CAO UPDATE
Monthly report from the CAO highlighting significant activities across municipal departments including HR, corporate administration, and engineering.
TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION REPORT
TO: Committee of the Whole FROM: Scott Sommerville, CAO DATE: April 3, 2024 MEETING DATE: April 9, 2024
CAO UPDATE
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the report dated April 3, 2024 from the Chief Administrative Officer titled “CAO Update” be received for information.
PURPOSE OF REPORT:
To provide Council with information from the Office of the CAO regarding material events and happenings at Town Hall.
BACKGROUND:
The Chief Administrative Officer’s monthly report for the Committee of the Whole meeting to apprise Council of the highlights of significant departmental activities of the Town.
INFORMATION:
Office of the Chief Administrative Officer:
Human Resources successfully concluded the competition for a temporary Community Planner to join the Development Services Department. The new staff joined the team on March 25. Competitions for seasonal staff are currently underway to hire an Engineering Intern and two Parks Worker – Students with start dates in May. Work towards the first collective agreement between the IAFF and the Town is continuing.
Work with Langford and Colwood on the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) for the Westshore RCMP building continues, as does the establishment of a CRD service to finance the construction.
Staff support for the Mayor’s Standing Committee on Housing is coordinated by the CAO’s Office.
Corporate Administration:
In early March, grade 2 students from View Royal Elementary School toured Town Hall with special stops in Council Chambers, Archives, and the Parks Workshop. While in the Archives, students were shown photos of their school’s construction and some of its early students. The students had thoughtful questions and were curious about the Town’s operations.
The Spring/Summer newsletter was finalized and sent to the printers. This twice-yearly publication will be delivered over the coming weeks via Canada Post.
The Director attended the annual Accessibility Professional Network (APN) conference. Content included the key role of municipal government in accessibility including the need to apply an accessibility lens, supporting public education and awareness initiatives, and training for staff around inclusion. Panel discussions on research projects provided insights into this growing and quickly evolving field.
Earth Day preparations are underway and LifeCycles is partnering with the Town to host events on Saturday, April 20. As well there will be a Town-hosted talk on Monday, April 22 from Council Chambers. This year birds, bats and bees are the focus. More details will be provided in the coming days on the Town’s website and social media platforms.
Archives volunteers have been busy sorting and filing the newspaper clippings and tidying the folders. Friday afternoons continue to be dedicated to working through the donations requiring processing and numbering.
The Microsoft 365 records project team has completed all but one departmental questionnaire with the last one scheduled for April. Results from these interviews are being assessed in the trial environment and applied to create a user-friendly experience for the file plan that will manage electronic records.
Finance and Technology:
Finance
The Citizen Budget online engagement tool was open March 11 to April 1 in conjunction with the publication of the draft 2024-2028 Financial Plan. This informal survey provided information about the five-year financial plan and invited residents to see the property tax impact of increasing or decreasing funding for municipal services. The results and comments from this engagement are available to Council before it considers approval of the 2024-2028 Financial Plan.
Finance staff finalized draft financial statements in advance of the yearly audit scheduled April 8-12. It is anticipated that presentation of the draft financial statements will be to Council May 7, 2024.
Technology (IT)
IT staff assisted the webcasting and Corporate Administration team in testing and training on the new Teams Town Hall platform for broadcasting Council and Committee meetings. This change was necessary because Microsoft will end support for Teams Live Events (the type of Teams meetings we have used for webcasting since 2020) later this year. We expect the new Teams Town Hall to provide a better experience for home viewers, guest presenters, and members of Council who need to join remotely.
Development Services:
Development Services, along with assistance from the Administration Department, co-hosted a business mixer with the WestShore Chamber of Commerce on March 13, 2024. Superintendent Preston, WestShore RCMP, was present and spoke about measures to improve business security. As evidenced by the photos provided below, over 35 people attended the event, and it was well-received by the business community with much positive feedback.
The Development Services team continued to be busy for the month of March responding to a consistent number of zoning, land use, building, and business licence inquiries, and reviewing and processing development applications. In March, Development Services (Planning and Building) received six new applications, which are summarized in the following table:
| Application Type | Number of Applications |
|---|---|
| Rezoning | 0 |
| Development Permit | 0 |
| Development Variance Permit | 0 |
| Temporary Use Permit | 0 |
| Subdivision | 0 |
| Sign Permit | 1 |
| Board of Variance | 1 |
| Building Permit | 2 |
| Plumbing Permit | 0 |
| Business License | 2 |
Staff are working hard on the Housing Legislation workplan introduced to Council at the January 16, 2024 Council meeting. Current work is focusing on small-scale, multi-unit housing testfits, mapping analysis, and proposed zoning bylaw amendments to reflect the Provincial Housing Legislation. The small-scale, multi-unit housing zoning bylaw amendments and a Transit-Oriented Area bylaw must be adopted by Council before June 30, 2024.
Engineering:
Construction on the new roundabout at Six Mile Road and Atkins Road continues to unfold on schedule and within budget. The photo below shows the state of progress as of April 2, 2024.
A new one-way pinch point was installed on Stormont Road at its approach to the Island Highway. The traffic calming amenity is intended to promote slower and more attentive driver behaviour within the residential neighbourhood (see photo below left).
The newly replaced traffic signal cabinet at Island Highway and Hart Road received a vinyl wrap featuring a historic photo of the 1948 oyster farm that used to operate next to Parsons Bridge (see photo below right).
The off-site water main upgrade fronting the development site at 1449 Burnside Road West and the off-site sewer and drain works for the development site at 258 Helmcken Road have begun. Frontage improvements at these sites are to follow.
The Packers Sewer Pump Station upgrade is nearing completion. A new control kiosk and valve chamber were installed (see photo below).
Parks
Winter tree pruning was completed throughout parks and boulevards, and regular Spring maintenance has begun. Preparation of the baseball fields at Helmcken/Centennial Park are taking priority with the anticipated start of another fastball/slow-pitch season. The Invasive Species Coordinator is working in the Chilco area at Robin Hill Park and Edwards Park with numerous more events scheduled.
Hiring for three summer student positions (two Park workers and one Engineering intern) for the Summer is currently in progress.
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the report dated April 3, 2024 from the Chief Administrative Officer titled “CAO Update” be received for information.
SUBMITTED BY:
Scott Sommerville, Chief Administrative Officer
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