 | COMOX VALLEY REGIONAL DISTRICT BOARD | |
| Tuesday, July 14, 2020 | ||
| Minutes of the meeting of the Comox Valley Regional District Board of Directors held on July 14, 2020 in the Civic Room of the Comox Valley Regional District offices located at 770 Harmston Avenue, Courtenay, BC commencing at 4:00 pm. | ||
| MINUTES | ||
| Present: | ||
| Chair: | J. Ketler | Village of Cumberland |
| Vice-Chair: | A. Hamir | Lazo North (Area B) |
| Directors: | D. Arbour | Baynes Sound-Denman/Hornby Islands (Area A) |
| W. Cole-Hamilton | City of Courtenay | |
| D. Frisch | City of Courtenay | |
| K. Grant | Town of Comox | |
| E. Grieve | Puntledge/Black Creek (Area C) | |
| D. Hillian | City of Courtenay | |
| W. Morin | City of Courtenay | |
| M. Swift | Town of Comox | |
| Staff: | R. Dyson | Chief Administrative Officer |
| M. Foort | Chief Financial Officer | |
| J. Martens | General Manager of Corporate Services | |
| K. La Rose | Acting General Manager of Engineering Services | |
| S. Smith | General Manager of Planning and Development Services | |
| L. Dennis | Manager of Legislative Services | |
| ATTENDANCE: | ||||||
| Directors Arbour, Grieve, Hamir, and Morin participated in the meeting by electronic means. | ||||||
| RECOGNITION OF TRADITIONAL TERRITORIES: | ||||||
| The Chair acknowledged that the meeting was being held on the unceded traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation and read the following article from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) available online at: www.un.org/ :
Article 13: Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and personsl; and, States shall take effective measures to ensure that this right is protected and also to ensure that indigenous peoples can understand and be understood in political, legal and administrative proceedings, where necessary through the provision of interpretation or by other appropriate means. | ||||||
| IN-CAMERA MEETING: | ||||||
| D. Hillian/D. Frisch: THAT the board adjourn to an in-camera session pursuant to the following sub-section(s) of section 90 of the Community Charter:
90(1)(k) Negotiations and related discussions respecting the proposed provision of a regional district service that are at their preliminary stages and that, in the view of the committee/board, could reasonably be expected to harm the interests of the regional district if they were held in public; AND FINALLY THAT the in-camera portion convene immediately following the open portion of the meeting. | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| ADOPTION OF MINUTES: | ||||||
| K. Grant/D. Frisch: THAT the Comox Valley Regional District Board minutes dated June 23, 2020 be adopted. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| PETITIONS AND DELEGATIONS: | ||||||
| CLEARING OF VEGETATED AND FORESTED LANDS | ||||||
| Julie Micksch, Biologist, B.Sc. Environmental Sciences, presented information regarding clearing and development of undeveloped, vegetated and forested lands within the Comox Valley Regional District during the songbird breeding season from April to August and what this means with respect to the Wildlife and Migratory Bird Convention Acts. [Item] | ||||||
| REPORTS: | ||||||
| COMOX VALLEY TRANSIT MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES | ||||||
| D. Frisch/W. Cole-Hamilton: THAT the minutes of the Comox Valley Transit Management Advisory Committee dated June 18, 2020 be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| COVID-19 RESPONSE AND RENEWAL - TRANSIT SERVICE FUNCTION 780 | ||||||
| D. Hillian/D. Frisch: THAT the report dated July 9, 2020 regarding the COVID-19 Response and Renewal report for the Transit core service be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 209 | Carried | |||||
| M. Zbarsky, Manager of Transit and Facilities, presented information regarding the COVID-19 Response and Renewal report for the Transit core service. | ||||||
| D. Hillian/D. Frisch: THAT the COVID-19 Response and Renewal plan for the Transit core service, as included with the staff report dated July 9, 2020, be received. | ||||||
| 209 | Carried | |||||
| D. Frisch/W. Cole-Hamilton: THAT the board write a letter to the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure advocating for financial assistance to offset the overall transit system deficit due to COVID-19 and to continue supporting transit improvements;
AND FURTHER THAT staff request a meeting with the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure at the upcoming UBCM to discuss provincial support for the transit system and that a strategy for advocacy be developed in preparation for this meeting. | ||||||
| 209 | Carried | |||||
| K. Grant/M. Swift: THAT the current transit service levels be maintained with an update to be presented to the board in October. | ||||||
| 209 | Defeated | NAY: Arbour, Cole-Hamilton, Frisch, Grieve, Hamir, Hillian, Ketler, Morin | ||||
| D. Frisch/D. Hillian: THAT transit service levels return to 100 per cent levels with a target date of September 2020, taking into consideration advice from BC Transit and relevant health agencies;
AND FURTHER THAT staff continue to be directed to implement service level reductions on a temporary basis in consultation with BC Transit and in consideration of health guidelines, bus driver availability and ridership levels. | ||||||
| 209 | Carried | NAY: Grant, Grieve, Swift | ||||
| REPORTS: | ||||||
| AIR QUALITY UPDATE | ||||||
| D. Hillian/D. Frisch: THAT the report dated July 9, 2020 regarding the creation of the Airshed Roundtable including a list of proposed invites (organizations/groups) and a recommended process to include members of the general public be received. [Item] | ||||||
