There were several important items on the agenda of the December 6 meeting of Prince George City Council.
Nearly $1 million in debt relinquished
As part of a report on previously approved loans to fund capital projects, the City revealed on Monday evening that nearly $1 Million in debt across three capital projects would be relinquished and saved due to projects coming in under budget.
Once construction of projects are completed and the total costs of the project are known, the final step in funding projects is to confirm the loan amount with the Municipal Finance Authority.
Council finalized the borrowing on eight capital projects for a total of $33.9 M and approved the debt relinquishment on three projects, including $680,000 for the Goose Country Road Culvert Replacement Project.
Bylaw services year in review
The City of Prince George’s Bylaw Services division presented Council with a year in review report on its operations and activities over the past year.
Among the Bylaw Services team’s many accomplishments:
- Since its inception in June, 2021 the Downtown Bylaw Team has located four missing individuals.
- In September, Contactless Parking was introduced in all of the surface, hourly/daily parking lots in downtown Prince George. This gave patrons an additional option when paying for parking. It allowed people to pay for their parking from their cars rather than walk to and touch a pay station.
- Since January 1, Parking Control Officers have issued 3811 parking tickets.
- Since January 2021, Bylaw Services had dealt with 743 Unsightly Property Complaints. Of these complaints, only three were required to be brought before Council. All three have since complied, and the files are closed.
- Since September 1, 2021 there have been 345 complaints made under the Safe Streets Bylaw. No tickets have been written.
Utility late payments for 2022
Administration is recommending re-implementing a penalty payment system for overdue utility accounts starting January of 2022.
To provide financial relief to utility payers in the second half of 2020 after the outset of the pandemic, Council eliminated the 10% penalty applied to any amounts that are unpaid on the respective deadlines. Administration recommended that the penalty system be re-implemented in 2022, but at a rate of 5% instead of the original 10%. This rate is closer to the desired interest rate in the original recommendation and more in line with peer municipalities that have a penalty system.
Council approved the recommendation.
Delegations
Council received two delegations on Monday evening.
The Outdoor Ice Oval Society provided Council with an operational update and a preview of the upcoming skating season at the Oval. The Society also requested an increase of funding from $15, 000 per year to $30,000 in order to establish a fund to pay for routine maintenance. Council opted to refer the matter to the budget process for consideration in the New Year.
The Prince George Community Foundation, PG Hospice Palliative Care Society, and Miracle Theatre also appeared before Council to request pandemic support for its production of On Golden Pond, a philanthropic event benefiting the Prince George Hospice by providing the use of the Prince George Playhouse free of charge.
Council postponed consideration of the delegation’s request of $7,000, which will be used to offset Playhouse rental costs, pending receipt of further information from staff at the December 20 meeting. If approved, the funding will come from the Council contingency fund.
Forest Cluster Development Strategy
Council received a report for information about the study the City conducted towards creating a Forestry Cluster Development Strategy. The objective of the study was to engage local forestry representatives and stakeholders to create a sector profile for forestry in the Prince George region, and explore opportunities to diversify products and operations and further growth.
The forest industry faced many challenges in recent years, and the strategy provides an opportunity for government and local business leaders to work collaboratively to further develop and expand the industry. The comprehensive strategy and action plan will guide the City’s forest cluster initiatives through 2027 with the overarching objective of strengthening and providing long-term stability to the sector.
View the full agenda for the Council meeting with links to all of the reports on the City website.