Council meeting

I attended the council meeting of the 9th.
It was a long meeting, a good initiation for our newly elected councillor Barry Cunningham.
There were  three presentations
The first was an update from the Prince Rupert Port Authority given by Shaun Stevenson.
Some concerns expressed by Council were waterfront access, Rushbrook Trail and rail safety.
Mr. Stevenson said there are a lot of property issues to be resolved.
The City and Port are working to enhance commerce and community waterfront access.
A report was given by Tessa Gill from Pacific Northwest LNG.in short once all permits and environmental approvals have been given it will be a  four year construction project with operations to begin in 2018. They will have two information offices, one in Prince Rupert and one in Port Edward.
Of great concern from Council is the environmental impact.
LNG website if www.pacificnorthernlng.com
A presentation was given by Mr. Conrad Lewis of the Tribal Nations Tournament. In essence due to the earthquake on the day of the tournament some of their games were precluded to use the civic centre as an emergency shelter. The tournament resumed the next day however the tournament suffered a loss. Mr. Lewis is seeking a reduction in rent paid as the availability of the facilities were curtailed due to the emergency.
Crime stoppers was seeking a letter of support to obtain a $20,000.00 grant from the government.
They plan on opening a community garden in two 20x20 greenhouses located at Charles Hays.
The 2014 council meeting calendar has been approved and also the Acting Mayor schedule for 2014.
At question period Ms. Niesh addressed Council and requested that the speed limit in residential areas be reduced to 40kmh to reduce speeding, Councillor Cunningham said he didn't think that this was the answer. Ms Niesh second request was that all businesses have push button access for people with disabilities. Ms.Niesh  wanted to know about snow and ice clearing at vacant store fronts. There is a bylaw which can be enforced as all businesses must clear in front of their establishment.
Ms.Niesh also wanted to know what happened to the emergency sirens. The mayor informed her that the sirens were funded from the federal government and that funding had been removed many years ago.
Corinne Bomben gave her financial report. Of note in this report is the fire department requires a new Rescue truck which is 5 years past its replacement. The new truck is to be funded with short term financing with the MFA, and is expected to take 5 years to pay for.