North Vancouver Recreation Commission

NORTH VANCOUVER RECREATION COMMISSION Thursday, February 14, 2008 Oak Room, Delbrook recCentre 600 West Queens Road, North Vancouver SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES Attendees: Commissioner Wayne Robertson Commissioner Vince Santacroce Commissioner Jane Thornthwaite Commissioner Mike Little Commissioner Cheryl Leia Commissioner Elizabeth McLaren Commissioner Wayne Hunter Commissioner Guy Heywood Commissioner Robin Hicks Regrets: Commissioner Barbara Perrault Commissioner Craig Keating Staff: Heather Turner, Director of Recreation Gary Houg, Manager, Maintenance & Engineering Services Terry Tran, Manager, Corporate Services Leslie June, Manager, Recreation & Community Services Wendy Sheppard, Executive Assistant I. Call to Order Chair Wayne Robertson called the meeting to order at 7:10 pm. Moved by Commissioner Robertson; seconded by Commissioner Hunter THAT, due to the absence of both Commissioners representing the City of North Vancouver Council, the meeting be declared a “Special Meeting.” Carried II. Approval of Agenda Moved by Commissioner Heywood; seconded by Commissioner Little THAT the meeting agenda be approved as circulated. Carried III. Approval of Minutes of the Last Meeting a) Adoption of the Minutes of the January 10, 2008 Meeting Moved by Commissioner Little; seconded by Commissioner Leia THAT the minutes of the Commission meeting of January 10, 2008, be approved as circulated. IV. Chair’s Report Chair Robertson reported on his Commission-related activities during the past month. A letter of invitation has been received from John Lewis, Superintendent Schools, regarding a community meeting to be held at Windsor Secondary School on Thursday, February 21. The topic is Towards the Future for Schools, and all Commissioners are invited to attend. V. Director’s Report Director Turner provided an overview of her report and responded to Commissioners’ questions. It was agreed that the newly launched eNewsletter will be sent to Commissioners on a regular basis. The Director reported on items not included in her written report. VI. ƒ The Recreation Commission has an employee who has been working with the Multicultural Society to provide information on recreation services in the community to residents in their own languages. To date, sessions have been held in Farsi and Korean and initial reaction has been favourable. ƒ Challenges that have occurred in the registration process in the past are being addressed with the software providers. A new server has been installed and problem solving and testing have been carried out. Staff are optimistic that the March 5 registration will proceed smoothly. The Director indicated that a report will be provided to the Commission on the results of that registration. Items for Discussion/Decision a) Facility Plan Because members of the public were in attendance to hear information on this item, it was moved ahead in the agenda. On a point-by-point basis, Commissioners reviewed the information package provided. For each indoor facility recommendation, the document outlined: the consultant’s recommendations; staff comments/recommendations; summary of discussion at a February 2 Commission workshop; and the proposed Commission recommendation. i) Arenas Moved by Commissioner Hunter; seconded by Commissioner Santacroce THAT the Commission recommend six sheets of ice in total to serve North Vancouver, requiring the construction of a new multi-sheet arena complex, preferably in the west area to replace the existing sheets at Harry Jerome and Karen Magnussen and to add one new sheet; and North Vancouver Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes – February 14, 2008 Page 2 of 7 THAT the Commission request that a staff report go to the City and District along with the recommendation that speaks to the location and timing challenges and that also outlines the options (e.g. fourth sheet at Ice Sports and a two sheet facility elsewhere or inclusion of single sheets at selected CRCs) and implications of options. Carried ii) Reuse of Karen Magnussen Arena Moved by Commissioner Heywood; seconded by Commissioner Little THAT the Commission recommend that the Karen Magnussen arena be converted to a dry floor facility following the construction of new sheets of ice elsewhere. Carried iii) HJ rec centre Moved by Commissioner Hunter; seconded by Commissioner Santacroce THAT the Commission recommend that a Community Recreation Centre (as described in the consultant’s report) be constructed to replace the existing Harry Jerome facility and that this site incorporate Silver Harbour and an additional performing arts rehearsal space. Carried iv) Capilano Community Centre Moved by Commissioner Little; seconded by Commissioner Hunter THAT the Commission recommend that a Community Recreation Centre be constructed to replace the existing William Griffin and Delbrook Recreation Centres and that squash and racquetball facilities be included if the need still exists. Assessment of site capacity as well as the current condition and the life span of the existing facilities is required prior to determination of a site; and THAT the Commission recommend that an analysis of the options and implications of provision of aquatic spaces be conducted. Carried v) Indoor Tennis Moved by Commissioner Hicks; seconded by Commissioner Santacroce THAT the Commission recommend that three new indoor/outdoor tennis courts and support spaces be constructed on the Grant Connell Tennis Centre site. Carried North Vancouver Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes – February 14, 2008 Page 3 of 7 vi) Tournament Centre at Capilano College Moved by Commissioner Heywood; seconded by Commissioner Leia THAT the Commission recommend pursuing a partnership with Capilano College to construct a Sport Tournament