Council set to look over some numbers on Monday night

Prince Rupert City Council returns to the work of municipal discussion this Monday night, the first meeting for May and apparently an important one considering the length of the agenda for the session ahead this evening.

Posted on the city website for this evening is a seventy five page preview of what is ahead for council, among the items for discussion and review this evening are some reports from the General Manager over planned Public Works projects; among the key topics of discussion are the expansion of the landfill site, the Duncan road pump station and sewer project and the introduction of pay parking to Atlin Terminal (save your Loonies they are soon to be of use)

Council will also look over some appointments to local boards and review a number of bylaw recommendations.

But the bulk of those seventy five pages of reading material prior to tonight's council meeting are taken up by the City's audited financial statement and five year plan, all of which runs from page 13 on to page 64 of the on line agenda.
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Those that are truly dedicated to their understanding of the machinations of civic government will no doubt find much to discuss among all the different entries required in the running of a city, from the fire department, to protective services and communications, the financial statement provides for much of interest for the inquisitive policy nerds of Podunk.

In the end though, these statements all come down to one thing, what's it going to cost...

For those wishing to get a more in depth look at the anticipated impact on households by the projected 3.8 tax increase, page 67 offers up a spread sheet that shows what you will pay according to the value of your home, for those looking for nightmare scenarios just move your finger to the right...

Of course in among all of that information will come one more item of interest to local residents, the attendance list.

The Mayor's chair has had fill in hosts for the last three sessions, with a string of public appearances over the last week, it's anticipated that Mayor Jack Mussallem will be back at the gavel as tonight's deliberations begin.

No doubt more than ready to guide council and the city through the process of making sense of the finances and soothing the taxpayers for whom the tax bill will soon need paying.

Council heads back to business tonight

We wonder if they'll need name tags for tonight? Such has been the space between meetings.

With thirty four days distance between meetings, Prince Rupert city council will finally gather together the gang and sit down to sorting out the developments in city governance over the last month and a bit.

High on their agenda for tonight will be a review of the now immediate need of replacing the Alaska Ferry Dock at Fairview, a project that has grown in need and fiscal requirements since last year's understanding that the required work would be less than 250,000 dollars, while council was away on it's unintended break, the revised bill for bringing the dock up to safety standards was said to be coming in at around 1 million dollars, and interesting bit of inflation that should make for an interesting bit of discussion around that table.

Among the other talking points for tonight's meeting will be: a recommendation of the adoption of the city's Parking Task Force action plan, public presentations from Shell Canada and Tourism Prince Rupert and a number of land use issues that started to pile up with the thirty four day break.

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The open mike period of council this evening, where Rupert residents can express concerns or ask questions of council could prove to be an interesting affair as well, considering the rash of vandalism and break and enters around the downtown area in the last few weeks, an ongoing problem that is always a hot button issue for Rupertites.

The various items for tonight's meeting were posted to the city's website, where Rupertites can find details about that parking Task force's recommendations as well as many of the other items percolating for tonight's meeting.

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Though we found it rather amusing that considering the now missing meeting, under the category of unfinished business, nothing was listed, no harm, no foul, no meeting.

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The City's Five year financial plan will also be given a reading, with a public session planned for April 21, pending any unannounced changing timetables of course...

Council serves up a plate of fish n chips, financial tips and a search for a twin on the agenda for work tonight.

Monday’s city council meeting will offer up a smorgasbord of civic governance with a full agenda planned for our local political leaders to look over.

The Green Apple will once again be on the “to do” list, this time a request for an extension of the deadline for compliance to repair the pilings that hold the restaurant in place at the corner of McBride and Third Avenue.

The folks at Chances are seeking an endorsement from council, of its bid for an extension of its hours of operation, so as to allow for “patron participation” at the Gaming centre on 1st Avenue West.

Council will also receive a report from the office of the Projects and Initiatives co-coordinator where a request for funding to host the Performing Arts Festival in 2009 has been submitted. The Festival which would be planned to run from May 25-29 of next year, would hopefully draw up to 1000 visitors to the city in the sunny month of May and provide a boost to the local tourist economy. The Host committee is seeking 10,000 dollars in funding from Council and would like to have the city waive rental fees and other costs on the Civic Centre and Lester Centre for the Arts.

Of course before you can agree to provide funds for anything, you actually need some money in the bank. Also up at council tonight is a final look at and a vote on the revenue anticipation borrowing bylaw. A procedure where the city can head over the CIBC bank machine and take out some cash and have a float on hand to keep things rolling until the tax revenues filter on in. The document on the agenda for tonight’s meeting suggests a nice tidy sum of 1 million dollars as a desired amount; be patient however, it might take a few minutes to punch in all those numbers at the ATM.

Wrapping up the highlights for tonight, is the search for a twin for the City of Prince Rupert. The Province has launched a new initiative to reach across the Pacific Ocean and make friends with cities in Korea, Japan, India or China. Council will consider their options and consult the travel agents, all in order to determine which may be the best bet for our Pacific strategy and any required cross cultural visits.

You can peruse all the details on these and more items on the agenda direct from the city’s website, where tonight’s blueprint for action has been posted.