As a follow up to my last Blog post, below are my comments I made to the community recapping 2009 and looking forward to 2010. Last year was an opportunity for a new Council to establish a working relationship and develop a new corporate culture. This is not an area that can be easily measured; however, you can see the difference between a Council that works together and one that does not. I believe our Council has come together and established ourselves as a good Council that places the community’s best interests first. There are many signs of a group that works well with each other; focus, integrity, respect, and a little humour. I believe that this Council demonstrates each of these traits, which makes each of our jobs more enjoyable.
Greg Moore – 2009 – 2010 Comments
This year, we’ve decided to combine our year-in-review for 2009 with a look at what’s coming up in 2010. You’ll see that we’ve organized the projects into categories to show how we’re working to meet your priorities and serve you better.
This is not intended to be a comprehensive list of everything we did in 2009, but rather a list of highlights.
More information about any of these initiatives is available on our website.
Let’s start with some of the things we did in 2009 to make our community safer.
• You might have heard about our Public Safety Inspection Team, which works with the RCMP to inspect homes suspected of harbouring marijuana grow operations in our community. In 2009, the team inspected 31 properties and closed down 13 of the sites for remediation. Their work helps reduce the significant public safety hazards associated with grow operations, such as fire, electrocution, health hazards and violence.
• We also helped fund nine new RCMP officers in 2009.
• And to address the community’s escalating bear problem, the City introduced measures in 2009 such as a Bear Aware public education program and new bear regulations to our Solid Waste Bylaw. The regulations included requirements to secure garbage and other bear attractants, and to keep waste carts off the street overnight. The measures appear to be working. In 2008, there were more than 900 bear sightings in Port Coquitlam, while in 2009 there were fewer than half of that number. I want to mention that a lot of the credit for this success goes to the residents and businesses who participated in our efforts.
• Seasonal flooding along the Coquitlam River is an ongoing threat, and in 2009 we finalized an agreement with BC Hydro and other stakeholders for seasonal flow reductions from the Coquitlam Dam. This will help reduce the risk of the river flooding in Port Coquitlam at peak flow times.
• As part of our ongoing Emergency Preparedness work, we held an Emergency Social Services drill to provide our volunteers with a hands-on opportunity to work together and to practice their skills in setting up and managing reception centres.
A complete community is a healthy community. To help meet our goal of increasing participation by 20% by 2010, we opened a Healthy Resource Centre at Hyde Creek Recreation Centre, as well as an outdoor fitness circuit at Gates Park that is free and accessible to people of all ages and physical abilities.
• In February, we were honoured to host the provincial launch of Spirit Week in the final year before the Olympics.
• And later in the year, we responded to a long-time need in our community by starting the development of the City’s first dog off-leash park in Shaughnessy Park.
• One of my priorities when I became Mayor was to strengthen our City’s relationship with our neighbours, the Kwikwetlem First Nation. I’m happy to say that in 2009 we did succeed in building a stronger relationship with Chief Ron Giesbrecht and his Council that will serve both of our communities well in the future. .
• Another focus for us in 2009 was homelessness, which is becoming a growing issue in Port Coquitlam and across the Lower Mainland. In 2009 our City supported the efforts of the Mayor’s Action Team on Homelessness in developing a strategy to permanently end chronic homelessness by 2014.
• To help us properly manage our community’s heritage assets, we engaged Don Luxton Consultants to help us develop our first Heritage Strategic Plan. We engaged the community in this process with online and hard-copy surveys, displays at community events and a community workshop.
Transportation has long been a top priority for our citizens.
• One project that will significantly help improve transportation in our City is the Coast Meridian Overpass, which reach the 95% completion stage at the end of 2009. The CMO is the City’s largest-ever transportation infrastructure project, and it’s been amazing to watch this impressive structure take shape over the CP Railway Yards. We received grants worth more than $63 million for the CMO from TransLink and the Provincial Government, which significantly reduced the impact of the project on local taxpayers.
• We also obtained federal and provincial infrastructure grants worth more than $7.5 million for the Broadway Street Reconstruction Project. This project will complement the CMO project and bring Broadway up to full arterial standards, including four travel lanes, a centre turn lane and marked bicycle lanes. The tender process for the work was also completed in 2009.