Centre at Capilano College. Carried vii) Expand Karen Magnussen Community Recreation Centre Moved by Commissioner Santacroce; seconded by Commissioner Hunter THAT the Commission recommend expanding the Karen Magnussen Recreation Centre to include additional fitness and multipurpose spaces and, subject to the results of the aquatic space analysis, adding an additional pool tank. viii) Maplewood/Ron Andrews Community Recreation Centre Moved by Commissioner Heywood; seconded by Commissioner Leia THAT the Commission recommend replacing Ron Andrews with a Community Recreation Centre in the most appropriate location when the existing facility nears the end of its useful life span. Carried ix) Gymnasiums Moved by Comm. Hunter; seconded by Comm. Santacroce THAT the Commission recommend that Recreation Commission staff work with School District staff and other gymnasium providers to conduct an analysis of the actual capacity of gymnasiums to meet the needs and then, if required, to make further recommendations on meeting needs for gymnasium space. Carried x) Lower Capilano/Norgate Moved by Commissioner Little; seconded by Commissioner Thornthwaite THAT the Commission recommend that the Commission, City and District work with the School District to enhance community recreation services in Norgate Elementary School and that continued monitoring of population growth and recreation needs west of Lonsdale occur and subsequent actions be undertaken to meet the needs. Carried North Vancouver Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes – February 14, 2008 Page 4 of 7 Next steps were discussed. The goal will be to have a draft report incorporating tonight’s recommendations before the Commission at its next meeting, after which it will be presented to Councils. The District CAO and City Manager have expressed interest in having a steering committee (a joint working group of City, District and Commission) that will provide high level oversight to ensure inter-relatedness of the Commission recommendations and City and District plans. b) 2008 NVRC Meeting Schedule This item was carried over from the January meeting. It was suggested that, as Commissioner Keating was not in attendance at this meeting and because this was a subject on which he requested further discussion, this item be carried over to the next Commission meeting. c) Request for Reallocation of 2007 Funds Director Turner reviewed the staff report on this item and responded to questions and comments. It was suggested that the item in the report under reallocation of funds within the 2007 budget be renamed “Class” database review rather than “Class” database renewal. Moved by Commissioner Santacroce; seconded by Commissioner Hunter THAT the reallocation of $180,000 be approved within the 2007 operating budget to accomplish the special initiatives as outlined in Attachment 1, and that the appropriate requests for carry-over for funds into 2008 to complete these initiatives be made to the District of North Vancouver and the City of North Vancouver. Carried d) Commission Work Plan for 2008 This item was carried over to the next meeting. Commissioners were asked to review the documents that were circulated and contact the Chair with suggestions. e) BCRPA and World Leisure Conference Attendance ƒ BCRPA The annual British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association Symposium will be held this year in Victoria from April 24 to 26. Moved by Commissioner Santacroce; seconded by Commissioner Hunter THAT Commissioners Guy Heywood and Cheryl Leia attend the 2008 BCRPA Symposium. Carried North Vancouver Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes – February 14, 2008 Page 5 of 7 ƒ World Leisure Conference Commissioners Hunter, Leia, Robertson and Santacroce expressed interest in attending this conference, to be held in October in Quebec City. Further discussion of this item will take place at the next meeting. VII. Items for Information a) Committees and Assignments The Chair circulated a document outlining committee assignments. Commissioners are to contact him if they have any concerns. VIII. Committees External Committee Updates a) Centennial Theatre Society Commissioner Santacroce reported on a recent meeting. He indicated that the group is refocusing and will be working on a process to determine what the community wants to see at Centennial Theatre. b) City Parks and Environment Advisory Committee Commissioner Leia reported on a recent meeting. A public consultation regarding Spirit of BC is scheduled for Wednesday, February 20 at 6:30 pm at the Capilano Mall community room. c) Joint Use Planning Committee Commissioner Heywood reported that he and School Board Trustees Chair Chris Dorais will be reviewing the minutes of the last meeting to ensure all action items are followed up. d) North Shore Sport Awards Committee Commissioner Hunter reported that the kick-off ceremony for this year’s Sport Awards was held on February 8. Nominations are open for the next three weeks, and the awards ceremony will be held on April 8. Other a) School District Commissioner Thornthwaite reported on the community information meeting (Towards the Future for Schools) being held on February 21. The Board of Education is involving the community in developing a vision for the future. The meeting will set the stage for further community consultation in developing a sustainable plan. North Vancouver Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes – February 14, 2008 Page 6 of 7 IX. Next Meetings The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 13, 2008. X. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 pm. Approved: Date: Wayne Robertson Chair Recorded by: Wendy Sheppard Executive Assistant North Vancouver Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes – February 14, 2008 Page 7 of 7