Carol Day and Alexa Loo were sworn in as city councillors at the inaugural Richmond City Council meeting Monday evening, in which Mayor Malcolm Brodie gave his annual address and made council appointments.
Taking an oath of office to uphold transparency and honesty on council for the next four years, Loo and Day officially became councillors after the Honourable Madame Justice Mary Newbury bestowed the honour upon them.
Six incumbent councillors and Brodie replicated the oaths in front of a council chamber filled to capacity.
Brodie spoke to the past council’s achievements and how they, along with new council directives, will shape the city’s future.
He said an updated Official Community Plan should oversee growth in City Centre until 2041 to accommodate 75,000 more residents. Such growth will be met with added community amenities, such as two new fire halls, a new Minoru Aquatic Centre, an Older Adults Centre and the City Centre Community Centre, which were part of a record annual capital budget of $185 million, this year.
With a new RCMP headquarters and new and retrofitted fire halls Brodie noted the city “will have a complete set of modern, post-disaster related public safety buildings.”
Brodie purported that growth in the city has been met with financial sustainability.
“By building our financial reserves and levering alternative revenue sources, the City has funded capital construction …with little impact on property taxes,” he said.
Taxes remain average amongst the region and the city has taken out a low-interest $50 million loan to partly pay for Minoru pool. The loan will be paid off over 10 years with casino gaming revenues.
“Civic growth fosters both opportunity and challenge,” said Brodie.
To complement growth Brodie also noted the myriad of community projects underway.
The Garden City Legacy Landscape Plan will provide a framework for the 136-acre park and nature reserve, which should take years to develop.
An Olympic museum and interactive centre (the Richmond Olympic Experience) plans to open at the Richmond Olympic Oval this year and should add to the activities for families to take part in in the city. This year, the city opened the $1 million Terra Nova adventure playground.
He noted the newly opened Railway Greenway is part of a growing cycling network, which, along with increased transit services, should help the city achieve its goal of not adding any more vehicles to its roads, despite the population boom.
A planned waterfront park on the Fraser River’s Middle Arm is part of the city’s award-winning publicly accessible waterfront, featuring a dyke network that plans to be ready for “sea level rise as a result of global warming,” said Brodie.
The city is also expanding sustainable, city-run geothermal energy projects, Brodie noted.
Brodie acknowledged the passing of activist Norman Wrigglesworth, former city manager Eric Gilfillan and former fire chief Ted Lorenz. He noted volunteer hours increased 16 per cent in 2014.
The mayor also acknowledged growth in the sport hosting and tourism sectors.
The two new city councillors — small business owner Day and former Olympic snowboarder and chartered accountant Loo — replace now-retired councillors Linda Barnes and Evelina Halsey-Brandt, who had 33 years of combined experience on council.
Brodie, serving his sixth term, is poised to become the third-longest standing mayor in the city’s history.
He noted Coun. Loo and Coun. Day would "bring new energy" to council with their respective "expertise, experience and backgrounds."
Brodie thanked Barnes and Halsey-Brandt for being "passionate adocates for our community."
Richmond City Council appointments:
Metro Vancouver Board
-Mayor Malcolm Brodie (alternate Bill McNulty)
-Harold Steves (alternate Linda McPhail)
South Coast B.C. Transportation Authority (TransLink)
-Mayor Malcolm Brodie (Mayor’s Council)
Richmond Olympic Oval Corporation
-Mayor Malcolm Brodie (alternate Alexa Loo)
Emergency Communications for Southwest B.C. (ECOMM)
- Bill McNulty
Steveston Harbour Authority Board
- Harold Steves (alternate Carol Day)
BC Aviation Council
- Carol Day (alternate Coun. Chak Au)
Council Liaisons to City Advisory Committees
Advisory Committee on the Environment
Carol Day
Agricultural Advisory Committee
Harold Steves
Child Care Development Advisory Committee
Alexa Loo
School Board Liaison Committee
Linda McPhail, Alexa Loo
Economic Advisory Committee
Derek Dang, Chak Au
Heritage Commission
Derek Dang
Major Facility Building Committee
Ken Johnston
Linda McPhail
Richmond Family and Youth Court Committee
Carol Day
Richmond Intercultural Advisory Committee
Derek Dang
Richmond Parking Advisory Committee
Carol Day
Richmond Public Art Advisory Committee
Carol Day
Richmond Sister City Advisory Committee
Bill McNulty
Richmond Sports Council
Bill McNulty
Seniors Advisory Committee
Ken Johnston
Richmond Community Services Advisory Committee
Derek Dang
Richmond Traffic and Transportation Advisory Committee
Ken Johnston
Minoru Major Facility Stakeholder Advisory Committee
Ken Johnston
Richmond Sports Wall of Honour Nominating Committee
Alexa Loo
Council Liaisons to Organizations and Societies
Richmond Farmers’ Institute
Harold Steves
Richmond Centre for Disability
Alexa Loo
Richmond Chamber of Commerce
Chak Au
Vancouver Coastal Health / Richmond Health Services
Alexa Loo
Britannia Heritage Shipyard Society
Harold Steves
Gulf of Georgia Cannery Society
Carol Day
London Heritage Farm Society
Chak Au
Minoru Seniors Society
Derek Dang
Richmond Nature Park Society
Linda McPhail
Steveston Community Society
Alexa Loo
Steveston Historical Society
Bill McNulty
Aquatics Services Board
Linda McPhail
Museum Society Board
Ken Johnston
Richmond Gateway Theatre Society Board
Chak Au
Richmond Public Library Board
Chak Au (alternate Alexa Loo)
Council Liaisons to Community Associations
Arenas Community Association
Bill McNulty
City Centre Community Association
Linda McPhail
East Richmond Community Association
Chak Au
Hamilton Community Association
Derek Dang
Richmond Art Gallery Association
Carol Day
Richmond Fitness and Wellness Association
Linda McPhail
Sea Island Community Association
Harold Steves
South Arm Community Association
Carol Day
Thompson Community Association
Bill McNulty
West Richmond Community Association
Ken Johnston
