Staff Report: Departmental Update

DEPARTMENTAL UPDATE

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated April 27, 2026 from the Chief Administrative Officer titled “Departmental Update” be received for information.

PURPOSE:

To provide Council with information from each department regarding material events and happenings at Town Hall.

BACKGROUND:

A report for the Committee of the Whole meeting to apprise Council of the highlights of significant activities of the Town.

INFORMATION:

Office of the CAO:

The CAO continues in his role as interim Owner’s Representative on the Project Management Team (PMT) with the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) Team working towards the building new RCMP detachment in Langford. An RFP was issued and the 3 partner municipalities are working towards finding a permanent Owner’s Representative on the PMT.

The Executive Assistant and the CAO work together with departmental directors to fill staffing vacancies due to retirements, and to fill the summer student positions.

Corporate Administration:

Corporate Administration staff have begun preparations for the joint Canada Day celebration at the historic Craigflower Manor. A call for volunteers has been issued, and the event has been posted on the Town’s website, with planning and promotional efforts now underway. Additional event details will be shared once performers have been confirmed. Canada Day giveaway items have been ordered and will include three styles of buttons, pins, small paper flags, and temporary (waterless) tattoos featuring the red maple leaf, to be distributed during the July 1, 2026 celebration.

To mark Earth Day, the Town hosted a week-long online quiz to encourage community participation and promote environmental awareness and sustainable practices. The spring “Best in Bloom” contest was also launched on April 22, coinciding with Earth Day.

Progress continued on the Town’s website refresh, with the design phase now complete and development underway. Ongoing support was also provided for the Official Community Plan update, including final round of public engagement.

Archives is working with a local historian researching View Royal’s history, including notable events and intermunicipal activities. This has led to initial outreach to other regional archivists and historians to explore opportunities for sharing resources and enhancing public programming.

The RIM365 project is approaching the one-quarter completion mark and remains on budget. The project team is finalizing the solution architecture and design document, which will define the system structure, information access, and integration framework, and will guide the next phase of implementation.

Also, the department continues to support Council and departments across the organization, including assisting departments with the drafting and amendment of bylaws.

Finance:

The audit team from MNP conducted the 2025 year-end financial audit in April. The audit was completed virtually and resulted in an unqualified (clean) audit opinion of the 2025 Consolidated Financial Statements.

Staff will ensure the required statutory financial reports and documents are submitted to the Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs to meet the May 15 deadline.

Council also considered the 2026-2030 Financial Plan and 2026 tax rates in April, directing staff to prepare bylaws for adoption in May.

Development Services:

In April, the Development Services team received a consistent number of planning and building enquiries related to land use, zoning, parking, etc. The department has received nine new applications, which are summarized in the following table:

The final round of engagement on the draft OCP was completed in April. The survey deadline was extended from April 15 to April 19 with the aim of receiving more responses. To advertise this final round of engagement on the OCP and encourage the public to submit feedback on the draft OCP, staff mailed approximately 3500 – 4000 postcards to all residents and businesses in View Royal, which included a QR code and links to provide easy access to the survey. In addition, two ads were published in the Goldstream Gazette, and there have been multiple posts on the Town’s social media platforms to promote the survey. The Town received a total of 47 survey responses.

During this engagement period, the planning team also communicated and engaged with other departments, the OCP Review Advisory Committee, Council, Songhees and Xwsepsum First Nations, the Capital Regional District, School District 61, Island Health, BC Transit, Westshore Chamber of Commerce, CNIB Victoria, and many other stakeholders and community groups, and the public. All the comments that were received during this engagement period will be shared with Council, OCP Review Advisory Committee, and the public in a “What We Heard” report.

After the engagement period closed, staff have been editing the draft OCP and providing comments to the consultant to prepare the final draft to bring forward to the Committee of the Whole before the summer.

The Building and Housing monthly reports are attached to this report.

Engineering:

Parks and Engineering summer students will be starting work at the beginning of May. The additional resourcing is much needed to maintain levels of service throughout the busy season.

Sewer & Drain

The Glenairlie Pumpstation project is currently underway. Construction has commenced on the project in late April.

The Town experienced a failure at one of its main pump stations. The pump station is currently in operation, and substantial resources and monitoring is being conducted until a fix can be completed. At the time of writing this update, replacement parts and acquiring contracted services to conduct the fix is in progress, and staff hope to have an update as part of the May 12, 2026 meeting. Engineering wishes to thank both the Township of Esquimalt, City of Colwood, View Royal and Colwood Fire Departments, and H2X Contracting for their cooperation and collaboration on ensuring the system regained operations in the early morning.

Streets & Roads

Lifted sidewalk panels were replacements along Island Highway near Shoreline Middle School and on Helmcken Road at Vickery Road.

A new transit shelter was installed at the eastbound stop on Watkiss Way at Erskine Lane. Two shelters will be installed later this year on either side of Atkins Road just west of the Six Mile Road roundabout.

The traffic signal controller at Island Highway and Burnside Road West (the Colwood Interchange) had reached the end of its service life and was replaced to maintain reliable and uninterrupted traffic signal operations. The next planned replacement under this program is the signal controller at Island Highway and Six Mile Road.

Paving and drainage works are underway on the Atkins Road Sidewalk Improvement project. The project will provide enhance pedestrian safety on Atkins Road and it remains within budget and on schedule.

Developments

181 Island Hwy – Grand and Fir: Recent utility installations by Hydro, Telus, and Rogers resulted in traffic delays and extended two days beyond the original advisory period, generating multiple public complaints.

CRD is tentatively scheduled to complete water service installation from May 12 to May 15, which is expected to result in intermittent traffic delays within the work zone.

Parks

Portage Park Algae Bloom:

A report of suspected pollution, described as orange scum, was received at the Portage Park beach shoreline. Upon investigation, the substance was identified as an algae bloom. Island Health was notified and advised that two public warning signs be installed. Island Health also indicated that a water testing team would attend the site to conduct further investigation.

Protective Services:

BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) reported that due to the ongoing toxic drug supply, last month was the busiest overdose month in the past 18 months. During this period, View Royal Fire Rescue responded to five overdose incidents within the district.

View Royal Fire Rescue is currently onboarding six new Paid on Call recruit firefighters. The recruits are progressing through their onboarding and training program and are anticipated to be available for active duty by July 1.

The department is also preparing for several significant retirements. Assistant Chief Heath Bevan and Administrative Coordinator Kathy Leatham will retire on May 31, followed by Fire Chief Paul Hurst on October 1.

In preparation for an anticipated hot and dry summer season, wildfire response plans are being reviewed and training efforts are currently focused on wildfire operations and preparedness.

The Bylaw Division continues to focus on homeless camps throughout the municipality, as well as ongoing parking-related complaints. Work is also continuing on updates to the Animal Control Bylaw, with proposed amendments expected to be presented in May.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated April 27, 2026 from the Chief Administrative Officer titled “Departmental Update” be received for information.