of the Minutes: 7. Presentations and Delegations: 3:00 p.m. 33-34 Long Service Awards Iyan Bruvold - 5 Years Richard Gauvreau - 5 Years 3:10 p.m. 35 Restorative Justice Week Proclamation Michelle LaBoucane, Executive Director/Coordinator, North Peace Justice Society 3:20 p.m. 36-54 Shaw GoWifi Jeff Bray, Manager, Government & Regulatory Affairs - BC, Shaw Communications Inc. 3:30 p.m. 55-59 'Movember' Month Proclamation Marc Beerling & Neil Evans Page 1 of 156 Regular Council Meeting: November 12, 2013 Page 8. Public and Statutory Hearings and Public Meetings: None 9. Correspondence: None 10. Council Information Package Adoption: Administration Report No. 0269/13 60-126 November 12, 2013 Council Information Package 11. Reports by Mayor & Council on Meetings and Liaison Responsibilities: Administration Report No. 0270/13 127-139 Council Conference Reports Mayor Ackerman Councillor Christensen Councillor Stewart Councillor Bolin Councillor Evans Councillor Klassen Councillor Davies 12. Reports from City Manager and Administration: Administration Report No. 0265/13 140-151 Request for Letter of Concurrence - Devon Communications Tower 13. Works in Progress: 152 14. Bylaws: None 15. New Business: Council Calendar 153 Strategic Priorities Chart 154-155 16. Notice of Motion: 17. Questions from the Media: Page 2 of 156 Regular Council Meeting: November 12, 2013 Page 18. Resolution to Move to Closed Meeting: 156 19. Adjournment: Page 3 of 156 MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL OCTOBER 28, 2013 3:00 P.M. CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Lori Ackerman Councillor Trevor Bolin Councillor Bruce Christensen Councillor Dan Davies Councillor Larry Evans Councillor Gord Klassen Councillor Byron Stewart ALSO PRESENT: Dianne Hunter, City Manager Janet Prestley, Director of Legislative and Administrative Services Laura Howes, Deputy City Clerk (recording secretary) Sarah Cockerill, Director of Community Services Mike Roy, Director of Finance Victor Shopland, Director of Infrastructure and Capital Works Ken Rogers, Director of Development 1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 3:00 p.m. 2. Notice of New Business: Water Meter Charges – Councillor Bolin 3. Adoption of Agenda by Consensus: The October 28, 2013 Regular Council meeting agenda was adopted as amended by consensus. 4. Recommendations from October 15, 2013 Committee of the Whole Meeting Request for Direction No. 13/13 2014 Capital Plan RESOLUTION NO. 410/13 MOVED/SECONDED "THAT, the PSC meeting room/staff room relocation be removed from the 2014 Capital Budget and the funds allocated to a washroom at the Skateboard Park." CARRIED October 28, 2013 Regular Page 4 of 156 Council Meeting Minutes City of Fort St John Regular Council October 28, 2013 2 4. Recommendations from October 15, 2013 Committee of the Whole Meeting Request for Direction No. 13/13 (continued) 2014 Capital Plan RESOLUTION NO. 411/13 MOVED/SECONDED "THAT, 115th Avenue Sidewalk be added to the 2014 Capital Budget." CARRIED 5. Adoption of Minutes: October 15, 2013 Regular Council Meeting Minutes RESOLUTION NO. 412/13 MOVED/SECONDED "THAT, the minutes of the October 15, 2013 Regular Council Meeting be adopted as presented." CARRIED 6. Business Arising Out of the Minutes: None 7. Presentations and Delegations: Adoption Awareness Month Proclamation Jamie Giesbrecht (spokesperson) Ms. Giesbrecht advised that she is part of the Hearts for Adoption Support and Advocacy Group and presented information on the adoption process in Canada. She noted that she has two birth children and one adopted child and also acts as a foster family. In attendance with her were children and families from Fort St. John representing a variety of adoption methods including Ministry adoptions, private domestic adoptions and adoptions from other countries. There are over 153,000,000 orphans world-wide. The Adoption Council of Canada advises that 1 in 5 in Canada people are touched by adoption. A critical challenge is waiting to be adopted and being part of the foster family program. Only 20% of foster children get adopted. Adoption is challenging and there can be intense behaviors from past traumas. The intent of the proclamation is to celebrate children of adoption and to raise awareness of the process. Every child deserves a loving forever home. Ms. Giesbrecht noted that she is excited to have the month of November proclaimed as Adoption Awareness Month and thanked Council for their time. Mayor Ackerman commented that it was wonderful to see such a crowd representing adoption in Fort St. John. October 28, 2013 Regular Page 5 of 156 Council Meeting Minutes City of Fort St John Regular Council October 28, 2013 3 7. Presentations and Delegations: Adoption