Mayor & Council,

I appear this evening to request the Council Procedures Bylaw be updated and amended to expand the official posting notice place for all council notices.

I request the Bylaw be updated to reflect the various modern and efficient methods for communicating Council documents of interest, including agendas and minutes, to the residents.

These posting places include not only the current posting space above the mailboxes but also electronic circulation to the village e-post lists as well as placing these documents on the village website and any other secure places they are currently posted.

I would also like to request that the posting board in the mail room be secured with a locking mechanism so that notices cannot be posted or removed by anyone other than authorized village office staff.

Thank you for considering this update request to the Council Procedures Bylaw.

Collette Ethier
April 2/2013

While many places in Canada celebrate the holiday season with a blanket of snow, we keep our fingers crossed and pray that the rain holds off and the sun or drier weather prevails.

This year’s “A Magical Christmas by the Ocean”– an enchanted Christmas Sing-A–Long got rained out from its original event site at Kelvin Grove Beach Park because Mother Nature wished not to co-operate. With our typical wet West Coast weather, we had to quickly move the event to the Village Hall.

After two years of not being all together it happened this Christmas when we all arrived in Beijing to enjoy family and the holidays. Our oldest son Richard and his wife Vanessa, who live in Hong Kong, coordinated the arrangements. Our third son Thomas flew from Toronto to join us when we departed for Beijing. Shortly afterwards we were joined by middle son Nick and his fiancée Alex who left the 35 degree weather of Sydney, Australia to come to -17 degree (which nobody was truly prepared for) Beijing. Greeting us were not only Richard and Vanessa but our 9 month old grandson Jon who quickly became the center of attention for his grandparents, uncles, and future aunt. 

In addition to the normal traditions families do at Christmas time we toured Tiananmen Square, the Olympic Site, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and lots of other places. The season, the culture, and the sub-zero weather made for a unique experience. The culture and the sites in Beijing were phenomenal. Lucky for us that Richard speaks more than passable Mandarin or we would still be circulating in the sub ways. Vanessa is a stay at home mom although we think having a baby is really a full time job. In the evening Ron was happy to babysit while Mary toured the town with the kids and enjoyed the night life, including the unique fare of deep-fried beetles, snake, and chicken blood.

After attending the most recent community meeting on the Community Centre Renewal (CCR) proposal I came away feeling frustrated and saddened. As anyone who holds a strong point of view in any one direction, I was frustrated that everyone did not see it “my way” but I’ll get to that in a minute.  First I’d like to say why I also felt saddened. To me, Lions Bay has always been a community that comes together with respect for others and a willingness to listen to the other side with an open mind. Of course I recognize that everyone won’t agree on every topic but to me that opens the door for a civilized debate and an opportunity to learn from each other. I did not see that happening at this meeting. Instead, I saw people engaging in obvious ‘grandstanding’ and arguing their point of view without listening. I also felt a deep-seated rancor amongst some directed at the Mayor and Council members.

I was asked to comment on the progress of the design of an upgrade to the Community Centre and clarify what is included in different options as presented in Information Sheet 2.

A project of this kind involves both structural engineers and qualified architects working as a team to ensure that structural as well as design features are adequately addressed. As a member of Oversight Committee since October of 2012 I am very disappointed with the performance of our Design Team regarding their approach to the design and the scheduling of priorities to be pursued.

I understand that the presentation for a grant from the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development had to be done in a very short time, perhaps explaining the unrealistic budget. To keep the grant, as a minimum, we have to comply with the specifics of the grant submission which estimated a total budget of $700,000. (Option A). Everybody wants the project to be economical, safe and designed properly. Other possibilities - Options B and C - were brought forward for discussion. Design must comply with the standards of B.C. Building Code 2012 and Lions Bay By-Laws. At the present time the design is not finished. Once Council decides which option is selected, final design will follow. Drawings issued for Building Permit could be referred to the Board of Variance if there are some issues with the design.