CAO UPDATE

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated September 7, 2023 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:

An Administrator’s report for the Committee of the Whole meeting to apprise Council of the highlights of significant activities of the Town.

INFORMATION:

Administration:

The Annual Report, providing highlights and achievements for the year ended December 31, 2022, was adopted by Council on July 18, 2023 and is now available on the Town’s website.

The Town’s biannual newsletter is in production and will be sent out in the mail within the next month. This fall/winter newsletter will provide information to residents on happenings in the Town. As well, the Town’s monthly electronic newsletters – available through an RSS feed from the Town’s website – are another opportunity for residents to stay informed.

Canada Day was marked with an event held at the Craigflower Manor site. The Town of View Royal and the Victoria Highland Games Association co-hosted the event which had both indoor and outdoor performance stages for music and dance, community booths (the Town’s Archives and Habitat Restoration programs were each represented in a community booth), Manor house tours, a face painter, a balloon clown, and even some traditional heavy games. Photos are provided below.

As noted above, the Town’s Archives had a display in one of the community booths at the Canada Day event. The theme was “Your Neighbourhood” and large, laminated cards provided guests with neighbourhood maps, anecdotes, and local history snippets. There were photos showing different areas of View Royal over the decades. There was a constant stream of visitors stopping by to chat and ask questions about their neighbourhoods. Some people inquired about opportunities for volunteering in the Archives as well. Thank-you to the Archives’ volunteers - it was a successful outreach opportunity.

At its July 18 meeting, Council selected the proposal by artist Collin Elder for the Helmcken Road Trestle mural. Using the community selected theme of trees/forest, the artist began work in August and will complete in early September. Residents have stopped to admire the installation and converse with the artist and are also calling into Town Hall with compliments. The photos below show the mural installation progress, transforming the northwest side of the Helmcken Road trestle abutment and wing walls:

Also at the July 18 meeting, Council decided to proceed with a joint intermunicipal staff accessibility advisory committee. In working with partner municipalities, staff have developed webpage content (View Royal - Accessibility) and established a feedback tool (accessibility@viewroyal.ca). Committee terms of reference, a timeline for development of an accessibility plan, and confirmation of final partner municipalities are expected in the fall of 2023.

In Records, the Coordinator is currently learning Microsoft 365 and its records management tools. An RFP has been drafted to secure digital transformation services to move the Town’s records from in-house servers to the cloud and manage records exclusively through M365 solutions.

Finance:

In July and August, Finance staff worked to collect outstanding delinquent property taxes. These are taxes that were levied in 2021 and remain outstanding. If delinquent taxes are still unpaid by 10:00 AM on the last Monday in September, legislation requires the property to be sold at tax sale. All delinquent property taxes have now been collected, so for another year no tax sale will be held.

This August, Finance staff began the process of preparing for the October sewer utility billing, requiring thorough analysis of water consumption data provided by the Capital Regional District (CRD). Staff leveraged Microsoft 365 data analysis tools to recommend reliable and supportable sewer rates which will sufficiently recover the costs of both View Royal’s and CRD’s sanitary sewer systems.

In July, staff welcomed the addition the new IT Coordinator. This staff member comes to View Royal with solid technical expertise, which has proved helpful in advancing several technology projects. They are working with the managed service provider, departmental staff, and technicians for several third-party applications to migrate servers to an updated operating system. Additionally, work has started on the implementation of the Teams-based telephone system, which will see tighter integration between voice calls and other communication tools.

Development Services:

The Development Services team continued to be busy for the month of August responding to a consistent number of zoning, land use, building, and business license inquiries, and reviewing and processing development applications. In August, Development Services (Planning and Building) received eight new applications including two development variance permit, and six building permit applications. In addition, the preliminary statement of conditions for 221 Atkins Road for a proposed two lot subdivision has been extended until December 2023.

Staff continue to work on critical tasks to support the implementation of the new draft building bylaw as well as finalizing the new Building Bylaw, Fees and Charges and Municipal Information Ticketing Amendment Bylaws for introductory readings in September.

A grant application for the Coastal Adaptation Plan, a non-core project in the 2023-2027 Financial Plan, was submitted to the Provincial Community Emergency Preparedness Fund administered by the Union of BC Municipalities. The purpose of the plan is to develop detailed mapping and policies to address sea level rise, tsunamis and other coastal hazards. A grant of $95,000 has been awarded for the mapping component and 50% of the grant has been received to initiate the project, with the remainder to be provided on completion. Terms of Reference are currently being prepared.

Engineering:

Staffing

Engineering’s new Engineering Technologist for Development and Public Works started work at the Town on August 21.

Sewer & Drain

Engineering has been busy in July and August. Sanitary pumpstation clean up, repainting and inspections have been conducted, and staff are currently replacing/rebuilding pumps at three locations.

CCTV inspections are ongoing for the Town’s sewer and drains. Engineering’s summer students continue to identify drains outside of Town records and staff prioritize these CCTV inspections accordingly.

Streets and Roads

Conceptual and detail designs are underway for Engineering’s capital projects including Atkins and Jedburgh sidewalk upgrades, and various intersection analyses along Island Highway and Helmcken Road.

Asphalt pavement repairs were completed on the Island Highway just east of Price Road. Durable road markings (stop bars, crosswalks, turn arrows, etc.) were renewed on Island Highway between Admirals Road and Knollwood Road.

A concrete bus pad was installed for a bus stop on Helmcken Road just east of Camden Avenue. A new bus shelter is scheduled to be installed at this location shortly.

Parks:

View Royal Park Stormwater Management Upgrades are scheduled to commence in mid September. Some disruption to the trail access is expected and the contractor will be required to keep low speeds and provide trail users with the right of way during the course of construction.

Engagement planning is in progress for the new Watkiss Park project by the BC Transit HandyDART site.

Prep work is commencing at Knollwood Park as part of the playground replacement project scheduled for this year. Neighbourhood engagement via mailouts will follow shortly regarding possible playground equipment.

A spruce up of the View Royal Park Community Garden shed was performed this summer. Siding was repaired and the Parks summer students painted the exterior.

The Tour de Victoria – Cops for Cancer charity fundraiser at Helmcken Centennial Park took place on August 13-14, 2023. The event was a success and it sounds like the Town may be receiving another application next year.

Protective Services:

The Fire Department participated in the Annual Canada Day celebrations this year.

A busy summer for Protective Services, as they attended 220 calls for service. Notable events included a drowning at Prior Lake, a serious cliff accident at Thetis Lake, and a forest fire at Barker and Highland Roads which involved mutual aid from Colwood, Langford, and BC Wildfire. The Fire Chief will be meeting with residents in the north View Royal neighbourhood to review fire and evacuation plans.

Discussions continue with Westshore Chiefs on the implementation of cooperative response plans and sharing of resources. A report to Council will be forthcoming in October.

Another recruiting drive is underway for the Fire Department for an October intake.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated September 7, 2023 from the Chief Administrative Officer titled “CAO Update” be received for information.

SUBMITTED BY:

K. Anema, Chief Administrative Officer