Awareness Month Proclamation (continued) Jamie Giesbrecht (spokesperson) Councillor Stewart thanked Ms. Giesbrecht for the presentation and requested local statistics on children waiting to be adopted. Ms. Giesbrecht noted that there are approximately 1,000 children in BC and 30,000 Canada wide but that she does not have local statistics. The average age of a child waiting to be adopted is eight. Councillor Stewart questioned the timeline from wanting to adopt to bringing a child home. Ms. Giesbrecht noted it is a long wait time due to government mandated training and is at least 18 months. The training is through the Ministry but is contracted out. Councillor Stewart asked if Council could help in any way Ms. Giesbrecht advised that a letter to the Minister of Child and Family Development regarding adoption delays and requesting resources to expedite the process would be appreciated. RESOLUTION NO. 413/13 MOVED/SECONDED "THAT, the month of November 2013 be proclaimed as ‘Adoption Awareness Month’ in the City of Fort St. John." CARRIED RESOLUTION NO. 414/13 MOVED/SECONDED “THAT, a letter be sent to Minister of Children and Family Development expressing concerns regarding adoption delays and requesting additional resources to expedite the process for adoption services.” CARRIED National Addiction Awareness Week Proclamation Erin Kirk Ms. Kirk advised that she is the Team Leader for Northern Health Mental Health and Addictions Services in Fort St. John and is part of a team of 26 staff members. Mental health and addictions are a significant struggle for many people particularly in Fort St. John. As part of National Addictions Awareness Week, there will be a lot of outreach activities this week in the mall, open houses, working with RCMP at Friendship Centre all in the attempt to improve access and remove barriers and stigmas. Mayor Ackerman asked where people could obtain information on addictions treatment and was advised they can visit the Northern Health website or visit the mental health and addictions office. October 28, 2013 Regular Page 6 of 156 Council Meeting Minutes City of Fort St John Regular Council October 28, 2013 4 7. Presentations and Delegations: National Addiction Awareness Week Proclamation (continued) Erin Kirk RESOLUTION NO. 415/13 MOVED/SECONDED "THAT, November 18 - 24, 2013 be proclaimed as ‘National Addictions Awareness Week’ in the City of Fort St. John." CARRIED North Peace Grant Writer Program Jennifer Moore, NPEDC Regional EDO & Andy Ackerman, NPEDC Grant Writer Mayor Ackerman and Councillor Davies declared a conflict of interest and left the meeting. Acting Mayor Christensen took the chair. Ms. Moore advised that she is the Regional Economic Development Officer for the North Peace Economic Development Commission and referred to letter attached to the agenda in which she requests that the City continue to partner with the NPEDC on the North Peace Grant Writer Program. The program has been in existence since 2010. Ms. Moore provided various statistics on the use of the program. She suggested that the City continue with the program and add an additional top up of $5,000 on top of NDIT contributions. Councillor Stewart asked how this partnership would be affected by the City ending its partnership with the NPEDC. He noted that it does not make sense for the City to have its own grant writer. Ms. Moore advised that the program is an important piece of community development. Councillor Stewart questioned the City’s contribution in previous years. Ms. Moore advised that there was $7,500 from NDIT and that the communities pool the funds together. Councillor Stewart commented that if Council continues with backing, they would still be able to have Mr. Ackerman as a resource in community as long as we fund it separately. Ms. Moore noted that funding is still available from NDIT but that Fort St. John would have to apply on its own. The City Manager advised that this initiative started a number of years ago. The major difference this year is the $5,000 that was previously a top up. If the City withdraws from the NPEDC, then that would not be requisitioned. The City took the position that non-profit organizations were overwhelmed with grant writing and did not have the specific capacity or skills to effectively apply for grants. The City did not use the grant writer itself but focused it on non-profit organizations in the community. It has been a great success; Mr. Ackerman alerts people to available grants and tailors grant applications to specific purposes. It has been the most successful grant program through NDIT. She noted that the City could apply for an NDIT grant for a grant writer and then hire one ourselves. The Acting Mayor thanked Ms. Moore and Mr.