WERA General Meeting of January 28, 2020

Blog: http://www.mywestend.blogspot.com
Email: mywestend@telus.net
Twitter: @WERANewWest
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WERANewWest/

Meeting commenced: 19:04.
                                Chair: Elmer Rudolph; Recorder: Gavin McLeod
                                Number of attendees: 7
Approval of minutes of previous meetings: Motion to approve minutes of Annual General Meeting of November 26, 2019 moved by Gavin McLeod, seconded by Mary Wilson, approved.
Additional Agenda Items:
Community Policing Report (Gavin McLeod): Calls for service down 6%
Queensborough: -11 %, Westend: 0 %, Miduptown:- 8 %, Downtown:-6 %, Eastend:-8 %
Skytrain: -13% and Special Locations: -5%
OVERALL 17,895 calls for service for the last year
Crime Types (year‐to‐date):
Break and enters (BNE)  Overall 8% increase
 Robberies (includes persons, business and institutional) 15% increase
Theft from auto (TFA) Overall 8% decrease
Theft of auto (TOA) Overall 1% increase
New Residents” Association Guidelines (Elmer Rudolph): The city has made changes to the guidelines for residents’ associations, at this time only a draft is available
New Westminster climate emergency engagement strategy stakeholder meeting (Elmer Rudolph): The city invited Elmer Rudolph to represent WERA at a climate emergency meeting on Tuesday February 11th from 1 pm to 3 pm meeting at New Westminster City Hall, Council Committee Room #1, Elmer could not attend so Gavin McLeod will attend. Objectives: To inform stakeholders about the City’s climate emergency response and the 7 Bold Steps, to inform stakeholders about the communications and engagement strategy and its engagement objectives, to identify what is required for successful engagement with the constituents and communities that they work with or represent, to gather feedback on key messages to emphasize through the engagement process, to gather feedback on best tactics to reach stakeholder constituencies.
Electrical Outage in New Westminster (Elmer Rudolph): On January 14th a power outage affected residents in Queensborough and the West end but there were reports that other areas were affected. The city reported that there was not an equipment failure but an overload occurred due to heavy electrical demand due to cold weather. A substation is planned for Queensborough. There were several major outages in 2019 as described here: https://www.newwestrecord.ca/news/2019-a-not-so-great-year-for-power-outages-in-new-westminster-1.24041728
“POP UP” Recycling Events (Elmer Rudolph):  The city will be closing the current recycling depot at McBride and Sixth Avenue in March 2020; it will be replaced by parking spots.  The replacement recycling centre will be in Coquitlam but won’t open until Fall of 2020. The city will have 4 Pop Up events. April 18, 2020, Tipperary Park, parking lot, June 20, 2020, Starlight Casino, Queensborough, August 22, 2020, Tipperary park, parking lot, October 24, 2020, Starlight Casino, Queensborough, December 12, Tipperary park, parking lot.
Business Tax Method Hurting Small Businesses (Elmer Rudolph): The current model sees properties’ taxes based on a “highest and best use designation,” which allows property values and subsequent tax bills to soar by upwards of 200 per cent. Some small businesses in Vancouver have been forced to close. An interim fix has been proposed.
Budget 2020 Public Workshop (Gavin McLeod): The workshop was held at the Anvil Centre, attendance required registration. Tables were assigned different categories and people could move from table to table. Questions were answered by city staff. The budget did not list specific projects and the staff could not quantify results for spending on reducing CO2 emissions in accord with the declared Climate Crisis.
Meeting Adjourned: 20:09
Next Meeting: Next general meeting tentatively scheduled for Tuesday March 24,  2020 at Unity in Action Church from 7 pm to 9 pm.