CAO UPDATE

CAO UPDATE

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated September 5, 2019 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, 2018, was adopted by Council on July 16 and is available on the Town’s website.

Over the summer months, the Management Team has been fleshing out the Strategic Plan’s targets and performance metrics for the six priority areas identified by Council. This information is anticipated to be before Mayor and Council shortly.

Much time in the summer was dedicated to tightening up the draft Streets Bylaw, including work on associated new and amended bylaws as well as the “concordance” to show the differences between the draft and current streets bylaws. A public open house is anticipated to be held in the coming weeks on this draft bylaw.

In late July, the Director of Corporate Administration participated in a panel discussion for the Local Government Management Association’s Corporate Officers Bootcamp held at the University of Victoria.

The Town’s biannual newsletter 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.

In the Archives, some contract work was undertaken in furtherance of the digitization project. This phase involved the entering of textual data from the collection, resulting in a good base of scanned images and archival descriptions for eventual import into a digital archives environment. Staff have been researching the appropriate platform with which to implement this public access project – one that is suitable for the size, needs and technical resources available. Archives volunteers continue to donate their time to the Town and plans for community outreach, school groups and volunteer learning opportunities are being developed.

With respect to records, a Request for Proposals for an Electronic Document and Records Management System has been drafted and is being reviewed internally by Administration and Finance/IT staff prior to posting on BC Bid.

Finance:

The following table indicates that the volume of work in Finance is generally trending upward and that tax collections continue to be relatively stable.

The Request for Proposals for financial audit services closed in the first week of August. Staff completed the review of submissions with a recommendation to Council at its first meeting in September.

The Request for Proposals for an information technology managed service provider was issued on August 2, 2019 with a closing date of September 3, 2019. Staff expect to make a recommendation for awarding a contract at a Council meeting in October.

In the 2019 budget, Council approved $30,000 toward a long-term financial plan and sustainability review funded by casino revenue. Staff subsequently applied for and the Town was awarded a grant from UBCM to assist in funding this project. This conditional grant will fund 50% of the project costs, to a maximum of $15,000. Thus, $15,000 will be available to fund future costs related to this project. A consultant has been engaged to commence work toward a 30-year Asset Management Revenue Plan. Existing asset data and levels of service together with other metrics will produce a realistic future funding model. The project is scheduled to complete in Fall of 2020 and will help guide the 2021-2025 financial plan.

Information Technology projects are focused on implementing the Vadim Utility Billing module in time for the October 2019 billing cycle. This module will result in a new invoice format and provide many benefits to View Royal and its residents including: easily accessible information regarding seasonal water consumption and yearly variances, more detail as to how a fee was calculated, as well as the ability for customers to receive bills via email and access their account information online. Prior to issuing the annual bills in October, staff will inform utility customers through direct mail, the newsletter and social media of the change in their utility bills and the availability of electronic access to their utility bill and account information. Messaging would also include information about how their utility bill is calculated and how consumption affects the amount they pay.

The Microsoft Office 365 project continues to focus on training and adoption to leverage the tools into productivity gains. The Engineering Department is piloting a SharePoint tracking tool for issues and inquiries that can be accessed and updated by personnel in the field in real time. The Finance Department is exploring the Business Intelligence tools that come with Excel that aid in analyzing data and transforming it into meaningful and presentable information. All staff involved in the budget process will use Teams to focus and track conversations and to collaborate on documents in a shared workspace.

Development Services:

While the summer months see fewer reports going to Council, they provide staff with an opportunity to catch up on files and attend to policy work. Many team members also took advantage of a slightly quieter period to enjoy time with family and friends, and to explore our province and beyond.

Over the summer, the RFP for the Housing Gaps and Needs study was released and five proponents submitted proposals. We are working our way through the evaluation process and we look forward to starting this important project in the coming weeks. We were very pleased to have been successful in receiving a grant from the Province to support this policy work. In addition to this project, staff are working on terms of reference for the precinct planning work and on scoping the update to the View Royal Park plan. All of these projects were approved in the 2019 budget. Staff also spent time over the summer preparing for a workshop with Council on the topic of cannabis.

Work on various subdivision applications (371 Island Highway), Development Permit Applications (Island Highway, Kerwood and Stewart Ave), and rezoning applications (Burnside and Helmcken) also continued over the summer period. An application for a Development Permit on Stewart Ave is being reviewed under the delegated authority bylaw that give the Director of Development Services the ability to issue a Development Permit where no variances are requested. Reports on the remaining applications will be coming forward to Council shortly.

Engineering:

With the end of summer quickly approaching, the Engineering Department has been busy wrapping up weather dependent maintenance programs such as crack sealing and line painting.

Next on the program for the crews will be cutting grass in the non-irrigated boulevards/ditches/shoulders (“low maintenance” areas) along the roadways throughout the Town.

The Beaumont Drain Replacement Project to upgrade the drain main from View Royal Avenue along Beaumont Avenue to the outlet at Esquimalt Harbour should be completed by mid-September 2019. The drainpipe is being upsized from 300mm corrugated steel/vitrified clay pipe to 375mm HDPE pipe as per the 2018 drain master plan.

The construction of the Burnett Rd Sidewalk project is almost complete. The sidewalk now links the E&N Trail to View Royal Park. Construction of the sidewalk included the installation of a three-way stop at the corner of Pheasant Lane and Paddock Place.

The development at 280 Island Highway is starting to wrap up. Many questions have arisen about the grassed ‘parking bay’. This area is the ultimate location for parking once the Island Highway Improvement Project is completed in this section. In the meantime, four parking spaces are located outside the flat curb and the future parking has been greened up with grass to discourage double parking. The bike lane is yet to be painted in the picture.

The View Royal Park Bike Pump Track is now open. The Town has received rave reviews of this new amenity. Users from all over the Capital Region are making their way to View Royal to use the new asphalt track. Everyone from youngsters on strider bikes to youths to adults of all ages are taking a turn doing laps on the circuit. Due to the safety aspect with the numbers of people using the track, the project has not been able to be completed. Staff have delayed the finishing until school is back in session (Sept. 2). This will reduce the number of users significantly during work hours. Paving, fencing, benches, garbage cans, drainage and landscape work will be completed in early September. This will be the “hot spot” for the cycling community in Greater Victoria for the foreseeable future.

The Marler Park playground equipment replacement project design has been selected through our online voting process. The winning design was from Green Roots who carry the Henderson Playgrounds line of equipment. There were multiple design submissions and five of the designs (one from each supplier) were selected for online voting. Excavation and ordering have been completed. Construction of the concrete surround will start shortly with drainage and landscaping to follow. It is anticipated that the new playground will be ready for fun times later this year.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated September 5, 2019 from the Chief Administrative Officer titled “CAO Update” be received for information.