Municipal Minutiae
Just some of the things discussed at Fort St. John City Council this week.
Council appoints Sports Council Liaison:
Councillor Byron Stewart was appointed to the position of liaison to the Fort St. John & District Sports Council at Monday’s meeting, after the organisation wrote to council requesting his appointment.
However, Councillor Gordon Klassen had some concerns about the request.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for an organisation to ask for a specific person to be the liaison,” Klassen said. “They should just ask for the City to liaise with them and we’ll recommend someone to do that.”
Stewart said that the reason the Sports Council asked for him specifically, stems from his more than 20 years of involvement with the organisation. “As a councillor, I could better represent them as a liaison, than a board member,” he said.
Klassen added that he thinks this should be something to keep in mind for future requests, and “with that in mind, I will nominate Byron Stewart to be the liaison.”
Councillor concerned that donations equate to dowloading from Province:
At the beginning of June, Anne Roberts Young Elementary School sent the City a letter requesting a donation of bus passes for a field trip, using the City’s bus system. Seven adult tickets were provided.
“I’m in support of this,” said Councillor Klassen, “but I have an issue sometimes with us as a city providing financial assistance – in this case donated bus passes – for a program that is a provincial education program in nature. In principle, I find that we continue to be asked to provide support for things that there should’ve been money budgetted for. We just want to watch that we’re not propping up something that should be a Provincial responsibility.”
Mayor Lilia Hansen asked Klassen if he felt the City is experiencing some “downloading” from the Province.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I whole-heartedly support what they [Anne Roberts Young Elementary] are doing, I just feel it’s a little unfair to the City to have to prop up these Provincial things.”
Councillor Sarah MacDougall disagreed.
“I support this even if it’s something that should be paid for by the Province,” she said. “This is City transportation they’re using, and these are seven adults and 45 kids that do live in our community, and it is quite likely this is the first time many of them have been on the bus.”
“I think it has the potential to excite them, and promote an ease and comfort with transit use which will hopefully turn them into transit users as they grow up. I think the benefit to us is potentially so great, that I support providing this, even ongoing.”
Conference explored positive impacts in community overdose response: Mayor
Mayor Lilia Hansen recently had the opportunity to attend a Vancouver conference hosted by the Community Action Initiative and the BC Centre for Disease Control, where discussion surrounded the positive impacts of community overdose response.
Hansen said she feels fortunate to have been able to attend, and that some of her key takeaways from the conference are:
· As local government, we should be able to save lives, as we build a health community
· Fentanyl is a leading cause of overdoses and death
· Regardless of personal possession of under 2.5g of hard drug being decriminialised, it’s still illegal for harmful actions
· Results have shown that you can’t force an addict into treatment – they must ask for themselves to be admitted.
· You can’t make addicts invisible by arresting them and putting them in jail.
“What do we need in our community to address these issues,” Hansen said.
A number of things, including “reducing barriers to supportive housing and access to treatment for addiction and mental health. Creating positive recreational opportunities for youth; risk mitigation guidelines; a safer supply and prescribed derivatives,” she said.
Other things Hansen said she took away from the conference are that waitlists for detox are getting longer, and naloxone kits can save lives. Following up within 24-hours of an overdose, and offering people detox and support is helpful, Hansen said.
Two communities in BC have seen successes, said Hansen. Salmon Arm has run an anti-stigma campaign and is also working on food security, through grant funding.
The community of Duncan has also had some sucesses. “Duncan built a homeless village, and have seen a reduction in crime around the village,” said Hansen.
MacDougall appointed to Health Services Centre Community Advisory Council:
The Health Services Centre Community Advisory Council (HSCCA) is a joint creation of Northern Health and the Fort St. John & District Chamber of Commerce, to address concerns surrounding the establishment of the Health Services Centre on 100th Avenue.
Northern Health has invited select businesses and stakeholders to be a part of a “community table”, where best practices, questions and local business concerns can be discussed and addressed. The City of Fort St. John is one of the selected stakeholders invited by HSCCA to participate, by appointing a councillor to sit on the committee.
The City’s Chief Administrative Officer, Milo MacDonald commented in his report to Council that “An appointment to this committee may offer Council an opportunity to provide feedback to Northern Health on their proposed healthcare centre.”
Councillor Trevor Bolin nominated Councillor Sarah MacDougall, who has a background in healthcare, to serve on the HSCCA. The HSCCA anticipates meeting monthly for the next 18 months.
Council requests meetings with Ministers at UBCM
The deadline for municipalities to put in their requests for meetings with Provincial government ministries during September’s Union of BC Municipalities meeting, is fast approaching.
At the June 12 City Council meeting, councillor’s discussed which ministries they would like to speak with, on issues that concern our community and region. The City must submit its request by June 30, and then wait to hear which Ministers will be available to meet with Council. At the June 12 meeting, some councillors characterised the whole process as being a bit like speed-dating. Each municipality gets approximately 15 minutes to make their case to a Minister.
On Monday, Councillor Tony Zabinsky asked if it was actually “doable” to meet with the ten ministries on the City’s list.
“They won’t accept them all,” explained Councillor Trevor Bolin. “Of the ten, we’ll maybe get six or seven.”
Mayor Hansen suggested that when Council is told which ministers they get to meet with, that Council chose the councillor who is the most knowledgeable on each question to speak.
“We need to make the most of our allotted time,” she said.
Taxi Licensing and Ride-Sharing:
At the June 12 Council meeting, Councillor Byron Stewart asked that a Notice of Motion be brought forward to this Monday’s meeting regarding taxi licensing and ride-sharing in and around Fort St. John.
Resolution: “That Council direct staff to engage with the Passenger Transportation Board to determine the status of taxi licensing in Fort St. John and the status of ride-sharing in the region.”
Stewart illustrated his concern about taxi service in the city with a personal experience of picking up someone at the airport who arrived on the last flight.
“There were no taxis there, so I parked in the taxi lane,” he said. He was asked to move, but didn’t as he saw his passenger picking up her luggage through the window. Stewart received a ticket, but continued waiting in the taxi lane. By the time he left “there was still no taxi.”
“We have a problem, and it’s a huge and growing problem within our community,” Stewart said. “It affects the first impression of our community by many people that we are trying to recruit and retain.”
Council Liaison Policy:
Council had discussed earlier in the June 26 meeting, the need for a process for nominating or appointing council liaisons.
Such a policy would be “in the interests of making that process clear to us and the organisations in the community, for them to know what the process would be to get a council liaison, should they be interested,” said Councillor Gordon Klassen.
Resolution: “That Council direct staff to develop a policy to define the role of a Council liaison and the process of appointing a Council member to a Council liaison position.”
Councillor Trevor Bolin seconded the motion, adding “When a request comes to us from a group, I think it should be put out to us before it comes to Council, to see who would be the best fit.”
If there was a way to have a little bit of discussion before making the appointment, Bolin felt it would be easier for Council to choose someone, and avoid putting fellow councillors on the spot during a meeting.