Board Meeting Highlights
October 30, 2006

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 - October 30, 2006

GENERAL MANAGER'S REPORT

Park Board related items on Council and Committee agenda this week include: 2007 Preliminary Operating Budget, Naming Rights and Commemorative Naming Policies for civic buildings, and Advisory Bodies Review.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Recent Finance Committee agenda items included the 2007 Operating Budget and Fees & Charges. Planning Committee agenda included Oceans Wise program, Defribrillators for facilities, and Youth Golf update.

STAFF REPORTS

2007 Fees & Charges
The Board approved the 2007 fees and charges for recreation as adjusted to reflect inflationary increases and market rates while encouraging participation and minimizing impact to users. The fees, which will be effective January 1st, will incorporate the current age policies. Staff were asked to report back on fee structure discounts for youth and seniors at other Lower Mainland municipalities.

Award of Soft Drink Supply and Sponsorship Contract
Coca-Cola Bottling Company was awarded a 10-year contract for soft drink supply and sponsorship. Soft drinks, juices, water and other beverages are sold in the Park Board's 15 concessions, 3 golf club houses and 80 vending machines located in community centres, recreation buildings and offices. The deal, worth $4.592 million, is comprised of a cash payment that goes into the corporate sponsorship fund to pay for projects or programs of the Board's choosing, plus a general marketing fund and product support, and commissions from vending machine sales. The Board will encourage staff and partners to continue to ensure there is a good percentage of healthy beverages and Park Board staff work with Coca-Cola to see that face plates on vending machines also promote healthy choices.

East Fraser Lands Official Development Plan
The Official Development Plan (ODP) for the East Fraser Lands was endorsed. The 52 acre site is located in the southeast corner of Vancouver on the Fraser River. The new sustainable, mixed-use community will feature a 2800 m² (30,000 ft²) community centre and a diverse, connected network of parks, playing fields, greenways and other public open space. The proposed ODP will go to Public Hearing on November 14th.

Trout Lake Community Centre and Rink Siting
The site of the replacement facilities for the Trout Lake Community Centre and Ice Rink was chosen - option AB2 which was the recommendation of the Building Committee after an analysis of two sites and a combination of the two. Staff were asked to report back in consultation with ice user groups no later than January 30th, 2007 with the impacts resulting from the closure of Trout Lake and Killarney rinks under different construction schedules, and proposed allocation schedules to sustain existing ice user group programs during the construction period. In addition, the Board requested that further design maximize green space in park area. Design work will begin immediately on the LEED Gold building.

Arbutus Corridor
The Board endorsed the inclusion of greenway and park features in the future development of the Arbutus Corridor, a 45 acre railway property owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The north-south corridor stretches from Granville Island to Marpole. The Board urged the City to immediately investigate the acquisition of the Arbutus Corridor from CPR with the cost of such acquisition to be borne by the CPR, and, if such investigation proves the acquisition would be financially feasible, the City immediately negotiate the purchase in such a manner to ensure that park portion of the right-of-way (estimated to be 15 acres) be improved by the CPR prior to the 2010 Winter Games.

Vancouver Sport Strategy
Park Board staff leadership and facilitation were approved in the development of a comprehensive Vancouver Sport Strategy to guide the direction of sport infrastructure, programming and support for events. This strategy will help optimize the potential of sport in the city for all participants, from grass roots to elite athletes. Many community and sport tourism groups will give input and advice to this major project which will serve as a valuable reference for future decision making by Council and Park Board.

McCleery Golf Course - Golf Professional Services Contract
The services of the golf professional at McCleery Golf Course were extended for seven years starting January 2009. The extension is subject to completion of certain capital improvements to the driving range facilities and power cart area, to be funded by the golf professional. This contract will provide the ability to secure financing and have sufficient time to recover his investment.

Hillcrest/Nat Bailey Consolidation and Right-of-Way
The consolidation of Hillcrest Park and Nat Bailey Stadium Park was approved to facilitate the construction of the Vancouver Olympic Centre curling venue. The City was also granted a right-of-way over the consolidated park to allow for the relocation of existing utility services for the new building.

Marketing Plan for Golf Courses - Appointment of Consultant
Global Golf Advisors were appointed, for a fee of $35,000, to prepare a marketing plan for the three full length public golf courses. The plan will promote the competitive advantages of Fraserview, Langara and McCleery: reasonable rates, central locations and individual styles, to increase the number of rounds played and to improve revenue generation.

MOTION

The Board requested staff to report back, in time for the 2007 operating budget discussions, on all the steps the organization is taking to ensure that the Park Board operates in a manner that is fiscally, environmentally, socially and ethically responsible as it relates to purchasing decisions.

NEXT MEETING

A special meeting of the Park Board will be held on Monday, November 27, 2006 at Hastings Community Centre. The agenda item is the proposed expansion and revitalization of the Vancouver Aquarium.
The next regular meeting of the Park Board will be held on Monday, December 11, 2006 at Killarney Community Centre.

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