Board Meeting Highlights
July 25, 2005
The following information is intended to provide quick highlights of this scheduled Board meeting. Every attempt has been made to summarize these highlights as accurately as possible; however, the complete and official minutes will be posted on the web site on the Monday one week prior to the next scheduled Board meeting.
Meeting Agenda - July 25, 2005
CHAIR'S REPORT
The new Kitsilano Beach Watermark restaurant, concession and changerooms opened last week to positive reviews. Starting this week, the Park Board will again offer free 'Monsters in the Meadow' movies in Stanley Park; and the annual HSBC 'Celebration of Light' fireworks will begin on beaches and waterfront parks.
GENERAL MANAGER'S REPORT
Items at Council and Committee over the last 2 weeks included budget adjustment and contract award for the #1 Kingsway civic centre project; additional funding for construction of the new Sunset Community Centre; new Animal Control By-laws (referred to September); and approval to proceed with a Naming Rights and Sponsorship Policy for city-owned buildings.
PRESENTATION
Vancouver Public Library (VPL) is again putting on their annual city-wide 'One Book One Vancouver' program. On behalf of VPL, Commissioner Romaniuk presented copies of this year's book choice "Obasan" to Board members.
STAFF REPORTS
Pay Parking
Agreement
The Board approved the award of the contract
to manage its pay parking operations to Ideal
Parking, dba as Central Parking System, for
a second five year term commencing December
1, 2005. The management fee is set at 6% of
the revenues collected and the company can
retain 100% of parking violation fines collected.
Where applicable, Ideal is authorized to recover
from parking violation recipients the fee charged
by ICBC for providing vehicle owner information.
The company is committed to installing all
new pay stations in the Park Board's lots to
take advantage of new technologies, reducing
fraud and delivering better service to users.
The Board also requested that staff pursue
alternate models of city-owned and operated
pay parking operations for the park system
and report back prior to issuing the next Request
for Proposal for parking. Approximately 4,300
pay parking spaces are in Vancouver parks.
Purchase of Rolling
Stock for Stanley Park Miniature Railway
The miniature train in Stanley Park will
get a new engine and three new carriages, with
the approval of a loan of up to $90,000 from
the Park Board's Donation Reserve account.
The new rolling stock was found in the US after
a long search . It will give extra capacity
to the train, particularly for the popular
Ghost Train and Bright Nights events.
Special Event
- VSO Performance
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) will
perform a free evening concert at Lumbermen's
Arch on Sunday, August 7th. The last time the
VSO played a similar concert in Stanley Park
was in 2001 - a successful event in terms of
location and attendance.
Percy Norman
Aquatic Centre Architect Selection
Staff have concluded that potential cost-savings
can be derived from an integrated approach
to designing and building the new Percy
Norman Aquatic Centre and the new Olympic
Curling legacy facility. Designing and
building the two facilities at the same
time is advantageous to the Board and to
VANOC, with savings from single design
fees, project management costs and construction
costs. As part of the draft 2006-2008 Capital
Plan, the new pool is included as a project
and the Park Board and Council have yet
to finalize the plan which requires approval
by the public in the Fall civic election.
In order to meet the 2010 time table, the
Board approved that the General Manager
be authorized to select the architect.
Preliminary design needs will be funded
prior to the November plebiscite through
reallocation of monies from the Major Maintenance
Painting account and from the Cathedral
Square account.
Kerrisdale Park/Point
Grey Secondary School Artificial Field
Construction Contracts
Contracts were awarded to start construction on the
long awaited artificial fields at Kerrisdale Park/Point
Grey Secondary School: to Wilco Landscape Contractors
for civil work and lighting - $1.2 million, and to
Fieldturf Inc. for supply and installation of the synthetic
turf - $543,000. Work will start in the next month
or so.
Coal Harbour
Balustrade Railing Rehabilitation Contract
The historic Coal Harbour balustrade between Devonian
Park and the Vancouver Rowing Club is in disrepair.
The quarry providing the rock was closed for over 20
years but has reopened. A contract was awarded to Van
Den Kerhof & Son Masonry for a new railing which
will be a replica of the appearance of the original
balustrade originally constructed in 1916. Construction
is expected to start in September and be completed
in November.
MOTION
Commissioner Poaps put forward a motion that staff report back on September 19th on the revised policy on Community Gardens, and on license agreements with community gardens including the Strathcona Community Gardens Society for the ongoing use of Strathcona Gardens with consideration of a term of no less than 20 years.
Strathcona Gardens recently marked their 20th Anniversary, and are recipients of the Mayor's Environmental Award and award from the Vancouver Heritage Commission for their heritage apple collection. The Motion carried.
NEXT MEETING
The next regular meeting of the Park Board is at 7:00 pm on Monday, September 19th at 2099 Beach Avenue.
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