CAO UPDATE

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 Town of View Royal (The Town) is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the purpose of selecting a vendor to supply, implement and support an Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS). The Town is in a transition phase, managing physical records and electronic records in separate systems.

The CAO has been particularly active in his role as a member of the Board of Directors at the West Shore Parks and Recreation. The WSPR has finalized its budget process and will be sending budget information and requests to member municipalities in December. In addition, the WSPR has issued an RFP to accept proposals for operation of the Q center. The CAO is the chair of the Finance Committee and is part of the team managing the RFP.

The Town has made security changes at the front office to address potential exposures of conflict at the front counter.

Administration hosted three school tours in November for students from View Royal Elementary School. Over sixty grade two and three students received a presentation about municipal services, discussed future career options, and then went on a tour of the Town Hall building and grounds. The students always enjoy the “look and learn” scavenger hunt as well as the informative time spent in Archives and the Parks area.

On November 21, the Town and West Shore Chamber of Commerce jointly hosted a Business Mixer for business license holders. It was an opportunity for business owners to network with other business owners, as well as to meet or reconnect with members of Council and representatives from the Chamber of Commerce.

A community outreach project, A December to Remember, will take place in the Town Hall Council Chambers on December 6. The Township of Esquimalt Archives and the public have been invited to join View Royal Archives in identifying photos and contributing any memories they may have of the Town.

The display case is currently showcasing items that women have used around the home over the last century. Many items were kindly loaned by View Royal Archives’ volunteers.

Administration staff continue to keep busy at the front counter with secondary suite, business license and dog tag renewals and sewer bills.

The Town of View Royal staff managed to achieve their all-time highest total United Way fund raising in the amount of $7905.40.

Finance:

The Town celebrated receiving the Government Finance Officers’ Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the second year in a row at the November 5 Council meeting and recognized the efforts of staff in their financial planning work. Finance continues to guide the 2020-2024 budget process in advance of February budget meetings, while preparing for the year-end interim audit.

Council gave first three readings to the new Interest Rate Calculation Bylaw at the November 21 Council meeting. The benefit to the Town will be a decrease in interest expense and a small reduction in administrative effort required to document these interest accruals.

Sewer fee invoices were due November 29, 2019, of which 20% were still outstanding at the due date and on par with prior years’ collections. As communicated at the November 12 Committee of the Whole meeting, staff are now able to automatically upload online utility billing payments. In addition to being inherently less prone to human error, this process is now much more efficient. Approximately 70% of utility payments were made online this year as indicated in the chart below, similar to the prior year. On average, the processing time using automatic upload is almost 60% more efficient than the manual process.

Development Services:

The Housing Gaps and Needs Study is progressing. A series of focus groups with stakeholders was held during the last week of November. The focus groups are a part of the engagement strategy that generates in-depth input and insights from the community.

The request for proposals for the Precinct Land Economics Study closed November 25. Staff is reviewing the proposals received and will report back to Council for a decision on awarding the contract.

OCP Amendment Bylaw No. 1024, 2019 to update the Regional Context Statement (RCS) in the Town’s Official Community Plan (OCP) was submitted to the Capital Regional District (CRD) after second reading in October. The update is required to show how the OCP addresses the goals of the latest CRD’s Regional Growth Strategy adopted in 2018. The RCS was reviewed by the CRD Planning and Protective Services on November 20 with no concerns expressed. The CRD staff report noted that “View Royal’s RCS demonstrates a strong relationship to the RGS and will work toward achieving RGS vision and objectives”. The next step is formal consideration by the CRD Board. If the RCS is approved, a public hearing for the Bylaw can be held in early 2020.

Engineering:

Engineering staff have been engaged by the CRD, in conjunction with School District No. 61, to participate in a program referred to as “Ready Step Roll: Active School Travel Planning”. The program aligns with the Town’s goals of increased sustainable transportation mode share, climate change mitigation, and improved community health. “Ready Step Roll” provides the Town with the opportunity to increase engagement with the school community and respond to community needs and desires regarding traffic safety. View Royal staff, CRD staff, View Royal Elementary staff and parents, and RCMP had a walkabout around View Royal Elementary School and identified issues and possible solutions. These will be submitted to Council for consideration during the 2020-2024 Financial Plan deliberations.

On November 26, Emery Electric installed the Hospital Pump Station electric control kiosk. Emery Electric built the control kiosk in their workshop and simulated/tested all the control features prior to installing it on-site. The installation went smoothly and everything is now up and running.

Staff have recently installed new Christmas banners and hanging baskets along Island Highway and Helmcken Road:

231 Heddle Subdivision – off-site works are completed with some landscaping to be completed:

The Parks Department has recently completed a portion of paving along MacLennan Trail and the installation of trees lining both sides of the trail:

Protective Services:

The Fire Department hosted their annual Halloween Open House on October 31. Several hundred residents and visitors came to the station. November 3rd saw the annual Pumpkin Toss to raise money for Movember.

The department is currently recruiting volunteer firefighters for a January 2020 recruit class. Currently there are 7 vacancies in the volunteer ranks.

The department is preparing to switch over to the CREST P25 radio network in mid-December. All vehicles and personal radios have been replaced by CREST. Several field tests have been conducted over the past month with staff from CREST and VRFD to conclude problem coverage areas.

The replacement rescue truck is in mid production with an anticipated delivery to View Royal in April 2020.

Dispatch services from Surrey continue to be a success, at 15 months since the switch from Saanich, staff report no issues and a significant improvement in service delivery. Surrey continues to improve its technology and infrastructure to ensure compatibility with Next Generation 911.

The Fire Chief has been addressing challenges with ECOMM and mis-directed calls and delays. The transition from multiple centers to a standalone center has not shown the improvements that were outlined in the proposals. The Chief will continue to address these issues with local Chiefs.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated December 4, 2019 from the Chief Administrative Officer titled “CAO Update” be received for information.