Nanaimo City Council Notes March 27

Notes From City Council Meeting 

March 27, 2012

Acting Mayor Kipp displayed his council experience by admirably conducting the city council meeting on March 27, in the absence of Mayor Ruttan who is currently enjoying sunnier locales.

Ms. Clift and Mr. Sims of the city public works department gave a brief update on the progress of the new $72 million water filtration plant which is scheduled for completion by March 2015 under the demands of VIHA. You may recall there has been some controversy over whether or not the Nanaimo taxpayer really needs to be shelling out another $72 million to treat water that by most standards already sets a standard for excellence.

Ms. Cudahy the head of the newly formed Nanaimo Economic Development Corporation (NEDC) gave a short presentation summing up the progress of the NEDC highlighting what they have accomplished in the first six months of operation. It is notable this is the first report to city council and one thing seems clear, and that this is NOT just another level of bureaucracy in the city controlled by city council.

Nanaimo taxpayers seem quite content with the $844 million finanical plan recently approved by city council as no one came forward to address the issue during an open segment of the agenda when they could have expressed their thoughts on the matter of city taxing and spending.

Several matters were dealt with under the heading of community safety and development ranging from zoning amendments, neighbourhood planning, development variances and unsightly premises.

Coucillors who wish to may now have a city paid smartphone for both personal and city business use. This is strictly a personal choice, and would qualify as a taxable benefit.

After a presentation by the Council of Canadians asking city council to declare Nanaimo as a "Blue Community" which among other things would see bottled water removed from city sites and city events council had to do some two stepping to undo a hastily passed resolution