Staff push date of town hall meeting

Powell River residents will most likely have to wait until early April to voice their thoughts about the City of Powell River’s draft strategic plan.

Mac Fraser, the city’s chief administrative officer, recommended at the February 7 committee-of-the-whole meeting that council target the first week in April for the promised town hall meeting.

The meeting might also include a draft stage three liquid waste management plan (LWMP), which, Fraser said, is advancing.

Council had directed staff to organize a town hall meeting in late February or early March to solicit public input about the draft strategic plan, which was prepared by a consultant after a two-day strategic planning session in November, 2012 that was closed to the public.

The draft strategic plan was included on the agenda for the committee-of-the-whole meeting. It had updated information about a timeline, resources required and staff responsibility for each objective. Funds needed that are not in the proposed 2013 budget were highlighted in yellow and totaled $167,000. The amount included: $20,000 for a lead negotiator in union negotiations; $5,000 for a contractor for community education, outreach and engagement; $97,000 for three part-time staff for seven months for beautification; $5,000 for a consultant to provide preliminary design and costing for an accessible city hall; and $40,000 for a consultant for a project to earthquake proof city hall.

As for the other objectives, Fraser said, “The vast majority is existing staff and even for more fun, the vast majority of those items staff are already working on. So actually your strategic priorities have already been previously well communicated to staff and we’re working on them.”

Fraser added that he believes the list will be completed by mid-2014. “There’s nothing on the list that I’ve said can’t happen by that time, if those highlighted items are funded,” he said. “If they’re not funded, obviously you can’t do them. And I guess you could presuppose if you made drastic cuts to the proposed budget you’ve been considering, that would have consequence to some parts of this plan.”

Fraser also said he thought council should consider the costs in its 2013 budget deliberations. “With the suggested timing of the town hall, if these numbers are going to be considered, you need to start considering them in the budget committee meeting before the town hall,” he said. “I don’t think, in the name of public consultation, there’s anything wrong with standing up the night of that town hall and saying, since we’ve put this out...budget deliberations have removed the option of doing these two or three.”

The intent of the strategic plan is largely to give him direction as to what council wants done in the rest of its term, Fraser said. “I would like you to very seriously consider this list, because I would like to have the ability in the future, if you come up with another idea, to ask you which one you’re going to take off.”

As well, Fraser said he is working on a report about the LWMP. On December 11, Fraser said, three members of staff were asked to meet with the ministry of environment in Vancouver. Ministry officials said they were concerned that Powell River is now the longest liquid waste management planning process in BC and they would like it finished, Fraser reported. “Not to be naïve about all the good conversation and engagement that’s happened on what the solution might be, formally this city has only stage two approved,” he said. “Stage two says treat on the old transfer site and if the opportunity to use Catalyst [Paper Corporation] lands becomes available, consider that. Since that document has been completed, there is a chance to consider Catalyst lands.”

His report will be presented to the steering committee, the advisory committee and council. Fraser said he was expecting a stage three LWMP would be done by April, in time for the town hall meeting. “I’m expecting, all things being equal, the joint advisory committee will meet within the next four to six weeks, which is the first step,” he said.