CAO UPDATE
An update from the Chief Administrative Officer on municipal activities, including administrative roll-overs, financial audits, and engineering project progress.
TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION REPORT
TO: Committee of the Whole DATE: January 6, 2021 FROM: Kim Anema, CAO MEETING DATE: January 12, 2021
CAO UPDATE
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the report dated January 6, 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:
From December 1 to December 24, Archive volunteers were emailed a “Virtual Archives Advent Calendar”. Behind “each door” was an assortment of puzzles, photos, website links and articles relating to the Archives collections and the holidays. The idea was well received as volunteers were wishing to stay active with their Archives involvement and keep their minds keen with the daily challenges.
During December, the foyer cabinet displayed “Cards from Christmas Past”. Also included in this display were Christmas tree ornaments filled with winter photos of View Royal.
As noted in the December CAO Update, the Town has been promoting for sale its recently acquired stock of Maureen Duffus’ book “Craigflower Country”. To date, nine copies have been sold.
Staff assisted members of Council with a festive contest, ‘Light Up View Royal’ in December. A total of forty-three nominations were received and five addresses were selected by Council to receive prizes for best Christmas light displays in Town.
Administration staff organized an online wellness webinar for staff, volunteer firefighters, and EOC volunteers in mid-December, rounding out the offerings provided earlier in the year by Tailor Making Health.
December saw long-service recognition for six employees – three with 10 years, two at fifteen years and one with 20 years of service to the Town.
In mid-December, Council agreed to the sale of 2379 Lund Road – an approximately 0.275 hectare property listed for sale since February 2020 – and staff subsequently have been working with the realtor and the Town’s lawyer to facilitate the required next steps.
In late December, Administration staff and the Mayor finalized an agreement to resolve a long-standing vehicle lane and sidewalk encroachment on Six Mile Road with the owner of 494/498 Island Highway through the purchase of land for road dedication.
The end of every year requires a major roll-over of files across the organization with Administration staff working closely with all departments for the transition into 2021. This work allows the municipality to stay up-to-date with our Records Management Bylaw and associated policy.
Front counter staff continue to be busy with business licence, dog tag and secondary suite renewals.
Finance:
During the first week of December, the Town’s auditor, MNP, completed their interim audit, 100% remotely. The Finance team successfully leveraged Microsoft 365 capabilities, collaborating with the audit team via Microsoft Teams and SharePoint. The 2020 year-end audit is scheduled for April 6-9, 2021. Staff are working diligently toward closure of the 2020 fiscal year and preparation of the 2020 financial statements.
The 2020-2024 financial plan process continues with senior management budget meetings as well as staff investigating Council initiatives. Draft financial plan workshops are scheduled as follows:
| Month | Budget workshops | Council | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | Introduction and overview | Special COW– Budget | February 16 – 7 pm |
| February | Consideration of proposed non-core and capital items | Special COW– Budget | February 17 – 6 pm |
| February | Presentation of service plans | Special COW– Budget | February 18 – 6 pm |
| February | Consideration of reserve transfers | Special COW– Budget | February 23 – 6 pm if required |
In October 2020 the Town adopted a new methodology based on 100% consumption-based collection of sewer revenue. In December, staff were highly customer service focused, processing payments and addressing inquiries about the new billing structure.
Of the 2,467 sewer invoices issued, 440 (or 18%) were outstanding at year-end compared to 478 (or 20%) in 2019. Of the 440 outstanding invoices, 381 (or 87%) were transferred to arrears taxes and 59 (or 13%) were not transferred to taxes under the special one-year exemption granted by Council to strata properties and properties whose charges were equal to or greater than 150% of their total 2019 sewer usage fees and sewer-related taxes.
In December, a total of 400 business licence renewals were sent to business owners, with 128 licence payments processed before December 31, 2020. Of the 128 payments received, 66 (or 52%) were transacted online via the Town’s new Business Licence online service.
Development Services:
As described in the December CAO Update, Development Services staff continue to wait to hear back on the Community Climate Action Strategy grant application from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. That review is expected to be completed in February 2021. In the meantime, staff has been preparing a Request for Proposals for the Community Climate Action Strategy.