The environment is a top priority for our citizens and for the City. We received a significant amount of attention both locally and regionally for our waste-reduction efforts in 2009, which included:
• Expanding our Kitchen Waste Collection Program to include all food scraps and food-soiled papers – making Port Coquitlam the first City in the Lower Mainland to take this step.
• We also conducted studies and planning for the introduction of alternate-week garbage collection in 2010 to further reduce what our community is sending to the landfill. Again, we’ll be the first City in Metro Vancouver to take this necessary step.
• To help define our priorities to achieve our environmental goals, we engaged the firm HB Lanarc in 2009 to develop our first Environmental Strategic Plan – also known as EnviroPlan. This process included surveys and an environmental forum to collect public input.
• We also received recognition from the Union of BC Municipalities for Community Leadership and Innovation, for our requirement that all new large-format buildings have green roofs. Sysco will be the first company to build a green roof, which essentially involves installing vegetation and soil over top of a waterproof membrane.
We also made improvements to how we work and provide services to the community in 2009.
• For example, our switch to Voice-Over Internet Protocol phone system will not only save money but help us communicate better with other staff and with the public.
• We also spent time developing a long-range outlook of City finances in order to better plan for the future.
• As well, we improved our communications with the public by updating our City website, and by enhancing our use of social media, including Facebook, Twitter and a new Mayor’s blog. In 2009 we experienced a 100% increase in Facebook fans, bringing our numbers to 1,200, as well as a 75% increase in subscriptions to our E-Update email newsletters, bringing that number to 920. Our success using social media as a communications tool has earned Port Coquitlam recognition from other cities.
2009 was certainly a busy and productive year, and 2010 promises to be the same.
• To assist our community in preparing for disasters, we’ll be assisting Health Canada later this month with warehousing Casualty Collection Unit medical equipment for use if a major disaster strikes. We’re also applying to warehouse equipment for an Emergency 200-bed Hospital from the federal National Emergency Stockpile.
• A grant from the National Fire Protection Association will allow us to implement a fire and fall prevention program called Remembering When, which targets older adults. We hope to start working with Fraser Health this year to implement the program.
• One of our significant planning efforts this year will be to engage the community in developing a new Corporate Strategic Plan. This plan will re-establish the community’s priorities and set the City on a path to achieve them.
• Other efforts to build a complete community will include expediting development of the Dominion Triangle area to increase City revenues and create quality jobs.• We’ll also complete the Heritage Strategic Plan this year, and upgrade the exterior of Hyde Creek Recreation Centre, with the help of grant funding.
• On the final point, for the last couple of years we have been working with community partners representing community sport, the School District and business, to develop a comprehensive Sport Strategy that covers recreational, community and school sports. The strategy aims to enhance the quality of sport in Port Coquitlam. In 2010, we plan to complete and begin to implement this strategy.
• It’s been a long time coming, but the Coast Meridian Overpass will be open for business this March. The CMO will provide a much needed third link between the two sides of our community, improving mobility and access not only locally but throughout the region. Keep an eye on our website, Facebook and local newspapers for details about the grand opening on March 6.
• Other transportation projects this year will include completion of phase 1 for the Broadway Street Reconstruction Project – bringing Broadway up to three lanes – as well as completion of the Fremont Connector study with Coquitlam.
• Alternate-week garbage pick-up for households who receive City waste collection services will begin on January 14. We’ll continue to provide information and resources to residents to assist them during the transition. Ultimately, switching to this new schedule will potentially help divert an additional 2,400 tonnes of household waste from the landfill each year, as well as save taxpayers $225,000 over five years.
• Our other efforts to help the environment this year will include completing our Environmental Strategic Plan, and identifying more opportunities for energy and water conservation in our City. For example, we’ll be trying out LED street lights in our downtown and looking for more ways to promote water conservation.
• We’ll continue to develop our long-term financial plan this year, with input from the community.
• And as part of our ongoing efforts to find the best staff to provide our City services, we’ll be launching new Open4Hire software this year that will allow City job applicants to apply online and maintain an online profile for future job opportunities.
This is just a sampling of the initiatives and exciting work that is happening in your City.
For more information about what’s happening at the City of Port Coquitlam, visit our website regularly or visit the City Info tent at civic events.