| Carried | ||||||
| B. Labute, Policy and Planning Analyst, provided an overview of the staff report regarding the creation of the Airshed Roundtable. | ||||||
| D. Hillian/A. Hamir: THAT the board receive the report as information;
AND THAT the proposed Airshed Roundtable invite list and the process to recruit members of the general public included in staff report dated July 9, 2020, be endorsed by the board; AND FINALLY THAT staff be directed to send out invitations to the Airshed Roundtable. | ||||||
| 208 and 212 | Carried | |||||
| FINAL HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT - REGIONAL REPORT | ||||||
| D. Hillian/D. Frisch: THAT the report dated July 2, 2020 regarding the final report of the Regional Housing Needs Assessment – Regional findings be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 and 212 | Carried | |||||
| A. Mullaly, Senior Manager of Sustainability and RGS, provided an overview of the staff report regarding the final report of the Regional Housing Needs Assessment. | ||||||
| D. Hillian/W. Cole-Hamilton: THAT the Regional Housing Needs Assessment be received and posted to the Comox Valley Regional District’s website. | ||||||
| 208 and 212 | Carried | |||||
| The meeting recessed at 6:27 pm and resumed at 6:38 pm. | ||||||
| REGIONAL ACCESSIBILITY STRATEGIC UPDATE | ||||||
| W. Cole-Hamilton/K. Grant: THAT the report dated July 9, 2020 regarding an update on accessibility items being the new Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) Harmston Avenue office building, the regional Accessibility Strategy and the Comox Valley Accessibility Committee be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| A. Hamir/D. Hillian: THAT the Comox Valley Regional District consider a Regional Accessibility Strategy and social inclusion as part of the board’s strategic planning in September 2020. | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| COVID-19 RESPONSE AND RENEWAL - REGIONAL GROWTH STRATEGY | ||||||
| W. Cole-Hamilton/D. Hillian: THAT the report dated July 3, 2020 regarding a COVID-19 Response and Renewal report for the Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) as a core service be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 and 212 | Carried | |||||
| A. Mullaly, Senior Manager of Sustainability and RGS, provided an overview of the staff report regarding a COVID-19 Response and Renewal report for the Regional Growth Strategy (RGS). | ||||||
| K. Grant/D. Frisch: THAT the COVID-19 Response and Renewal plan for the Regional Growth Strategy core service, as included with the staff report dated July 3, 2020, be approved. | ||||||
| 208 and 212 | Carried | |||||
| COMOX VALLEY WATER AND WASTEWATER MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS | ||||||
| D. Hillian/K. Grant: THAT the report dated July 9, 2020 regarding progress towards compliance with Ministerial Order M084 and continuity of water and wastewater services in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| K. La Rose, Acting General Manager of Engineering Services, provided an overview of the staff report regarding compliance with Ministerial Order M084 and continuity of water and wastewater services in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. | ||||||
| K. Grant/W. Cole-Hamilton: THAT the board enter into a Mutual Aid Agreement with the Village of Cumberland, K’ómoks First Nation, Union Bay Improvement District, and Ships Point Improvement District to enable the continuity of wastewater and drinking water services according to the Provincial Order M084. | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| GRANT STATUS REPORT | ||||||
| K. Grant/A. Hamir: THAT the report dated July 7, 2020 regarding grant applications and the status of approved grants be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| BYLAWS AND RESOLUTIONS: | ||||||
| D. Frisch/D. Hillian: THAT Bylaw No. 617 being "Sewage Service Expansion Principles Bylaw No. 617, 2020" be given first and second readings [Item] | ||||||
| Bylaw 650 | Carried | |||||
| D. Hillian/D. Frisch: THAT Bylaw No. 617 being "Sewage Service Expansion Principles Bylaw No. 617, 2020" be given third reading. | ||||||
| Bylaw 650 | Carried | |||||
| D. Frisch/K. Grant: THAT Bylaw No. 618 being "Comox Valley Regional District Officer Bylaw No. 21, 2008, Amendment No. 4" be adopted. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| NEW BUSINESS: | ||||||
| EXTERNAL APPOINTMENT UPDATE | ||||||
| D. Frisch/D. Hillian: THAT the correspondence dated July 9, 2020 from Director Cole-Hamilton regarding an update on the Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities Climate Action Strategy be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| ADJOURN TO IN-CAMERA: | ||||||
| The board adjourned to its in-camera session at 7:31 pm. | ||||||
| RISE AND REPORT: | ||||||
| The board rose from its in-camera session at 9:37 pm and reported the following: | ||||||
| "THAT the Sewage Treatment and Disposal System Operation, Maintenance and Upgrade Agreement between the Comox Valley Regional District and Department of National Defense, as attached to the staff report dated July 13, 2020, be approved;
AND FURTHER THAT the Chair and Corporate Officer be authorized to execute the agreement." | ||||||
| TERMINATION: | ||||||
| K. Grant/W. Cole-Hamilton: THAT the meeting terminate. | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| Time: 9:37 pm. | ||||||
| Confirmed this 28th day of July, 2020: ____________________________________ Jesse Ketler Chair | |
| Certified Correct and Recorded By: ____________________________________ Lisa Dennis Manager of Legislative Services |