As well, staff continue to await the review of the grant application for the Hart Road Lime Kiln project with results on that application expected in January 2021 at the earliest.
In December, Development Services staff reviewed the existing Official Community Plan (OCP) with a view to scoping Council’s priorities for the upcoming OCP review. Looking ahead, Council will see more information about the OCP review as staff work to refine this Request for Proposals and better scope the project.
December also saw Development Services staff put forward a Zoning Bylaw amendment to accommodate charging facilities for electric vehicles and bicycles which received two readings from Council.
Staff followed-up with CRD Housing for the signage at 1910/1920 West Park Lane to both address Council’s concerns and facilitate that agency’s need to market the newly completed multi-family rental project.
Staff have been working on applications related to developments at 1950 West Park Lane, 298 Island Highway and 250 Helmcken Road.
Engineering:
2020 was quite unusual, and although challenging, staff rose to the challenge. Both Parks and Engineering did not hire the usual complement of summer students to support the high demand during that season. We were able to hire our Development/Asset Technologist in December, in addition, the new Engineering Clerk started January 4.
December 2020 saw some major changes on the Thetis Cove Pump Station Upgrade Project. The valve chamber was constructed and both the emergency generator and new electrical control kiosk were installed on site. This puts us in great position to finish this project early in 2021.
These are pictures of the new valve chamber being installed at Thetis Cove Pump Station. Below you can see the new generator (with the blanket on it) and the new electrical control kiosk. Notice the old electrical control kiosk in the background of the first picture (below left). It is much smaller than the new electrical control kiosk.
One small drainage repair was completed at 28 Chancellor Avenue, where a blocked drainpipe connecting to a lawn basin was cleared.
The off-site road and pathway work for the development at 1450 Glentana Road commenced and will continue through the first few months of 2021. Notable works include constructing curb bulbs and parking bays along the frontage of the development, complete with boulevard trees and a separated sidewalk as well as the pathway through Portage Park east that will connect the Craigflower neighbourhood to the remainder of Portage Park and the E&N Regional Trail.
The frontage works for the development at West Park Lane is mostly complete beyond some final boulevard landscaping. The Town is in active discussion with BC Transit staff to improve access to transit for the newly developed area.
The off-site design for 242/244 Island Highway is nearing the approval stage and construction on the site is tentatively scheduled to begin in March 2021.
The rain garden on Island Highway west of View Royal Avenue had become overgrown with large shrubs and the filter media needed to be replenished. Removal of the shrubs aided in the replenishment of mulch and resolved both irrigation breaks and potential safety issues. The area was replanted with native vegetation which will help with water conservation, require less maintenance, and prevent erosion.
The end of 2020 saw the completion of the Beaumont access changes. From the initial drainage course changes/upgrades to the final rolls of turf placement, it was a long process but well worth it.
The Town’s Invasive Species Coordinator was called upon to design a native plant bed, resolving an area of encroachment at the westerly side of the site. Over 425 plants, including a few Garry Oak and Vine Maple trees have been planted by the Invasive Species Coordinator and volunteers. They were happy to come out and participate in the planting for a change of pace, as they were able to put “good” material back into a greenspace instead of removing “bad” material.
The changes to the pathway and staircase are a great improvement, leading down to the new pad and picnic table where one can sit back, relax and enjoy the view of the Esquimalt Harbour. Anytime Parks staff have been working at the Beaumont access, comments from residents are always positive.
The photo below shows the spectacular view from the lower part of the Beaumont access; the picnic table is in a prime location to stop and see what is happening in the Harbour.
This month, a system was created for staff to track information related to CCTV video. A layer in the internal Engineering Viewer called “Stormwater CCTV” shows the locations of stormwater pipes where CCTV video has been recorded. These pipes can be clicked on to access links to the associated video and PDF report.
An analysis was done on View Royal’s street network to determine the 8 and 6 minute service areas from the Public Safety Building. The resulting map shows areas of the Town that can and cannot be reached within the given amount of time, which will be useful for the Fire Department to know for their future planning. This layer can be found by staff on the internal Emergency Services Viewer.
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the report dated January 6, 2021 from the Chief Administrative Officer titled “CAO Update” be received for information.
Document Images
(1)