CAO UPDATE REPORT

CAO UPDATE

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated July 8, 2021 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:

While there was some activity after the property tax notices were mailed out in late May, traffic at the front counter increased significantly throughout June and particularly the last few days of the month. The Administration and Finance Departments’ staff had long days greeting and assisting property owners coming in to pay their property taxes.

As part of the Town’s 2021 Canada Day recognition, staff handed out 500 Red Maple tree kits to residents who came in to pay their taxes or after hours outside the Town Hall main entrance. Residents who stopped by to pick up their tree kit were pleased with the initiative and were also encouraged to send in photographs of their trees as they grow over time.

(Red Maple tree kit giveaway at Town Hall)

A new display, “Activities & Recreation”, has been curated from the Town’s collections and loans from volunteers. This display will be exhibited until August. Some items include newspaper clippings about area sports and championships, photos of recreational pursuits, and Scout and Guide articles borrowed from volunteers. It is proving to be an interesting read for those coming into Town Hall.

(Activities & Recreation display)

The Archives digitization project is active again with database work in progress.

On the records front, past drives have now been retired and an old server at Town Hall is close to being shut down as files transition to a newer server. Storage room management continues. This includes adding details to the general inventory of legacy records and sending twenty-three boxes of eligible physical records for destruction in June.

Finance:

The following table provides 2021 key indicators with prior year comparative values. Tax collections are down slightly from prior years in which the tax due date was not deferred. A further breakdown between classes shows that nearly 88% of taxes on residential properties were collected by the July 2 due date (2020 - 80%; 2019 – 94%), while 98% of taxes owed by non-residential property classes were collected (2020 – 49%; 2019 – 99%).

The Provincial government centralized Home Owner Grant administration in 2021. The Town communicated this change to taxpayers and total Home Owner Grants claimed to July 2 were up 9% over the same period in 2020.

This year was the second year that the Provincial tax deferment program was offered online only. Staff did note a marked decrease in deferment inquiries from residents and a more smoothly administered deferment program in 2021 compared to the initial 2020 rollout from the Province.

Development Services:

The Town has partnered with the CRD, City of Victoria and Township of Esquimalt to submit an application for Natural Resources Canada’s Zero Emissions Vehicle Incentive Program (ZEVIP). If approved, a Level 2 electric vehicle charger would be added to the existing charging station at Helmcken Centennial Park later this year. The program would cover 50% of costs and the Engineering Department has confirmed funding of $2,500 from the existing budget. The application was coordinated by the CRD and the total grant funding opportunity amounts to $457,500. If approved, 110 - Level 2 charge points would be installed across seventeen sites for public, fleet, and workplace charging. This project has the potential to jump-start the local availability of electric vehicle chargers and provide key foundational support for regional transition to electric vehicles.

Staff and the consultant team for the Official Community Plan Review have met and are working on a community engagement strategy. More details will be provided in the weeks ahead.

On June 18, 2021 the Director of Development Services presented at the Planning Institute of British Columbia conference on the topic of professional practice and ethics.

Engineering:

In June, a drain and sewer manhole inspection program began using the Stoneridge subdivision as a test area. Once the inspection data is reviewed, staff will assess and modify as necessary to ensure all pertinent characteristics are included. In the meantime, View Royal was separated into five roughly equal-sized map zones. Manhole inspections are expected to be completed at one zone each year. The data information shown below will be included in the Town’s GIS and asset management systems.

(sample of manhole inspection data)

The annual sewer pump station emergency generator load bank testing and inspection was also completed. This annual work includes all the pump station generators, portable generator and Town Hall generator. Reports generated by this work allow the Town to implement any repairs or service work required to ensure the generators are working as designed when called upon.

(load bank resistance and generator control panel)

The pictures above show the load bank (resistance) in the back of a pickup truck and the generator control panel. For this test, the generator electrical connection is disconnected from the pump station and connected to the load bank which provides a set rate of resistance. The generator is then run for a two-hour period. This forces the generator to work harder than is usually necessary and as a result, helps to clear out any built-up carbon in the motor and exposes any potential mechanical or electrical issues the generator may have. This annual testing and inspection is done in addition to the weekly/monthly automated running of the emergency pump station generators.

The four-way stop at Chilco Road and Nursery Hill Drive at Six Mile Road is complete. As part of the project, bike lanes were installed north of the intersection along Six Mile Road up to Thetis Lake Park. In conjunction with this project, BC Transit added two new bus stops (northbound and southbound) to the Six Mile corridor.

The Town entered into Works and Services Agreements with the Greater Victoria School District No. 61 for the installation of on-site stormwater management systems associated with the proposed daycare addition projects at View Royal Elementary and Eagle View Elementary.

The proposed Craigflower Community Centre development at 1801 Admirals Road received servicing approval this month and entered into a Works and Services Agreement with the Town for the provision of on-site stormwater management and on-site sewer attenuation systems.

All road hard surfacing is complete for “The Glen” development located at 1450 Glentana Road. Final landscaping and tree planting is expected in the coming months.

There was another Portage Park adventure with students of Shoreline Middle School. On June 4, the students engaged in “Science Exploration Day”. This was a pilot project which included representatives from the Esquimalt, Songhees and WSAANEC Nations, UVic Living Labs, World Fisheries Trust, Science Venture, and the Capital Regional District. It was an amazing collaboration from so many groups and a great learning opportunity for the students and teachers.

(students participating in Science Exploration Day)

(bringing the Lab to the beach)

In GIS, new layers were created for irrigation features and include control boxes, backflow protectors and water shutoffs. Assets were picked up and inspected by the Engineering Intern, resulting in a complete inventory of irrigation features in GIS.

A new system was created for inspecting manholes in View Royal. Manholes were separated into twelve sections to break inspections up into small, more manageable chunks. Manholes will be inspected using tablets where categories such as accessibility, ladder rung condition, cracks, corrosion, infiltration, and others will be assessed. Data collection using the GIS system will be carried out later this summer.

A review was done on the Town’s inventory of as-builts this month to update the list of drawings that are referenced by the GIS. Over 100 drawings were added to this list including electrical, landscape, and roadworks drawings and now can be accessed from the as-built layer in the Engineering viewer. Also, fields for the year and source of each drawing were added to make it easier to find specific drawings.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated July 8, 2021 from the Chief Administrative Officer titled “CAO Update” be received for information.

SUBMITTED BY:

K. Anema, Chief Administrative Officer