Council meeting summary - December 5, 2022

Here are some highlights from the December 5, 2022 City Council Meeting. For more information – including the full agenda listing – consult the December 5, 2022 Regular Council Meeting Agenda and its attachments.

 

Request for Provincial ministry meetings and public update regarding public safety, health and addictions crisis, and housing shortage

• Council PASSED the motion to take action on three recommendations:
  1. Direct staff to organize a workshop to develop a strategic framework that includes current and potential actions the City and other community partners have taken to present to provincial ministries, Northern Health, and BC Housing.
  2. Council to invite representatives from several Provincial Government ministries attend meetings with Council and the public to discuss what actions the Provincial Government will take to address the crisis Prince George is facing.
  3. Direct staff to develop a meeting format with input from Council and Ministry staff that allow for fulsome discussion, information gathering, potential site visits, as well as participation from locally-elected, provincial, federal, first nations, regional district representatives, and relevant City staff.
     
      

2022 road and sidewalk capital projects review

• Council received information from the Director of Civic Operations about road and sidewalk capital projects undertaken in 2022.
• Approximately 44 lane-kilometres of roads and 3,095 lineal metres of sidewalks were maintained in 2022 along with 633 metres of new sidewalks installed.
• The sidewalk rehabilitation budget was enough to complete approximately two (2) per cent of Prince George’s current road path pedestrian network. Of the remainder, 44 per cent of the network is in fair to poor condition.
• During the 2022 budget deliberations, Council reduced the 2022 roads budget to $5.5 million from $5.95 million, but increased the sidewalk rehabilitation budget to $1.25 million from $700,000.
• The City monitors the state of paved areas and assigns a score based on their condition to help prioritize renewal projects and create the annual paving rehabilitation program.
  
   

2022 financial report on significant capital projects

• Staff presented Council with a six-month update on significant capital projects over $1 million.
• The report includes major, debt and endowment-funded initiatives and covers active works for over $98 million in capital projects.
• The  project listing details project budget health, schedule health, initial approval year, and more.
• Notable projects completed in 2022 include Fire Hall #1, the YMCA Park House Care and Early Learning Centre, the Shane Lake dam renewal, and the Western Acres water system.
  
   

Accessible British Columbia Act – City of Prince George implications

• Staff presented a report to Council on the impact the province’s Accessible British Columbia Act will have on City including meeting the legislation’s requirements by September 2023.
• Municipalities – including Prince George – must establish an accessibility committee, develop a plan to identify, remove, and prevent barriers to individuals in or interacting with the City, and implement a process for receiving public feedback.
• Meeting the Act’s requirements will be added to the 2022/2023 Corporate Work Plan.